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A small mistake...or two

Started by Ceedee, June 19, 2017, 03:42:02 PM

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Ceedee

Hi all,

I decided to give the Coopers Wheat Beer hack a go - http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/kit-brewing/orange-hefeweizen-(ala-'shocktop')/

All went well until bottling. I was batch priming and my first mistake may have been adding the dissolved sugar to the bottling bucket first and my second mistake was not stirring it. The result was that all but the last few bottles had any priming sugar in them. I realised my mistake when I tasted a bit of the liquid remaining in the bottling bucket and it was ultra-sweet, it was then that the penny dropped and I may have sworn...a bit.

The last few bottles that were filled, swelled to an amazing size, and when I opened them (slowly) and tasted the beer, it was really nice, apart from being way overcarbonated. The others have virtually no fizz at all and are quite clear in the bottles, but with a notable sediment. They've been conditioning for two weeks yesterday.

Now to the question. I'd hate to throw out 34 bottles of good beer if it can be salvaged. This brew was primed at 7g/litre, so if I were to dissolve the required amount of sugar and divide equally amongst the remaining bottles and let them sit, would this work?


johnrm

Yes you could but how do you know which ones are carbed or not?
Also, if repriming, don't hold on to the beers for too long as they may get oxidized.

Ceedee

As I bottled, I put the bottles into a large plastic container and the ones that got the sugar overdose were at one end as the barrel emptied, also, I'm using plastic bottles, so a wee squeeze sorts out the ones needing a bit of extra fizz.

Thanks for the confirmation, I reckon it's worth a try, if it works all well and good, if not then I'm no worse off and I've learned to stir next time  :)

LordEoin

you could pop a carb drop in to each of the non carbed bottles and release some pressure from the over carbed ones  :)

Ceedee

Ohhhh....I'd forgotten about carb drops. Nice easy solution.
Thanks

Shanna

Quote from: Ceedee on June 19, 2017, 03:42:02 PM
Hi all,

I decided to give the Coopers Wheat Beer hack a go - http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/kit-brewing/orange-hefeweizen-(ala-'shocktop')/

All went well until bottling. I was batch priming and my first mistake may have been adding the dissolved sugar to the bottling bucket first and my second mistake was not stirring it. The result was that all but the last few bottles had any priming sugar in them. I realised my mistake when I tasted a bit of the liquid remaining in the bottling bucket and it was ultra-sweet, it was then that the penny dropped and I may have sworn...a bit.

The last few bottles that were filled, swelled to an amazing size, and when I opened them (slowly) and tasted the beer, it was really nice, apart from being way overcarbonated. The others have virtually no fizz at all and are quite clear in the bottles, but with a notable sediment. They've been conditioning for two weeks yesterday.

Now to the question. I'd hate to throw out 34 bottles of good beer if it can be salvaged. This brew was primed at 7g/litre, so if I were to dissolve the required amount of sugar and divide equally amongst the remaining bottles and let them sit, would this work?
Not sure why you consider adding the beer to the batch of sugar as a mistake. This is the normal procedure that I have used successfully for batch priming over 15 different beers without major problems. If your draining the beer in to the sugar using some kind of tube then swirling action of the beer draining from the fermenter should be sufficient to mix the sugar.

Shanna
Cornie keg group buy organiser, storeman & distribution point
Hops Group buy packer
Regulator & Taps distribution point
Stainless Steel Fermenter Group Buy Organiser
South Dublin Brewers member

Ceedee

Sorry, I didn't explain that very well....In previous batches I added the dissolved sugar last and gave the lot a good careful stir, this time the sugary water went in first, it was also quite thick as I probably didn't use enough water to dissolve it, then when I siphoned the beer in (slowly, to avoid oxidation) the two liquids didn't mix well.

I've used batch priming from my first brew and haven't had an issue until now, the dense sugar syrup must have just remained in the bottom of the bottling bucket.

Amazing that a little change in routine can do  :)

johnrm

Shanna is right.
I assumed sugar was added last.
Add enough water so syrup is watery, not a thick syrup. You to 200ml is fine, this is going to be dispersed in 23l.
Add syrup to bottling bucket first.
(If you have co2, purge bottling bucket at this stage)
Fill bottling bucket with beer.
Minimise splashing first, then allow liquid to fill either clockwise or anticlockwise - this will mix the sugar.
You should not have to stir - vigorous stirring at this point will oxidize your beer.