Priming by Shot pourer - carb drop alternative

[Yuz]

Hey Brewers,

I've been using Carb drops but I'm thinking there should be a far cheaper & cleaner way to Bottle Condition.
Using a shot pourer (say the typical 30ml) - have a 1L bottle of dissolved Dex (concentration depending on Co2 levels desired) and "shot" each bottle prior to filling.

Let's say 30ml shot x 30 of 750ml bottles = 900ml of 150g Dex solution (boiled & in a sanitised bottle). This way it'd be heaps cheaper, you're not handling the drops, and can dial in according to Carb levels or bottle sizing.
Pourer sizes can be obtained in smaller dispensing volumes, like 10 or 20ml, the Dex amount can be adjusted accordingly.

What do you think / have you tried this method?
PS - I don't want to bulk prime and / or have a secondary (filling) bucket as I bottle straight from the Fermenter.

Cheers!

 

[homebrewnewb]

Biribie G says use those CSR sugar cubes my son, and so it was.

 

[n87]

I would be worried that the tipping back and fourth of the priming bottle would oxygenate the dex solution, introducing way too much O2 into your packaged beer

 

[Rocker1986]

Never done it that way. Bulk priming was my preferred method, always found it less faffing than individually dosing bottles. But I used stubbies.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Sounds like a good idea: the small volume pourer (10ml) would be about right: I prime with 50 brix glucose syrup and generally use about 8 g of syrup / 500 ml bottle, that's about 6 ml. It would be fairly trivial to dilute the syrup to make it 10 ml.

I would be worried that the tipping back and fourth of the priming bottle would oxygenate the dex solution, introducing way too much O2 into your packaged beer

Remember you are priming for yeast: they will chew up the oxygen in minutes.

 

[n87]

Remember you are priming for yeast: they will chew up the oxygen in minutes.

I am under the impression that the yeast doesnt actually eat up that much given they wouldnt go though much of a growth phase, which means that they wont go through much O2 at all. there is plenty more O2 being introduced by the blue bottler that most people use in addition... not to mention everything that is in the headspace.

 

[MitchD]

You can get a little 2-3 sided priming scoop from all lhbs. Just scoop the required amount of sugar for your bottle size and your done. Don't waste your time spraying with starsan it just makes a mess.

 

[Yuz]

I'll grab the smallest pourer I can find and will bottle this way. I just don't like the drops - touch them (infection

You can get a little 2-3 sided priming scoop from all lhbs. Just scoop the required amount of sugar for your bottle size and your done. Don't waste your time spraying with starsan it just makes a mess.

I have a dedicated measuring scoop and a mini funnel. But since I bottle in the garage (not the most sterile place) I would like to avoid exposed sugar as much as possible... Hence this idea. Bulk priming isn't exactly an option for a number of reasons either...
Perhaps it's just my subconscious attempt to justify kegging

 

[MitchD]

I'll grab the smallest pourer I can find and will bottle this way. I just don't like the drops - touch them (infection

I have a dedicated measuring scoop and a mini funnel. But since I bottle in the garage (not the most sterile place) I would like to avoid exposed sugar as much as possible... Hence this idea. Bulk priming isn't exactly an option for a number of reasons either...
Perhaps it's just my subconscious attempt to justify kegging

You'll be fine, the finished ph of beer is hostile to wild yeast and the presence of alcohol and low levels of remaining sugar also helps keep unwanted yeasts from infecting your finished beer. I do all my beer making in the garage, right next to my grain buckets, never had a problem sterility is a myth anyway.

 

[wynnum1]

If you have digital scales can put a small lid on and zero and put an exact amount of sugar or dextrose very accurate measuring scoop can help to speed up to test your scales for accuracy use coins a $2 is 6.6 grams just make sure that all the sugar goes into the bottle and none gets stuck in funnel and no double fills.

 

[mtb]

If you have digital scales can put a small lid on and zero and put an exact amount of sugar or dextrose very accurate measuring scoop can help to speed up to test your scales for accuracy use coins a $2 is 6.6 grams just make sure that all the sugar goes into the bottle and none gets stuck in funnel and no double fills.

But that's more effort than carb drops - is the extra effort for every bottle really worth the few cents savings?

 

[wynnum1]

You can put an exact amount of sugar or dextrose in the bottle and its cheaper .

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

I am under the impression that the yeast doesnt actually eat up that much given they wouldnt go though much of a growth phase, which means that they wont go through much O2 at all.

As stated, the yeast will take up all the oxygen in a matter of minutes. They are growing when bottle conditioning but even if they weren't, they will preferentially uptake oxygen given the chance as it improves their carbohydrate conversion efficiency by a factor of about 18.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

You'll be fine, the finished ph of beer is hostile to wild yeast and the presence of alcohol and low levels of remaining sugar also helps keep unwanted yeasts from infecting your finished beer. I do all my beer making in the garage, right next to my grain buckets, never had a problem sterility is a myth anyway.

You have been very lucky.

The information in your post is plain wrong, there are many, many wild yeasts that will happily live in finished beer, not to mention lactics and other bacteria.

A few panels judging will show you just how prevalent infections are in home brewing: fully 30% of the beers I judged at Vic brew last year had evidence of infection.

 

[MitchD]

You have been very lucky.

The information in your post is plain wrong, there are many, many wild yeasts that will happily live in finished beer, not to mention lactics and other bacteria.

A few panels judging will show you just how prevalent infections are in home brewing: fully 30% of the beers I judged at Vic brew last year had evidence of infection.

Mine don't go into Vic comps but the 5 I put into the act's took 3 silver 109, 117 & 107.5. The others were 88.5 & 85. No mention of infection.

Yes wild yeast can live in beer but the chances of transition into finished beer while packaging is very low. If it wasn't whole home brew industry would have died in the 70's when people figured out that their beers were always going to taste off from infection.

 

[mtb]

If it wasn't whole home brew industry would have died in the 70's

It didn't die, it just inherited a terrible reputation of tasting like piss due to ol' Uncle Terry fermenting a cheap kit in his garage without temp control and poor sanitisation

 

[MitchD]

It didn't die, it just inherited a terrible reputation of tasting like piss due to ol' Uncle Terry fermenting a cheap kit in his garage without temp control and poor sanitisation

Still has that reputation. It's socially acceptable to bring a cake to a party, but bring some homebrew and it's like you are forcing a science project on the other guests. Sometimes I should bring some score sheets with me.

 

[Yuz]

I just wanted to know if anyone's primed this way I'll give it a go, here's my reasoning:

- Cost wise: $3 to $4.50 for carb drops per batch vs $4 for a kilo of Dex;
- Cleanliness: Drops are supplied in a non air-tight packet and sit on the shelf for an unknown period. I don't think I've seen an expiry date on these things either. Depends how they're stored too. Further, each drop is handled (bare and wet fingers typically) during the application.
- Drops are good for either stubbies or longecks - the amount is per-determined. What if I plan an Euro Ale and want to bottle 500ml bottles?

I may be over thinking this but bottling is tedious and I wanted to simplify it
If I stuff this up I'll have a long inner disputation with own self to plan for kegging

 

[dblunn]

How viscous is the solution and how does the shot pourer handle it?

 

[MHB]

Not exactly the same, but have used a repeating syringe, the type used for giving hundreds of sheep a jab in one afternoon.
It was 0-5mL adjustable (just turn the screw), attached to a repurposed wine bladder so zero O2 uptake and no exposure to airborne bacteria, well not until you press the plunger...
Worked just fine, same as I think the nip pourer will.
Just work your dose of sugar, dextrose, dme... i.e. if you were doing 30 bottles with 4g/bottle, weigh accurately enough for say 35 bottles (35*4)=140g
if your dispense was 15mL, (35*15mL)=525mL, that needs to be the volume of the sugar and the water (not how much water you add to the sugar).
Go for it, I would "waste" a shott or two just to get any bubbles out of the system, then hook in.
Mark