Vodka and Priming Sugar for single bottle?

[ParanoidAndroid]

I'm wanting to take some homebrew to a friend this weekend. I keg, not bottle, but I was wanting to bottle a 500 ml brown ale for him. Its waiting in the secondary to be kegged so its not carbonated.

I have some priming sugar but I don't want to boil water and add sugar as this would water down the beer. Could I put a tiny amount of vodka in the priming sugar to sanitize it, then add that to the brown ale so it can naturally ferment in a bottle for a few weeks?

Also, how much do I add per 500 ml?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I used one sugar cube for 16oz. Bottle. 16oz = 473mL

 

[Yooper]

No, don't add vodka!

If you want to prime a single bottle, just add the correct amount of sugar to the bottle, add the beer, and cap. Give it a gentle end-over-end shake to mix it up and call it good.

 

[jhall4]

I'm wanting to take some homebrew to a friend this weekend. I keg, not bottle, but I was wanting to bottle a 500 ml brown ale for him. Its waiting in the secondary to be kegged so its not carbonated.

I have some priming sugar but I don't want to boil water and add sugar as this would water down the beer. Could I put a tiny amount of vodka in the priming sugar to sanitize it, then add that to the brown ale so it can naturally ferment in a bottle for a few weeks?

Also, how much do I add per 500 ml?

The only reason we make a syrup out of our bottling sugar is to ensure it dissolves evenly throughout a large batch. It doesn't need to be sterilized as there's almost nothing that can grow in sugar (as long as it stays dry). For a single bottle, do as Yooper suggests and add it right to the bottle and then just ensure that it's dissolved.

 

[audger]

there are plenty of things that can be transported in/on sugar and can infect your beer. yes, the chances are low because sugar meant for human consumption is normally handled with that in mind, but that in no way means its completely sanitary. aside from active living bacteria or fungii, sugar (like any dry solid) can easily carry spores and viruses.

for one bottle, the chances of infection are extremely small, so i would just add the sugar directly. if you were bottling gallons of beer, you absoloutely want to boil it for sanitation. why risk loosing all that work?

vodka is not a sanitizer and will do nothing for sanitation.

 

[blaster_54738]

I use to bottle prime a lot and never had an issue. Really no different than using coopers carb drops

 

[jhall4]

Exposure to vodka for an extended period is going to denature and kill most organisms. It's not effective as a quick sanitizer though.

Also, spores might hitch a ride on sugar, but for our purposes it can be considered sanitary (if not sterile). Living bacteria will not be present in sugar because sugar, like salt, is a very effective osmotic preservative.