Re-priming a whole batch....

[timw]

So in addition to brewing a batch today that I couldn't get out of the boiler and into the fermenter (see my other question in a thread about hop-strainer arrangements in boilers), i've also tried to rescue a whole brew which i'd made a couple of months ago and which I found today had zero condition....

I made a brew back in September, only to realise that I'd not got any bottles. So i dug out a pressure barrel, Vaselined up what was a brand new lid, batch-primed the lot and stuck it in the fermenting fridge to condition.

What with one thing and another, i only came back to it this weekend! :whistle: only to find that it was as flat as a pancake. It still had just enough pressure in the barrel to gush out, but was totally flat in the glass and most importantly on the tongue.

Amazingly, it tasted alright - no mould, no off or vinegar taste - just lifeless.

So, i've racked it into four demijohns, having giving it a bit of stir to get a bit of the deposited yeast into suspension, with 3.5 teaspoons of white sugar made into a solution with a bit of boiling water in each of them.

It's all bunged up and back in the house now warming up. Only did it yesterday, so not really any sign of activity, but I'm hoping it will re-prime.....


Thoughts?

I'm on a real roll with my brewing at the moment!!

 

[Clint]

Racked into 4 demijons and re primed....unless you are planning to drink a demijon at a time the second you open one again it will degass....Bottle priming relies on the yeast producing the required amount of CO2 from the priming sugar and carbonating the beer within the bottle as it can't escape. ..

 

[Slid]

Demi-johns won't hold pressure, so I am not sure as to the plan here?

 

[timw]

an eight pint session beer....?🤔 yeah, the demijohns were the best i could do at the time. i brew at my parent's house and am only there on occasion, so it was do something with it now or likely see it going off.....as not back til Christmas.

I guess I'm hoping it's carbed up in three weeks when we'll have a people over for drinks around Christmas and New year, and suspect 7ish pints will get drunk in one go by a few people.

as for pressure, fortunately they're in the boiler shed so in case of disaster it's not the living room carpet that needs a hose down!! that said, I've used the odd demijohn to bottle in before when I know I've got a party or something coming up and I've never had one break and still carbed to the same levels as I've put in bottles.

I wonder what they're really capable of? I doubt they're tested to a set standard, but be interesting to know. 3.5teaspoons of sugar in each....seemed like a reasonably low carbonation amount,

I guess I'll let you know in a week or two! Hopefully it'll be drinkable and not drain-cleaner!

 

[Drunkula]

You could put it all in 2 litre pop bottles. You could get them for 17p a go and tip the pop away if you haven't got any. You could squeeze the air out before you screw the top down, too.

 

[Leon103]

I would have also been worried of adding oxygen post fermentation

 

[terrym]

From what you said your PB had a leak and you lost all the CO2 formed during carbing of your priming sugar which has now been used up.
If you are going to continue to use your PB I suggest you read this
Basic beginners guide to brewing your own beer from a kit - The HomeBrew Forum
As for your current flat beer you need to transfer it back into pressure holding containers bottles, PB or minikegs etc, and reprime. Since the beer has stood for some time and is likely to be fully clear, there may not be enough yeast in there to carb up so you need to think about that.

 

[yeastinfection]

If they do carb up.wont they just blow the bungs out of the Dj

 

[timw]

I guess if I manage to salvage any of this brew I'll be pleased.... it's the problem with not brewing at home.... I had no time to find an alternative. the bungs are held in with string, so shouldn't be able to pop out. which comes back to the question - SHE'S GONNA BLOW!

I may be passing through there again at the weekend so will see if there's much sign of life.

im giving up with the pressure barrel. ive used it three times and its always leaked despite no obvious leak, testing with Oxy crystals etc etc. i had bought a new lid for it thinking that may crack it. the risk of losing a whole brew isnt worth the convenience of not having to bottle....

so this comes back to what is the best is alternative for when you want to bottle up in slightly larger volumes than pints.... PET drinks bottles are probably the way to go, if demijohns are not pressure rated..... does the fact that they're clear mean the beer needs to be kept somewhere dark?

 

[Drunkula]

PET drinks bottles are probably the way to go, if demijohns are not pressure rated..... does the fact that they're clear mean the beer needs to be kept somewhere dark?

Yep. Pepe Le Pew comes to visit any beers with hops in left in ultraviolet.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZuHmglowJA[/ame]