Bottling…

[Bernie]

I boil the prescribed amount of sugar (I use table sugar) with water or beer (about 500ml). This is so the sugar mixture will be easy to distribute into the beer. So when carbonation occurs, you get no flat and no over-carbed beer.
I put that mixture in the bottom of the bottling bucket and then siphon onto that. I place my siphon tubing along the curved edge of the bottling bucket at the bottom to promote a whirlpool. I have no objection to gently stirring the beer to ensure the sugar/water or beer mixture is evenly distributed.

The same but I add dissolved sugar to the secondary fermenter. Stirring doesn't seem to disturb the sediment too much. The good thing for me is that the bottling wand fits onto the tap of the fermenter which lets me fill bottles with no foaming.

 

[moto748]

Stored upside down ?

No, certainly not! I just meant, quickly inverted (and back) to mix the liquids. I like my method, cos I can really fine-tune the amount of sugar I use. But, saying that, I'm not a great believer in being able to 'calculate' the correct amount of priming. I am, however, a great believer in that good old-fashioned methodology of 'trial and error'. If I brew a beer at 2.4 g/bottle, and it's too lively, I know the next time I brew it, I can go to 2.2 g, or 2.1 g, or whatever I like. It's one of the things I keep a record of in my spreadsheet!

So if I have a batch which I reckon will make around 25 bottles. I say, OK, call it 30 doses to allow a bit extra. If I'm going for 2.2 g/ bottle, I need 2.2 x 30 doses = 66 g sugar total. So zero a small measuring jug on your scales and measure out 66 g. Each dose is 5 ml. (10 ml syringe, 2 doses when full), so I need 5 x 30 = 150 ml of sugar solution. So top up the jug of sugar to the 150 ml mark with warm water. And stir until fully dissolved. Then I inject half a syringe worth into each bottle. It's a lot quicker and simpler than it probably sounds written down. The syringes are widely available, as I recall they are only about 3 quid each.

There's nothing wrong with pre-mixing the sugar solution prior to bottling, as suggested upthread, though, and which way you want to go may depend on your set-up

 

[moto748]

My method is really just a fancier version of An Ankoù's!

I broadly agree with his comments, but as you can see, opinions vary!

 

[Baldinio]

I batch prime by dissolving the required amount of sugar in warm water. But I don't transfer from my fermenting vessel into a bottling bucket I just add the sugar solution to the primary fv and give it a gentle stir then bottle direct from the primary fv.

 

[obscure]

Well I'm clearly the odd man out here, but I use those little sachets you often see in B & B type establishments or cafes. They weigh between 2.4g and 2.6 g. Just tear off the top and tip it in. No need for a funnel and that amount of sugar gives you a reasonable amount of carbonation in a 500ml bottle. Sometimes I add the sugar before the beer sometimes afterwards. It doesn't make any difference.
I used to do the batch syrup method, but found it too hit and miss with some bottles a little flat and others a bit too lively.

Snap yes I do the same 2.5g sugar sticks which I find carbonate a bottle perfectly, still a fair bit more expensive than a bag of sugar but a lot cheaper than carbonation drops.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I’m using dextrose priming sugar which isn’t on the list. Same as table sugar?

Also, I used to buy dextrose/corn sugar, the stuff commonly sold for beer priming, but I get the same results for 1/6 of the cost by buying table sugar.

 

[Ben034]

Snap yes I do the same 2.5g sugar sticks which I find carbonate a bottle perfectly, still a fair bit more expensive than a bag of sugar but a lot cheaper than carbonation drops.

Yep, same here. I have 2g satchets for small bottles and 3g for large. Need less for lower carbonation beers so use a spoon for that.

 

[Worf]

I've always added the dissolved sugar to the secondary fermenter with a gentle stir. Never had issues in 11+ yrs.

Most recent home-change (new water supply) has been the cause for all my over-carbed issues in my current batch being consumed.

 

[Stevieboy]

Straight forward question.....he said........

 

[531Man]

Dextrose is corn sugar...

Hi @sifty ,
Just to avoid any confusion, that is kind of back to front.
It should be "Corn sugar is dextrose"
It's a bit like that old saying, "Whilst all dogs have tails, not all things with tails are dogs".
‍
? 🐿
While corn sugar can accurately be called dextrose or glucose, not all dextrose or glucose is corn sugar — because it can be derived from other plant sources.
Although Maize (sweet corn in UK, corn in USA) is the most common source, potatoes, barley, cassava, and wheat can also be used.

 

[Victor Churchill]

I think I am approaching coming full circle on this. I started, like many I suspect, using the 'one flat teaspoon per pint' sugar straight into the bottle. Turn the bottle over a couple of times after closing the swing top and watch the sugar granules come down like a snow globe. Sometimes the beer was a bit gushy, sometimes a bit flat, mostly somewhere in between. Initially I tried using a little funnel but it was prone to getting clogged up if you got the end at all damp. Then a bit of folded card and try not to spill sugar on the floor. Then stole a cheap thin dessert spoon from the kitchen drawer (sh! Don't tell MsVC) and squished it in a vice to make a self funnelling spoon which works quite nicely but the quantity can be a bit hit and miss, especially since I have a variety of bottles from Grolsch, Fischer Alsace, various Xmas Glühwein bottles and sundry one-offs of assorted sizes.

Then a while ago (after joining here) I got a bottling bucket and wand and started batch priming. Thought it was great - however: sometimes the beer was a bit gushy, sometimes a bit flat, mostly somewhere in between. I am now wondering about going back to bottle priming.

 

[fgoulding]

Well I'm clearly the odd man out here, but I use those little sachets you often see in B & B type establishments or cafes. They weigh between 2.4g and 2.6 g. Just tear off the top and tip it in. No need for a funnel and that amount of sugar gives you a reasonable amount of carbonation in a 500ml bottle. Sometimes I add the sugar before the beer sometimes afterwards. It doesn't make any difference.
I used to do the batch syrup method, but found it too hit and miss with some bottles a little flat and others a bit too lively.

This is exactly what I do. I bought a catering box of Tate & Lyle white sugar sachets which are 2.5 grams. I fill the bottle and then add the sugar.

I used to batch prime but had mixed results and a few gushers. Plus I try to avoid any oxidation these days.

 

[fgoulding]

Snap yes I do the same 2.5g sugar sticks which I find carbonate a bottle perfectly, still a fair bit more expensive than a bag of sugar but a lot cheaper than carbonation drops.

I find that buying the sugar sachets in bulk from a catering supplier is cost effective. Less than a tenner for 1000.

 

[obscure]

I find that buying the sugar sachets in bulk from a catering supplier is cost effective. Less than a tenner for 1000.

I can’t actually remember how much I paid for my box but was probably about that. Expensive compared to a bag of sugar but a fraction of what you would pay for carbonation drops. Plus it means no messing around with tea spoons and funnels if I used loose sugar.

 

[DocAnna]

When bottling, do members add beer and then the sugar, or the other way round?
and would appreciate reasons please.
thanks.

Neither - I far prefer to cover myself, and everything within a 1 to 2 m radius with beer spray by counter pressure filling my bottles under pressure from a keg after force carbonation . This possibly masochistic task makes bottling far more complicated, take far longer and typically requires a shower afterwards to account for the beer at least once sprayed all over myself.

 

[sifty]

Ha. Just shouted myself a counter pressure bottling gun for xmas. Sounds terrific...

 

[PerthRod]

I once tried putting the beer in the bottle first then adding the priming sugar..............NOT RECOMMENDED.........very messy !!

It made the beer foam furiously.........closely followed by me !

 

[531Man]

Neither - I far prefer to cover myself, and everything within a 1 to 2 m radius with beer spray by counter pressure filling my bottles under pressure from a keg after force carbonation . This possibly masochistic task makes bottling far more complicated, take far longer and typically requires a shower afterwards to account for the beer at least once sprayed all over myself.

Beer shampoo and shower, anyone?
@DocAnna 's bottling tonight!

 

[TrevTheBev]

I have been using the 1ltr supermarket pet Soda Water & Tonic Water bottles for past year with absolutely no problems whatsoever. I just use a plastic funnel and place 2 teaspoons of sugar in each before using my wee bottler to fill up with beer from my fermenting vessel. Put cap on and give each a really good shake before placing upright to condition. Never once had a problem with gushers. However, I don't quite get a full litre of beer out of each as there is always a lot of sediment in each bottle.
So my question is ........ Should I transfer the beer from one fermenting vessel into another, using a syphon tube and then bottle ??