Priming

[Scobieb]

Hi guys,

What are your thoughts on bulk priming but in a single fermenting vessel. I've tried it a couple of times, when I was brewing in 5l carbuoys but now I've stepped up to 15l I'm reconsidering it.

I don't tend to stir the beer once I've added the priming solution, tend to shake it about instead.

I then would leave the vessel for an hour to let the sediment settle again before bottling.

 

[cremmerson]

I swear by it.

I'm now on my fifth (all about 20l+) and it works an absolute treat.

IanH's spreadsheet works beautifully in calculating amounts. I use white sugar, measured per the spreadsheet then boiled for about two minutes in 1.5 cups of water to invert the sugar.

Let it cool, gently put into FV and stir - relatively gently but thoroughly. Leave it for half an hour and ready to go.

Much cheaper, better results.

 

[Scobieb]

Thanks that my experience too. I know a lot of advice is to put the sugar in a second fermenter and siphon the beer in the first one into the second.

 

[rehab]

I hate bulk priming after my last few efforts. Too much variation. I am going back to adding to each bottle instead so I get closer to the mark. I am sure BP is fine for others but sharing my experiences here. I can see why people go to keg and force carb I just don't have the option right now or I would!

 

[Scobieb]

What's been your experience with bulk priming?

 

[mash head]

I have found too much variation also, some bottles are gushers or worse while others are nearly flat. I may have had some individual bottle infections also but I have switched to using the sugar solution and dosing it equally into each bottle for far more consistant results. I use an auto dosing syringe type arrangement designed for animal health products, I am happy with the results.

 

[citizensnips]

May work fine but if your using finings like gelatin you can't. The whole point is to let it settle over 48hours or whatever people choose so stirring wouldn't achieve too much. But if it works for you then keep doing it. For the record I just rack to secondary on top of the priming solution then just bottle, works perfectly for me,

 

[Alex.Tas]

im with citizensnips in method. I haven't tried your method though as i would assume the yeast would bet too stirred up. I guess it wouldn't matter if you didnt mind 5% more sediment in your bottle... I dont see how this would get you a more consistant result than racking it to a secondary fermenter. You can pick one up for 35 bucks. or just get yourself a food grade bucket (10 bucks) and drill in a tap for 3 bucks. that way you can put the tap right at the bottom of the bucket to make bottling easier.

 

[Camo6]

I have found too much variation also, some bottles are gushers or worse while others are nearly flat. I may have had some individual bottle infections also but I have switched to using the sugar solution and dosing it equally into each bottle for far more consistant results. I use an auto dosing syringe type arrangement designed for animal health products, I am happy with the results.

Do you find you need to hold each bottle in the crush or can you just put them in a yard and move from bottle to bottle? I imagine stubbies would be manageable but longnecks would get the headbale?
Jokes aside that's a top idea using a drench gun or vaccinator. Just make sure you rinse out the "five in one."
I individually carb my bottles as I usually only have a half dozen to do after kegging. Used carb drops for ages but started to taste a candy sweetness in the beer that I didn't like.

Edit : Sorry not much to do with op's question.

 

[mash head]

Camo I bought a brand new one. :kooi:

 

[Camo6]

Then you're not protected against black leg fever! Top idea mate. Might see if my old mans got an unused one floating around.

 

[yum beer]

Am I the only one thats thinking lots of oxidation in OP's method.
Shakingthe brew is not a good idea. Oxygen is the last thing you want in a fermented beer....well one of the last things.

I rack onto sugar solution and stir gently every 8-10 beers to keep it all mixed nicely.
I do like the idea of the drench gun, but Im getting good results so need to change.

 

[damoninja]

I'm still using a single FV without anything large/safe enough to rack to for bulk priming.

I'm steering away from bulk priming in primary FV so I don't stir up much of the sediment and get crap in my bottles.

I was considering making a solution and dividing the amount per bottle since liquid is an easier volume to divide in precise quantities than powders (especially when DME starts to clump up and stick to the scoop / funnel). Using a sterile 5-10mL syringe it can be measured quite accurately.

What is the likelihood of the solution being evenly distributed? I would have thought this to be a fairly accurate method?

Example
150g of DME
Final volume of 115mL water

5mL per bottle over 23 bottles

Alternatively I was thinking of getting myself a set of precision scales

 

[Alex.Tas]

if you are gonna buy some precision scales, why dont you just get a new fermenter?

 

[damoninja]

if you are gonna buy some precision scales, why dont you just get a new fermenter?

Set of decent enough precision scales is less than ten bucks, only needs to have 0.1g resolution not something silly like 0.001g. I've got a set now but it resolves accurately to about 2g, it goes up to 10kg...

I'll use them for other stuff... Eg I bake a lot of my own breads etc, for some recipes it's good to have a precise measure of yeast / sugar. Call me fussy

Plus I live in a townhouse so real estate is rather valuable.


What do you reckon about the solution / syringe idea?

 

[mrTbeer]

I did it that way for a while and then splashed out $20 on a second fermenter with tap, much easier in my opinion. (also in an apartment)

 

[carniebrew]

May work fine but if your using finings like gelatin you can't. The whole point is to let it settle over 48hours or whatever people choose so stirring wouldn't achieve too much. But if it works for you then keep doing it. For the record I just rack to secondary on top of the priming solution then just bottle, works perfectly for me,

I'm with him ^^
I pour a boiled sugar solution into a 'bottling bucket' (just a 2nd FV for me), then rack my beer from the tap of my primary, through some silicon hose that's been starsan'd inside and out, running into the bottling bucket, with the end of the hose lying sideways on the bottom (to get a bit of a whirlpool going, and no splashing). Once the racking is complete I don't stir at all, just start bottling asap. The last 3 bottles I fill get marked with a dot on the lid as they generally carb up more quickly and aggressively, whereas the first 18 or so litres all come out exactly the same (never any under-carbed beers, all very consistent). The beers with dots get consumed first, they're generally carbed up within 4 or 5 days, so serve well as those cheeky little testers we like to sneak while the beer is bottle conditioning. The rest usually take 10-14 days to carb up (this is for a standard APA style).

The only time I tried bulk priming into my primary FV and stirring, I disturbed the trub far too much, and all my bottles had two or three times as much sediment settle to the bottom as I would normally get, so now I always rack to bulk prime.

 

[barls]

I'm with him ^^
I pour a boiled sugar solution into a 'bottling bucket' (just a 2nd FV for me), then rack my beer from the tap of my primary, through some silicon hose that's been starsan'd inside and out, running into the bottling bucket, with the end of the hose lying sideways on the bottom (to get a bit of a whirlpool going, and no splashing). Once the racking is complete I don't stir at all, just start bottling asap. The last 3 bottles I fill get marked with a dot on the lid as they generally carb up more quickly and aggressively, whereas the first 18 or so litres all come out exactly the same (never any under-carbed beers, all very consistent). The beers with dots get consumed first, they're generally carbed up within 4 or 5 days, so serve well as those cheeky little testers we like to sneak while the beer is bottle conditioning. The rest usually take 10-14 days to carb up (this is for a standard APA style).

The only time I tried bulk priming into my primary FV and stirring, I disturbed the trub far too much, and all my bottles had two or three times as much sediment settle to the bottom as I would normally get, so now I always rack to bulk prime.

i do the same but occasionally add a gelatine to it to help the remainder settle and produce ultra clear beer not that i bottle much generally do this in to the keg.

 

[Alex.Tas]

I pour a boiled sugar solution into a 'bottling bucket' (just a 2nd FV for me), then rack my beer from the tap of my primary, through some silicon hose that's been starsan'd inside and out, running into the bottling bucket, with the end of the hose lying sideways on the bottom (to get a bit of a whirlpool going, and no splashing). Once the racking is complete I don't stir at all, just start bottling asap.

I follow this pretty much exactly. Works well for me. I get a good even carbonation rate in all my bottles.