Priming solution without boiling

[McCoonigan]

I was looking around and didn't find anything about this. So i have bottled water so i was wondering if I could skip boiling the priming solution or is it for more than just sanitation purposes? Thanks all a RAHAHB

 

[Andrew7447]

What do you plain on mixing the water and sugar in? Boiling like a cup of water takes 30s and it sanitizes the pot, water and sugar all at once. I guess you could pour some water out the bottle throw the sugar in mix it and pour into your beer, but meh seems like a non issue to fix to me.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Try dissolving sugar into hot vs cold water. It's much easier to dissolve when hot, and will help prevent inconsistent mixing, and a bunch of both flat and overcarbed bottles.

If you don't want to boil it before mixing, then dose each bottle with sugar individually.

I've added sugar directly (no water) priming pins before, as well as dosing individual bottles, without issue.

 

[IslandLizard]

Yeah, as @Andrew7447 said, it's such a small amount to boil. Once dissolved and ready to add to your bottling bucket, it has cooled down to room temps (or close) already.
Sugar dissolves much faster in warm or hot water, so there's that time advantage, instead of stirring it for 5 minutes.

In a similar light, many extract brewers doing partial boils top up their boiled wort by adding a fair amount of cold tap water to it, like 50/50, sometimes more. Then pitch yeast. That's much more than a cup worth, meaning more microflora.

At least you have alcohol in there. If that's water you'd drink, I think it would be fine.
Now, I would be more concerned about the bottled water closure itself, the lid, threads, neck, etc. So sanitize those well. Spray or mop Starsan around that area before pouring the water out.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Yeah, as @Andrew7447 said, it's such a small amount to boil. Once dissolved and added to your bottling bucket, it has cooled down to room temps (or close) already.
Sugar dissolves much faster in warm or hot water, so there's that time advantage, instead of stirring it for 5 minutes.

In a similar light, many extract brewers doing partial boils top up their boiled wort by adding a fair amount of cold tap water to it, like 50/50, sometimes more. Then pitch yeast. That's much more than a cup worth, meaning more microflora.

At least you have alcohol in there. If that's water you'd drink, I think it would be fine.
Now, I would be more concerned about the bottled water closure itself, the lid, threads, neck, etc. So sanitize those well. Spray or mop Starsan around that area before pouring the water out.

For what it's worth I'd sooner trust the sugar to be sanitary than the bottled water.

 

[McCoonigan]

Thanks for the advice all. I caved and just did the boil. I was hoping to save myself some time (we're doing homebrews as the favor in our wedding and we had so much stuff to do today I was trying to save every second, lol) but in the time it took me to clean and sanitize the boil was done and cooled anyways. Thanks for all the help though everyone!!

 

[IslandLizard]

but in the time it took me to clean and sanitize the boil was done and cooled anyways.

Well done! Planning a little ahead can save you from having to wait for it cooling down.

Now you can fill the bottling bucket with a gallon or 2 of beer and pour the cup's worth of hot sugar water into that, and give a gentle stir. I doubt it's gonna kill much yeast while it disperses.

I always heat/boil water for yeast rehydration or bottle priming in the microwave in a pyrex measuring cup. Keep a piece of plastic wrap on top, with a tiny opening along the edge to prevent ballooning.

 

[cswant88]

Boiling will also drive any dissolved oxygen out of the water. Vigorously stirring cold water to dissolve sugar will add oxygen. It may not be a huge amount in such a small volume, but it’s another factor worth considering.

 

[IslandLizard]

Boiling will also drive any dissolved oxygen out of the water.

Now that's an important notion!
And enough reason to reboil it for a few minutes, after adding and dissolving the sugar.