Batch Priming

[bevdawg]

So I've just boiled 100gm of white cane sugar and it's chilling in the fridge. I'm going to use this to batch prime an AIPA which I want to bottle today.

Got a few questions. Can I just add this to the secondary fermenter which I'm going to bottle from? Pour in (once chilled to 20c) give it a shake, let sit for a bit then bottle?

I used BeerSmith to calculate what I needed, boiled 100gm white sugar in 450ml water. Sound correct?

 

[Sammus]

that will stir up crazy amounts of yeast I reckon, best to rack onto the sugar methinks. Even pouring into a new fermenter and racking on top of it normally doesn't disperse it thoroughly enough, I stir the bugger up and let it sit for 30 mins before bottling. Any less than that and I get half bombs and half flat. priming scoop and a bag of sugar is way better if all your bottles are the same size.

Calc seems pretty good, assuming your batch size is normal (20L or so)

 

[bevdawg]

Batch is 18ltr ish... I have a bunch of diff bottles so figured this would be an easier way.

So another rack? Bugger!

 

[Sammus]

Batch is 18ltr ish... I have a bunch of diff bottles so figured this would be an easier way.

So another rack? Bugger!

That's just one mans opinion A recent one at that too, I used to swear by bulk priming, and still do for odd bottle sizes. I've read a lot of people have success by pouring it into your current fermenter and giving it a gentle stir, then wait 20mins or whatever for it to disperse. Stir too crazily and youll have oxidation problems, and will rouse up all the trub at the bottom, neither of which will help your beer be tasty

 

[going down a hill]

I start my bulk prime with the brew going into the secondary, get a whirlpool action going then putting the liquid sugar in, I don’t mix it and it so far has come out consistent with each stubby. I use 8g a litre with mine and it is a good carbonation for me, not too much carbonation, much like a beer from the bottle-o.

 

[felten]

Aside from stirring up the trub that's more water than you need to dissolve that amount of sugar; if you follow the bulk priming article on AHB it says 1.5ml per gram which is a good place to start. Also you can add the sugar mixture while it's hot, normally I add mine after boiling to a cube, then rack chilled beer on top of it.

 

[bevdawg]

OK I racked let sit for 30 min and bottled. The water prob boiled down to about 250-300ml, so not too much. The recipe said 450ml, so based it on that. Seems to have worked well, and with a triple racked beer it should come out clean!

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

OK I racked let sit for 30 min and bottled. The water prob boiled down to about 250-300ml, so not too much. The recipe said 450ml, so based it on that. Seems to have worked well, and with a triple racked beer it should come out clean!

Let us know if you get an infection.

Not trying to bag anyone, but if you can manage a triple rack beer without infection (which is what I've read others imply is a fait accompli), then I'd be happy to know, as I'd love to re-rack a beer I have to get it clearer (just an APA, but one that will likely get given out to others, not just my personal consumption.

Thanks

Goomba

 

[bevdawg]

I figure its not getting much more exposure than when I normally bottle. I sanitsed a fermenter, racked with top covered with cling wrap, let sit, then bottled as normal. Not a great deal of exposure but I guess it's always a risk. Lucky its at 5.2%alc, that would help keep away some infection?

When people generally bulk prime then, they must either rack again, or just pour into the existing fermenter?

 

[smilinggilroy]

Let us know if you get an infection.

Not trying to bag anyone, but if you can manage a triple rack beer without infection (which is what I've read others imply is a fait accompli), then I'd be happy to know, as I'd love to re-rack a beer I have to get it clearer (just an APA, but one that will likely get given out to others, not just my personal consumption.

Thanks

Goomba

Hi Goomba,
Not sure if this is what you meant but I ferment in primary, rack to secondary and then rack/transfer to 3rd vessel when bulk priming on bottling day and have not had any issues with infections at all.
Cheers.

 

[bevdawg]

Hi Goomba,
Not sure if this is what you meant but I ferment in primary, rack to secondary and then rack/transfer to 3rd vessel when bulk priming on bottling day and have not had any issues with infections at all.
Cheers.

Good to know! Hope I'm not going to have any issues, this is my best AG to date (so far). Touches wood...

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Hi Goomba,
Not sure if this is what you meant but I ferment in primary, rack to secondary and then rack/transfer to 3rd vessel when bulk priming on bottling day and have not had any issues with infections at all.
Cheers.

Thanks for that Roy,

I've read some other threads in which others say that repeat racking exposes the wort to possible infection (well, beer once at bottling stage) or oxidisation (all other things being equal such as proper fermentation).

I've taken that on board as a level of fact, as it makes sense, but this thread gave me the opportunity to see if there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that in fact, it isn't a risk (well at least a risk so low, it's worth taking).

Thanks again,

Goomba

 

[smilinggilroy]

Everything is clean, clean and sanitised.
Rack with a hose (tap to tap).
NO splashing! I even tip the receiving vessel to minimise/eliminate any splashing from the tap until it is submerged.

 

[hazard]

Let us know if you get an infection.

Not trying to bag anyone, but if you can manage a triple rack beer without infection (which is what I've read others imply is a fait accompli), then I'd be happy to know, as I'd love to re-rack a beer I have to get it clearer (just an APA, but one that will likely get given out to others, not just my personal consumption.

Thanks

Goomba

As a matter of course I always rack from Primary to secondary before cold conditioning, then rack into another fermenter for bulk priming. Not had an infection yet AFAIK. In used to use a racking cane and used the suck technique to get the flow going, even though I never infected anything it always made me pretty nervous, these days I just plug the hose onto the tap, so more of a drain than a rack, and less chance of infection. I let the other end of the hose lose in the bottling bucket to encourage a whirlpool and effective mixing of th priiming sugar.

I always harvest yeast from the primary, and I've got about 10 bottles of different varieties in my fridge. I did have to throw 2 bottles out because of mould growing in them, but I think that was more due to bottles not being completly sterile. I'm more careful now and haven't had any issues for a while.

 

[HeavyNova]

that will stir up crazy amounts of yeast I reckon, best to rack onto the sugar methinks. Even pouring into a new fermenter and racking on top of it normally doesn't disperse it thoroughly enough, I stir the bugger up and let it sit for 30 mins before bottling. Any less than that and I get half bombs and half flat. priming scoop and a bag of sugar is way better if all your bottles are the same size.

I recently discovered that a decent whirlpool on top of the sugar solution isn't quite enough to mix the sugar evenly throughout the beer. I bottled a half batch a little over a week ago and with 70g of sugar the last 2 bottles that i did (they were 500ml LCPA pint bottles) exploded over the weekend. so there was obviously too much sugar sitting in the bottom of the bottling vessel.

I let it sit for about 20 mins after the rack too. So next time I'm going to give it a very gentle stir after I finish racking.

Pissed off because I liked those pint bottles!

 

[mwd]

Got to say I whirpool on to the sugar solution in the bottling bucket but never trusted it to be evenely distributed so give the whole lot a gentle stir before bottling. So far so good.