Bulk Priming in My Urn

[Econwatson]

Hi guys!

Would a Crown 40L urn be a suitable vessel to bulk prime in? I'm gonna attempt my first bulk priming later on in the week and don't have another container big enough!

Will be using 95g of brown sugar for a 23L batch.

Thanks.

 

[bum]

Do you think you can sanitise it properly?

I don't.

 

[goomboogo]

I would bottle prime.

 

[philmud]

A 20L water container from Bunnings would be a better option. Assuming some of your 23L is trub/yeast cake it will be big enough & you'll use it again if you continue to bulk prime, so it's an inexpensive solution. Plus, you'll have a spare fermenter.

 

[Bribie G]

Problem with urns is that there are nooks and crannies such as the sight tube and the tap assembly that don't get a proper boil and things can lurk. This is no problem as you are running off boiling liquid into your cube or chiller so that wort looks after itself. However I wouldn't use it for what you propose. The very first chuck-out infection I ever had was from no-chilling overnight in a Birko urn. I eventually pulled the tap assembly apart and there was a mouldy rotten bit of hop material trapped in it.

I pulled the tap apart several times after that, ended up stripping a thread and had to buy a new assembly for $45.

I'd go the Bunnings cube, sub $20 and a tap for $2.

Another way of priming "awkward" sugars is to make up a fairly strong solution, fire up your calculator and inject the correct amount into each bottle using a $3 syringe from the chemist. Often referred to as "virtual bulk priming" and only costs you a few bucks.

 

[slash22000]

****. I might want to pull my Birko tap open and have a look then ... Except apparently that will destroy it ... :unsure:

 

[Bribie G]

You'll be allright if you take extreme care and use keg lube or vaseline in the thread.

Birko taps have a cast metal bottom section and a plastic upper assembly, with the tap handle, plunger and sealing rubber, that screws into the top of it.

The upper section used to have a metal thread sunk into it to engage with the metal thread of the bottom section.

Then they cheapened it and it's now just a plastic thread in the upper section that screws over the metal thread of the bottom section, so if you cross thread it like I did, the upper thread just gets stripped.

The Crown Urn, I'm told, has more of a "straight through" passage that doesn't trap material, and I've never taken it apart. Ma'shallah.

I did my old Birko after about 20 brews, it's likely you won't have any problems.

 

[Econwatson]

Thanks guys! I hadn't thought about using my cube, which has a tap attachment on it!

Stirring in the mixture might be a bit of an issue since it only has a small opening. Once I've drained my beer into it and got rid of the trub will I be alright to give the cube a bit of a shake to mix my priming sugars through it?

 

[bum]

Are you aware of the possibility of oxidising your beer if you do that?

Lots of people think it doesn't happen and will tell you your idea is fine.

 

[simplefisherman]

Dissolve priming sugar first then rack into cube? The swirling will mix the sugars thru wort...
Use a long enough hose to reach the bottom of cube and minimise splashing to reduce oxidising

 

[bum]

Not necessarily evenly. If you're not mixing through evenly then there isn't much point doing it. Priming bottles would actually be more consistent.

 

[Bribie G]

IMHO The only advantages of bulk priming are when filling bottles of different sizes out of one batch, or using "awkward" priming materials such as LDME, dex, or brown sugar as the OP is doing.

As bum says the downside is oxidation, not to mention possible infection and having yet another container to wash up. I used to be a dedicated racker but nowadays, apart from occasional dry hops, the FV doesn't get opened until kegging day.

If this brown sugar batch is a one-off I'd suggest getting a syringe as posted earlier.

 

[BobtheBrewer]

The Crown Urn, I'm told, has more of a "straight through" passage that doesn't trap material, and I've never taken it apart. Ma'shallah.


A bit OT, but I've done 142 brews in my Crown Urn and have never taken the tap apart. Have thought about it a few times but can't see how it to do it. I always backwash the tap, before and after using PBW.

 

[Bribie G]

Leave well alone

 

[Econwatson]

Well perhaps it isn't necessary to bulk prime. I'm putting a stout into bottles and I'd imagine the carbonation would be uncharacteristic of a stout from carb drops, but I could be wrong. Has anybody used carb drops on a stout before? How was it?

 

[mrTbeer]

Using bottles instead of kegging for a change and decided to try bulk priming.
I ferment at a high gravity so I chose to dilute slightly at the same time.

I boiled kettle of water and added water and dex into a jug.
I then poured 100mL of sugarwater into each 568mL bottle using a funnel.
Bottles then filled from fermenter and capped.

A bit of calculating to get sugar and dilution factors right but pretty simple.
Will probably buy another fermenter soon and use old fermenter for bulk priming.