Almost Time To Bottle

[NewBeerBoss]

Hi guys,
My first brew seems to be going well and looks and smells nice (maybe jus a lil hopsy for me but im learnin) anyways point of this is my bag of Cl-80 hops broke and ended up in the primary. I racked to my secondary obviously getting rid of most of the crap. And been told to maybe clean and sanitise my primary again and use it as a bottling bucket. Bulk Prime and rack again for the third time in order to assist clarity of the brew.
This is easy enough but when should i add my Gelatine(finings) before i rack it to my bottling bucket or once its in my bottling bucket?
Also can someone take me thruogh bulk priming and shit. How much sugar to use for bulk priming and do i need to prime again when bottling if so do i use the normal sugar measurer or will it be over carbonated?
Cheers

 

[JasonY]

I generally add some gelatine (1/2 tbsp in some warm water) about 2 - 3 days before I bottle (b4 you rack and bulk prime). Rule of thumb for bulk priming is about 180g of sugar for 23L, there is a calculator on Grumpy's, you can put your final gravity in there if you measure it. There is also a good guide in the brewers guide on the same site.

I also give the brew a gentle stir after it is racked onto the priming solution to make sure it is mixed well.

It's hard to have too much hops

 

[GMK]

NBB,

I dont use finings or gelatine.
Racking to bottling bucket add approx 180gms of sugar for 23ltrs.

When bulk priming - only add teh priming sugar to the bottling bucket.
Then mix in - carefull not to aerate and bottle.

Note:
Can make up my inline bottling/kegging filter to aid in clarifying your beer.
I also dry hop and rack into secondary for 2 weeks.

Hope this helps.

 

[NewBeerBoss]

I must say there is evedintly alot of ways to do things. I dont know who to listen to.
But what im going to do is Bulk Prime with 180g of sugar. Into my bottling bucket( time to bottle in about 5 days too by the way) Stiring Gently. Careful not to Aerate/Splash. Let it sit ni the bucket until the 10 days approx are up and Bottle?
Do i need to Prime when im bottling as well?

If u dont use Gelatine. Whats its for. Only reason i got some was a few people ive talked to use it.

Cheers

 

[GMK]

You should not wait the 5 days.....

Only rack into the bottling bucket prior to bottling.

The idea behind bulk priming is to eliminate adding the sugar to the bottles.
Also, gives a more uniform carbonation accross the bottles - eg stops one bottle from getting more sugar than another.

 

[Trough Lolly]

NBB,

GMK's on the money (yet again!)...Gelatine is not necessary - I've never used a sachet in 8 years and enjoyed clear beer throughout that time.

You might have the sequence a bit confused.

1. When ready, ie the wort has stopped bubbling or the SG is unchanged for 2 days, transfer the brew off the yeast cake and into the secondary fermenter and leave it alone for 10 days to clarify and settle out. You may want to use an inline filter, as GMK suggested, to keep the sediment from going into the secondary fermenter.

2. After the 10 or so days (can be longer if you want), mix 180g of Dextrose with 500ml of pre-boiled water in a sterilised jug and pour that into the bottling bucket. Transfer the brew from the secondary fermenter into the bottling bucket and stir gently to mix through the priming solution with the brew. The brew is now primed to bottle.

I use food grade clear tubing (get it at Bunnings etc) to siphon the wort from one fermenter to another one below it - don't suck on the tube - use gravity and your clean/gloved thumb over the end of the tube to minimise bubbling in the line.

Don't add the priming solution until you are ready to transfer the wort out of the secondary fermenter and into the bottling bucket. If the secondary fermenter is kept in the fridge (ie, Cold Conditioning) and you bottle the brew whilst its still cold, you need to leave the batch for a bit longer to carbonate. My Bavarian Lager has been cold conditioned for three weeks and bottled for a further 2 and is just starting to approach carbonation levels that are normal (to me anyway).

With experience, you can adjust the levels of priming to achieve the desired carbonation levels - don't chuck in shitloads of dextrose or sugar - you'll end up with hand grenades! Use the grumpy's links to help you work out how much priming sugar to use.

Cheers,

TL

 

[Jovial_Monk]

TL is pretty much on the money

but why use 180g sugar and get a very fizzy beer? If your beer is nice you want to taste it

And wheat malt extract will give a bit less fizz, a bit more body, and puts a persistent head on the beer.

If I prime, I use about half a cup of wheatmalt extract. nice low carbonation, nice head on the beer. I often also bottle my all malt (all grain) beers without priming. Conditioning takes a bit longer but does happen. It dries the beer a tiny bit, good esp if the beer finished a bit thick and sweet





10 brewers, 11 opinions









Jovial Monk

 

[Trough Lolly]

Good points there JM.

I prefer a lively pale ale - it's just a personal taste thing.

I will, in future, try malt extract priming instead of dextrose. I used to swear by white table sugar in the bottle, but that made the beer taste like cider compared to dextrose!!

Question: If I have to prime a London Porter (see separate thread in recipes for the Trough Lolly Porter), would LME do the trick - yes, I know, not too much carbonation is needed, but has anyone primed a porter with LME? If so, is there a prefered malt to prime one of these beasts with?

Cheers,

TL