Priming Sugar

[woosterhoot]

I am brewing a belgian white from extract. My starting specific gravity was 1.048 and 9 days in the primary I racked to secondary at 1.012. I let it sit in the secondary for 13 days. I added 3/4 cup of corn sugar for priming in my bottling bucket. I had a little left at the end so I took a gravity reading just for kicks. It was 1.040. I thought the amount of sugar for priming would be negligible on the specific gravity. Maybe I had an excess of sediment at the bottom of the bottling bucket. Any thoughts?

 

[The Pol]

Did you mix the sugar in well???

 

[Yooper]

Did your beer swirl into the bottling bucket, to mix up the priming sugar into the beer, and did you boil the priming sugar in a little water to dissolve?

The priming sugar adds a negligible amount of fermentables to 5 gallons, so there is no way the s.g. should be 1.040 unless that sample had tons of priming sugar in it. You shouldn't have any sediment to speak of in your bottling bucket.

 

[The Pol]

Yah, you need to boil that sugar good in a cup or two of water, then cool it, then mix it in really well. IF YOU DONT, you are going to have some explosions as some of those bottles that are at 1.040 carbonate... it will not be pretty

 

[Geordiepete]

Yeah, you could have some beer grenades sitting in your house.

I would put each of them into plastic carrier bags and tie them off, that way if you do get an explosion the mess will be contained.

 

[woosterhoot]

I mixed the 3/4 cup with 3/4 of water and boiled it to make a solution. Maybe it wasn't enough water so the solution was to heavy and didn't mix as well as it should have.

 

[brewt00l]

Yah, you need to boil that sugar good in a cup or two of water, then cool it, then mix it in really well. IF YOU DONT, you are going to have some explosions as some of those bottles that are at 1.040 carbonate... it will not be pretty

need? nah...I never bother boiling my priming sugar and just make sure it's thoroughly dispersed before bottling. No issues.

 

[Yooper]

Maybe. Or maybe it mixed up ok except for that little bit left. Either way, keep an eye on those bottles.

My guess is you're going to have some overcarbed beers and some flat beers. I hope I'm wrong, though.

 

[98EXL]

any other tips or tricks with priming sugars? I think I may bottle this weekend.....my first stout has been in carboys for three weeks