bottling advice

[fran]

i went to my home brew shop today for a few bits and bobs and he advised me to get a cup of boiling water and mix in half a bag of secondry sugar and then pour it into my fv and lightly stir it with a fork then leave for 10 minutes before bottling

has anyone tried this in the origional fv wich is what he meant

 

[Merry]

The general rule is 1/2 a teaspoon per bottle, so if you've brewed an average kit you're looking at 23 litres which will probably fill around 45 bottle depending on size. If you want to batch prime you're gonna need 80g of sugar. So check how big the bag of sugar is because half sounds way too much.

 

[Merry]

Oh, and as for adding it in the FV, I would transfer to a second bin with a tap to bottle from, If you're trying to batch prime in the FV the beer is currently in be very careful when stiring, you want to avoid getting any unnecessary oxygen into your beer. It may be safer to add the sugar in the bottles.

 

[fran]

spitting feathers sell the sugar for secondary fermentation in bags wich do 2 batches(40 pints per half bag) it looks like caster sugar rather than flower but he told me to add half of the bag to the fv then lightly stir with a fork and when i questioned the fork he said it is so that you wont disturb the sediment at the bottom of the fv

any thoughts?

 

[theboytony]

I would say that if you want to batch prime then you would be best using another bucket and putting into bottles from there, all you need is caster sugar and not sure how you would get enough sugar evenly mixed in 23l of beer with a fork? so would defo go with another bucket if you want to batch prime

 

[Tony]

I batch prime and stir in the syrup very very carefully with a spoon. Never tried a fork but it seems to make sense. If you're very careful with stirring you should be ok.

 

[Springer]

Batch priming is the way to go, always do it this way now.
Just did a forum search and there is loads of stuff coming up, so I won't invent the wheel and tell you about it. :lol:
S

 

[fran]

thanks all ill do a search and have a good read up

 

[Baz Chaz]

Another for batch priming here as well :thumb: put your priming syrup ( 80 gr sugar dissolved in 100 ml water ) into a clean sanitised FV, then transfer your ale for bottling into the FV & priming syrup, then bottle :thumb:

 

[Grumpy Jack]

I used to bottle prime, but also now batch prime in a second fv, melt the sugar into a syrup and let it sit there for half hour then bottle, that sorts it for me. :thumb:

 

[Ceejay]

Me too, by far the easiset way to go.

When you rack the beer into the "bottling bucket" make sure the syphon reaches the bottom of the bottling bucket, that way you cut down aeration and the sugar solution will mix in nicely :thumb:

 

[Mike1981]

What sugar do people most commonly use when batch priming? Does Normal granulated sugar leave an apple-y taste? Ive read somewhere to use dextrose, Is that right???

 

[nuggitmv]

What sugar do people most commonly use when batch priming? Does Normal granulated sugar leave an apple-y taste? Ive read somewhere to use dextrose, Is that right???

i use granulated sugar as the amount you use will be well diluted in the batch, dextrose is good aswell, costs a little more as its a "sugar" made from corn.. but basically works the same :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

Does Normal granulated sugar leave an apple-y taste? I've read somewhere to use dextrose, Is that right???

Dextrose is glucose . . .White table sugar is sucrose which is Glucose and Fructose. When sucrose is transported across the cell wall the yeast converts it to glucose and fructose . . .. and then the glucose converts to fructose for use in teh metabolic pathways to produce energy. . . . What this means is You can use any form of sugar you like as eventually it all ends up as fructose for energy (Unless it goes down a different pathway for som other organic compound) the unrefined sugars are fine as well but you need to be careful as they can leave behind a 'taste' which may or may not be beneficial in beer.


as for granulated sugar leaving an apply taste . . . Take a spoonful of sugar and allow it to dissolve in the mouth . . .. taste anything like apples ?? No, I don't think so either.

The problem with a lot of American / US influenced websites/authors is that they have often come from an extract brewing background where it's referred to as Kit and Kilo . . .a 1.8Kg tin of extract and a Kilo of sugar . . . and with cheap extracts (and kits!!) the contents of the kit may be 50% sugar rather than 100% malt extract (it won't be labelled as such . . . Glucose syrup / Corn sugar / Maltose Syrup / Barley syrup . . . basically sugar not derived from malt) . . . so if you consider that the 'beeryness' of the kit comes from the malt extract (from brewing grade malted barley), and you have an extract that is 50% sugar, and you add a kilo of sugar to that . .. . the beeryness dilutes dramatically . . . and along with the nutrients the yeast needs for healthy fermentation. so you end up with off flavours from the yeast, plus not very much beer flavour from the malt . . . any wonder that people have complained about an apple/cider flavour to beer made with granulated sugar . . . Unfortunately for us the US centric approach then sees any sugar as evil and adding an apply taste to home brewed beer . This is why there is pretty much always the advice to replace any sugar you add to a 1 can kit with malt extract . . . it does improve the kit, but in some cases (I'm thinking Coopers Lagers here) it can throw the balance and colour of the beer off. I know that some people recommend going to your local health food shop and getting malt extract from there, I would urge caution on this as there is no way of knowing if that is brewing grade malt extract. It's cheap, but there is no guarantee that it is Barley malt, uncertain fermentability (leading to high finishing gravities) and uncertain flavours. . . stick with good quality malt extracts available from your LHBS.

I did refer elsewhere to the 10% rule where I said that for any British style beer, the addition of 10% plain sugar will make the beer crisper without affecting the flavour as much. . . .The proviso is that the beer is made from 100% malt or a 2 can kit which is alo 100% malt extract.

Using 1/2 to 1 tsp of granulated sugar to a pint of beer for carbonation will not affect the taste at all

 

[evanvine]

Another excellent magnum opus Tony!
A lot of stuff there I didn't know, many thanks.

 

[nuggitmv]

good info thanks mate :thumb: