how much sugar ?

[DeanoD]

im brewing a geordie 40 pint lager and i seem to have lost the instructions
i was just wondering how much sugar i need to add to it for secondary it will be going into a barrel

 

[mmaguy41]

Wouldnt barrel it myself but 100 grams is standard for a plastic barrel

 

[DeanoD]

im going to use the barrel so i can add the sugar then im going to bottle it straight after because this is my first batch i didnt fancy adding small amounts of sugar to every bottle thought it might be easier using a barrel with a tap

 

[mmaguy41]

Im confused, your using a pressure barrel as a bottling bucket then? if your bottling id go with 8g of sugar per litre so around 180g total

 

[cask is best]

Could you batch prime it then bottle it. Put around 85 to 100g of sugar dissolved in a little hot water wait till it's cooled then lob it in the fv then syphon straight into your bottles.

 

[DeanoD]

no its not a pressure barrel
its just a brewing barrel that has a tap on bottom the plan was to syphon from fermenting vessel into the barrel that already has sugar in , stir it up to dissolve the sugar then using the tap i can fill the bottles

 

[eggman]

Ideally you want another fermenter with a tap and little bottler attached, if not then i suppose you could do it via the keg but you would need some tubing attached to the tap as you need to fill the bottles from the bottom upwards to avoid oxidising your beer.
Personally i would just prime each bottle and syphon direct from the fermenter, but leave it to clear first and be carefull not to disturb the sediment. Don't add the priming sugar to the beer in the original fermenter as you will need to stir it in and it will make it very cloudy again, and if you wait for it to re settle secondary fermentation might of started and you will get foamy beer when you're bottling
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[cask is best]

I've added batch prime to a few of my brews straight into the fv not stirred and syphoned into bottles with no ill effects. Maybe i have been lucky. What i do mostly is i invested in a food grade plastic funnel and just add half tea spoon of sugar in each bottle. Doesn't take long

 

[DeanoD]

the plan was to brew the lager in a proper bin once its ready i will syphon it into my bin with a tap add the sugar stir to dissolve then fill all my bottles i have quite a small kitchen so filling each bottle with sugar and syphoning into all those bottles will be a problem

 

[eggman]

a food grade plastic funnel and just add half tea spoon of sugar in each bottle. Doesn't take long

:thumb: That's what i do too :

the plan was to brew the lager in a proper bin once its ready i will syphon it into my bin with a tap add the sugar stir to dissolve then fill all my bottles i have quite a small kitchen so filling each bottle with sugar and syphoning into all those bottles will be a problem

Sounds fine mate :thumb: But you will still need a little bottler or some tubing if you are going to use the tap on the second fermenter, or you risk getting air into your brew and spoiling it

 

[TheYoungishBrewer]

the plan was to brew the lager in a proper bin once its ready i will syphon it into my bin with a tap add the sugar stir to dissolve then fill all my bottles i have quite a small kitchen so filling each bottle with sugar and syphoning into all those bottles will be a problem

I'm no expert myself. But I think the best way is to add your sugar (dissolved in hot water first) straight to your primary fermenter (at a rate of 8g per 1ltr of beer). Then bottle straight from there.
I don't think an intermediate vessel is a good idea for preservation and convenience.

I could be wrong on one or more of these points so please don't take my advice as solid. Hopefully someone can enlighten us both. I've not had a problem doing it that way in 2 separate brews though.

 

[DeanoD]

yeah ive just ordered some tubing for the tap :thumb:
i need take a hydrometer reading later as its been brewing now for 8 days am i correct in thinking it needs to be below 1.000 for at least 3 days ?

 

[eggman]

Not sure about the final gravity reading as i've not done this kit, but somewhere nearer 1.006 is probably more likely. Hopefully someone else thats done this beer can help you with the f.g reading but yes you're right it needs to be stable over 3 days :thumb:
:
Edit: If it's only been on the go for 8 days then it wouldn't hurt leaving it at least a couple more days to drop clear before bottling

 

[mmaguy41]

no it shouldnt be that low, around 1.010 is normal but may be a few higher or lower depends on the beer, as long as you readings are the same a few days running then should be fine, id leave it 2 weeks before taking your first reading though

 

[DeanoD]

i just used my turkey baster to take a sample out and it was quite cloudy so think i will leave it till thursday to take a reading :thumb: cheers for all your help

 

[wherespete]

I'm no expert myself. But I think the best way is to add your sugar (dissolved in hot water first) straight to your primary fermenter (at a rate of 8g per 1ltr of beer). Then bottle straight from there.
I don't think an intermediate vessel is a good idea for preservation and convenience.

I could be wrong on one or more of these points so please don't take my advice as solid. Hopefully someone can enlighten us both. I've not had a problem doing it that way in 2 separate brews though.

I used to do that and made the schoolboy error of stirring the sugar around the Primary FV to mix it in. Little did I realise I was just stirring up all the sediment from the bottom of the FV. So my bottled beer tasted lovely but was cloudy and I could barely get half a bottle out before large clumps of sediment fell into the glass.

I've just batch-primed a Geordie MIld by siphoning my beer into a second FV while adding the sugar, then bottling from there. The idea is to bottle straight away so there's minimal chance of any infection and, more to the point, the yeast sediment stays in the primary FV.

:

 

[wherespete]

i just used my turkey baster to take a sample out and it was quite cloudy so think i will leave it till thursday to take a reading :thumb: cheers for all your help

It will be cloudy anyway because it clears in the bottle so don't worry about what it looks like for a Hydrometer reading.

:

 

[wherespete]

yeah ive just ordered some tubing for the tap :thumb:
i need take a hydrometer reading later as its been brewing now for 8 days am i correct in thinking it needs to be below 1.000 for at least 3 days ?

I think you might be getting confused with wine.

Have a look here at the How to use your Hydrometer guide
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3326

You are right in that the 1000 mark is towards the top of the hydrometer and any reading will be below it, but the final gravity for beer will be higher than 1000.

Your Original Gravity for beer should be around 1040-ish, so the hydrometer will be quite high in the wort, ie lots of it showing above the surface.

As your beer ferments, the hydrometer will drop lower into the wort and the reading will start to approach the 1000 line. It will still hover around the 1012, 1010, 1008 mark - or as eggman suggests, 1006.

But the important point is that it is the same reading for three days and that it is somewhere around 1010.

As you will see from the linked How To guide wine has a final gravity of around 995; which is where you MIGHT have got your under 1000 idea from.

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[neddy]

hi. I've got instructions and if bottle it then 1 tea spoon per bottle or 2 1/2 oz if barrel it but does state if u done 32 pints then use 2oz sugar in barrel.
hope this helps