Priming problems

[Littletinca]

Ive made 3 brews from kits, and so far everything has been just fine.

Today I bottled my 4th kit. A Coopers Dark Stout from a can. Fermentation was faster and more vigorous than the previous 3, and was over within 5 days. I left it for a day, then racked the stout into a second fv 3 days ago. Today I bottled it.

After the bottles were filled, I started to add a rounded spoonful of Wilco brand brewing sugar to each bottle, but immediately on adding the sugar to the bottlle, the stout frothed up and spilled out of the bottle.

I tried canesugar and the same thing happened.

I ended up tipping a glug out of each bottle into a sterilsed jug, putting the spoon of sugar in this, mixing it round, then very slowly adding it back to the bottle.

Consequently, the whole bottling process was a long, messy drawn out faff. My previous 3 brews have bottled fine, and have not fizzed up when ive added the sugar.

Ive tasted the unprimed stout and its not fizzy at all. It only fizzed up when the sugar was added.

Just to be safe, ive put all 40 pints in the shed in case they explode.

Can anyone offer any ideas as to why the stout might have fizzed up so much, and what I can do to prevent it happening in the future. Im fairly sure initial fermentation was over as the SG was the same as when I racked it.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Leon103]

Add any sugar to any brew and it will react.

You are best batch priming. Adding the total amount of sugar in a bucket with the wort.

I would also let your brew ferment for longer.

 

[Bigcol49]

Add any sugar to any brew and it will react.
You are best batch priming. Adding the total amount of sugar in a bucket with the wort.
I would also let your brew ferment for longer.

Hi!
+1.
I allow 2 weeks for fermentation, followed by at least a week cold conditioning before bottling.
Once the initial powerful fermentation is over, nothing seems to be happening, but the yeast continues to chew away at any sugars still present in the wort and also cleans up the brew ready for the next stage.
I also think that batch priming is better - my only FV with a tap is my bottling bucket.
Colin

 

[Godsdog]

Priming sugar first all the time in bottles unless you batch prime

 

[terrym]

Basically you have bottled too early. If you leave your beer in the FV a few days longer than when the primary fermentation finishes, the extra time allows the beer to slowly give up more of its its dissolved CO2. So when you add priming sugar there is less CO2 to bring out of solution. When I started to brew again I used to bottle straight after the primary had finished and always had a few gushers like you. Now I leave a brew about 14 days before it gets to go into bottles or a PB and I never have any gushers, and this also has the added benefit of allowing the yeast to improve the beer before it goes into bottles.
If you want to see what happens when CO2 is explosively driven out of solution by addition of sugar look up the Pepsi/Minto 'experiment' on Youtube.
Finally it is always a good idea to take gravity readings before you bottle. The readings should be the same on two or more consecutive days to confirm that the primary has finished and it is safe to bottle.

 

[Littletinca]

Thanks for all the advice folks. Very helpful

Am I now looking at ( potentially) 40 bottle bombs ? Should I leave it all out in the shed just to be sfe ?

 

[Godsdog]

Thanks for all the advice folks. Very helpful

Am I now looking at ( potentially) 40 bottle bombs ? Should I leave it all out in the shed just to be sfe ?

Without a final hydrometer reading its difficult to say you have bottled too early,was the wort pretty inactive of bubbles and starting to clear? If so no you haven't,as I said in my earlier post sugar in the bottle first as adding sugar to a near full bottle of beer will make it foam,done it myself

 

[cornyandy]

Okay so semi technical bit dissolved co2 can only come out of a solution if it has a nucleation point by adding sugar to the bottle after filling you are sticking thousands of nucleation points into the beer and whoosh up she goes. Doing it the other way round (sticking the sugar in first) the nucleation points are rounded off by the first runnings into the bottle and unless you have bottled very early no whoosh Simples.

 

[LarryF]

You could try leaving them for three or four days and if the bottles a feel very hard then just loosen the lid on each bottle to relieve the pressure and then tighten it up again and repeat if necessary. This is presuming that they're plastic bottles though. Relieving the pressure in the bottles will be the only way of stopping them blowing and whilst the price may be that your stout isn't a cabonated as you'd ideally want it, it's better than mopping up the whole brew and having to buy new bottles. There's a general rule, 2 weeks fermenting and then bottle (1/2 -1 tsp sugar in the bottle first), 2 weeks in the warm (in your house), 2 weeks in the cold (shed) and then 2weeks left. After this you'll have a very drinkable beer, after 3 months you'll have a stunning beer that will just be running out as it gets to its peak.

 

[GHW]

If you prime the bottles then put sugar in first then fill. You shouldn't have any issues of the beer is fully fermented out.

 

[Tony1951]

Batch priming is much better and easier. The cost a bottling bucket and a tap or a spare cheapo plastic barrel is certainly worth spending to get the convenience of mixing the correct amount of sugar per litre to get the carbonation style you want.

 

[Littletinca]

Final SG was 1.008. The final wort was still, the krausen had completely droped and it was clear. Its a dark stout, so, obviously, very dark, but looked clear.

I calculated the alcohol at 4.2%

 

[Littletinca]

Ok, thanks. The beer is in crown capped glass bottles. Ill give it a few more days in the shed then Ill bring a case indors.

 

[Slid]

Final SG was 1.008. The final wort was still, the krausen had completely droped and it was clear. Its a dark stout, so, obviously, very dark, but looked clear.

I calculated the alcohol at 4.2%

No bottle bombs, then, at least.

All the advice above is sound, but a dark stout is pretty near "bomb proof" and will be a nice drink in only a few weeks time.