Conditioning question.

[absinthe_minded]

Hi there, I brewed my first beer about a year ago, using a fermentation bin and then putting it in bottles, with some sugar, to condition it. It came out okay.

Now I am brewing Directors, its in the bin and bubbling away nicely. The next step in the instructions is saying to syphon it off, leaving the sediment when it stops bubbling and put it in another bin with the sugar.

Now, I thought that the second fermentation added the fizz, but surely it needs to be in an airtight container (bottle) for this to work? Also, I don't have a spare bin to syphon t into. So: can i finish the first fermentation and then just put it all in bottles, with some sugar in each?

Thanks,
Nick.

 

[Clint]

Yes.

 

[phettebs]

I typically only secondary my beers if they are big beers that need some aging. If yours is ready to go, just do as you mentioned and rack it into bottles with priming sugar. I keg my beers now but when I bottled, I'd rack from the FV into a large bottling bucket with the sugar solution already added. I'd give it a gentle stir to make sure it was fully incorporated with all of the beer and then I'd use my bottling wand to fill each bottle.

With kegging, I just rack all of the beer from the FV straight into the keg and then force carbonate with CO2.

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

Not wishing hijack the thread, but what's the reason/advantage in using a secondary?

 

[phettebs]

The only time I secondary is if I'm aging a big beer or if I need to do something crazy like add fruit or oak etc.

Most times now, I shove the FV (after primary is complete) into the fridge for 2 weeks to settle out and then it's straight to the keg. I don't really bother with secondary much anymore. But for me it was always about bulk aging.

 

[Galena]

Not wishing hijack the thread, but what's the reason/advantage in using a secondary?

The alternative is carbonating with CO2 or having flat beer. The secondary takes place in the bottle (or keg)

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

Ah, now I get it.
I'm a bottler rather than a kegger.

 

[absinthe_minded]

Yes.

Great - ta.

I typically only secondary my beers if they are big beers that need some aging. If yours is ready to go, just do as you mentioned and rack it into bottles with priming sugar. I keg my beers now but when I bottled, I'd rack from the FV into a large bottling bucket with the sugar solution already added. I'd give it a gentle stir to make sure it was fully incorporated with all of the beer and then I'd use my bottling wand to fill each bottle.

With kegging, I just rack all of the beer from the FV straight into the keg and then force carbonate with CO2.

OK, many thanks.
The last kit gave me info for a sugar/water solution to make up which I could then syringe into the bottles. Would you have an idea of the recipe for this, i.e. g/l of sugar for the solution and ml needed per bottle?? I'm using 500ml bottles. I'd find this easier than trying to get a teaspoon of dry sugar into the bottle.

Thanks!
Nick.

 

[Beermonster66]

Check out the brewers friend website for the amount of priming sugar for various beers pet volume you are going to bottle. Make up a sugar solution using 250-300ml in a pan of boiling water, stir in the sugar keep it boiling for 5 minutes. Let it cool, put it in your second bucket. Syphon onto this from your primary then bottle straight away from the second bucket.

 

[GhostShip]

I must admit, I'm starting to ask myself if syphoning off into a barrel before bottling is really necessary. I've stopped batch priming as I found that adding sugar (I use sugar sticks bought online and find that one stick per bottle is perfect for my tastes) to each bottle gives me more consistent carbonation.

The only reason I syphon into a barrel first is so that I can put a 'sock' over the end of the tube and filter out all of the debris. This gives me cleaner beer in the bottles, but it's also more cleaning and sterilisation. I don't normally cold crash but maybe I should try it.

 

[Ronin56]

This is the only kit I've had this instruction with and, although I have a bottling bucket, other than being able to incorporate the priming sugar directly into the whole volume of liquid and get it off the trub,I found no advantage. Make up a solution with boiling water and the appropriate amount of sugar for your brew to 400 ml and inject 10 ml into each bottle (assuming 40 pints). It's a faff but it works fine.

 

[Redwulf]

The easiest way to do this if you don't have spare kit to batch prime is to either to get some sugar sticks like @GhostShip suggested above or some carbonation drops from Wilkos or Boyes and pop one in each bottle before you cap it.

Since I normally only bottle 8-10 bottles in a batch and keg the rest I tend to do it this way and force carbonate the rest. Occasionally I will siphon off the excess to another bucket and batch prime but mainly I use drops.

 

[absinthe_minded]

Thank you, everybody.

I will do what @GhostShip & @Redwulf have suggested and use the drops.

Cheers,
Nick.

 

[Baldinio]

I normally batch prime by dissolving the sugar in a couple of pints of warm water. I don't bother siphoning into a second fv before batch priming though I just bung it into the primary fv and give it a gentle stir.

 

[Bill W]

I leave my kits the full two weeks from starting. By then they are pretty clear and the trub has settled. I just use a small, clean funnel and spoon ordinary table sugar into each bottle with a measuring spoon, then syphon off into the bottles. All good so far.

 

[Victor Churchill]

When I was a basic grade brewer with one FV I spooned the sugar ino each bottle and it was generally fine.
Afer coming to this forum I introduced a bottling bucket & wand, and batch priming.
The bottling process is certainly smoother and easier but interestingly I have found that my carbonation levels are more inconsistent - I am more likely to have some flattish bottles and some very lively ones. I suspect my sugar is not getting evenly distributed.

 

[Worf]

I have always used a secondary and batch primed. I've never had any issues... Until recently. My last batch (a red ale) has given me reason to doubt, since when the bottle is poured into a glass, little more than a very few ounces are decanted before an enormous head is produced. Plus the bottle will slowly create its own head making it difficult to wait for the glass to settle.

The dunkle I just bottled had me considering that no priming was necessary, since the (unvented) secondary had plenty of pressure released when opened. I just hated to screw up a good batch by not having the bottles carbonate.

I've put all this off to new water environment with high mineral content & no filtration yet. Probably have whole house filter in place before the next batch...we'll see.

 

[EsterBanana]

but when I bottled, I'd rack from the FV into a large bottling bucket with the sugar solution already added. I'd give it a gentle stir to make sure it was fully incorporated with all of the beer and then I'd use my bottling wand to fill each bottle.

This is what I do, it's a really good method, I have good results.

 

[Redwulf]

When I was a basic grade brewer with one FV I spooned the sugar ino each bottle and it was generally fine.
Afer coming to this forum I introduced a bottling bucket & wand, and batch priming.
The bottling process is certainly smoother and easier but interestingly I have found that my carbonation levels are more inconsistent - I am more likely to have some flattish bottles and some very lively ones. I suspect my sugar is not getting evenly distributed.

I've had this too when batch priming, have a pint or a cuppa between siphoning it onto the sugar solution and starting to bottle, it needs a couple of minutes to mix itself.

 

[phettebs]

When I did it, the priming solution went into the bottling bucket first. I'd then rack the beer onto the solution with an auto-siphon and hose which would start the mixing process. I'd then very gently stir the whole lot before switching to the bottle filler. I had very consistent results with that method. But I agree that if it's not well incorporated you can have a range from completely flat bottles to bottle bombs!