Priming Sugar, Bottling and other newbie questions

[seino]

Hey guys,

I've been told to go ahead and ask any basic questions, so here's a couple more.

I've just finished pitching my first brew, a full extract IPA using a kit bought online from HBC.

Having watched a lot of brewing vids, the majority of them seem to add priming sugar at the bottling phase to encourage carbonation. None of the recipe packs from HBC seem include any priming sugar and they don't seem to sell it on their site. The recipe I used calls for 2 weeks fermentation then straight to bottling.

Is priming sugar essential or is it just that the amount of extract malt used in the recipe is enough for carbonation without priming sugar?

Also, how long after bottling is an ale usually ready to drink?

Thanks in advance!

-S

[irish_goat]

You definitely need a little priming sugar. There will be some residual CO2 in the beer before you bottle but not enough to carbonate the beer properly. What you are essentially doing when you add priming sugar is you are restarting fermentation, were the yeast consume the the sugar and churn out some CO2 again. In this case, since you have the beer in bottles, the gas can't escape so ends up carbonating the beer.

Normal household sugar will work if you have nothing else but dextrose is said to be more ideal. http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/brewing-wine-making-sugar-1kg-dextrose-monohydrate-p-251.html

This is a handy calculator for working out how much sugar to add as well. https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

[seino]

You definitely need a little priming sugar. There will be some residual CO2 in the beer before you bottle but not enough to carbonate the beer properly. What you are essentially doing when you add priming sugar is you are restarting fermentation, were the yeast consume the the sugar and churn out some CO2 again. In this case, since you have the beer in bottles, the gas can't escape so ends up carbonating the beer.

Normal household sugar will work if you have nothing else but dextrose is said to be more ideal. http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/brewing-wine-making-sugar-1kg-dextrose-monohydrate-p-251.html

This is a handy calculator for working out how much sugar to add as well. https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

Thanks IG, that helps a lot. I just placed an order with HBC but will try to add the dextrose - don't know how I missed that item on their site.

After bottling, is there any rule of thumb for how long I should leave for carbonation/final fermentation?

[phynes1]

I always use table sugar. Does equally as good a job as dextrose.

[irish_goat]

After bottling, is there any rule of thumb for how long I should leave for carbonation/final fermentation?

You generally need 2 weeks for the yeast to carbonate the beer and then it's ideal to leave the beer in the fridge/somewhere cold for a week to allow it to condition. A good learning experience is to try one after 2 weeks, then 3 weeks and then 4 weeks to see how the flavours develop  for yourself.

[seino]

I always use table sugar. Does equally as good a job as dextrose.

I'll give it a go with table sugar if the dextrose doesn't arrive on time. Dextrose is cheap and it's my first brew, so I'm happy to take the minimum risks for now! Cheers for the feedback.

[seino]

You generally need 2 weeks for the yeast to carbonate the beer and then it's ideal to leave the beer in the fridge/somewhere cold for a week to allow it to condition. A good learning experience is to try one after 2 weeks, then 3 weeks and then 4 weeks to see how the flavours develop  for yourself.

That makes sense. I gather a lot of this is just trial and error. Thanks again.

The heat and humidity in South Wicklow the past few days has been a bit of a nightmare in terms of finding somewhere cool to chill the wort, pitch and ferment. Hopefully when it comes to bottling I'll have lower ambient temp to work with. Never thought I'd be wishing for a cold summer's day in Ireland!

[Ceedee]

Hi Seino,

Fellow beginner here. A good tip that the knowledgeable Irish_Goat passed onto me is....Dissolve your sugar in a little water in a saucepan and bring it up to just below a boil. This sterilises it, then you put this in your bottling bucket and transfer your beer on top of the sugar solution, being careful to avoid splashing etc as this can oxidise your hard work.

The swirling action of the incoming beer mixes the sugar solution and then you can bottle from here. Less fiddly than trying to get an equal amount of sugar into each bottle.

[seino]

Hi Seino,

Fellow beginner here. A good tip that the knowledgeable Irish_Goat passed onto me is....Dissolve your sugar in a little water in a saucepan and bring it up to just below a boil. This sterilises it, then you put this in your bottling bucket and transfer your beer on top of the sugar solution, being careful to avoid splashing etc as this can oxidise your hard work.

The swirling action of the incoming beer mixes the sugar solution and then you can bottle from here. Less fiddly than trying to get an equal amount of sugar into each bottle.

Hi there, Ceedee. How are your first brews going so far? I found it very daunting before I started, but really enjoyed my first brew day (even though sanitising with two kids running around was a bit of a nightmare). There's so much involved but also a simplicity to it which is quite satisfying.

That makes sense regarding making a boiled sugar solution. The extract brewing vid I've used as a benchmark is in the link below - have watched it a dozen times. I've timestamped it at the point where he discusses adding priming sugar and that's exactly what he does.
https://youtu.be/x2kDST7Qdw8?t=35m31s

[Water_Wolf]

You should get on fine with table sugar. You can also buy glucose in some SuperValus: https://shop.supervalu.ie/shopping/food-cupboard-sugar-substitutes-gem-pack-glucose-453-grams-/p-1011127000

Just in case it's not clear: you should leave the bottles at room temperature for the first two or three weeks so that the yeast is active and they carb up. Then stick them in a fridge for a week or more to help them clear and improve the flavour.

[seino]

A question about santising. I used the sanitising powder in a water solution to scrub and soak everything used in the cold phase of brewing. Was I supposed to rinse everything before use? I hadn't seen anyone doing that in videos, but I'm now reading there's a difference between rinse and no-rinse sterlising solution (such as Starsan). Bit worried now I may have spoiled my brew!

Also, if I am rinsing, don't I run the risk of adding unwanted bacteria to the chilled wort by rinsing with unsanitised water?

[Water_Wolf]

I don't know what kind of sanitiser comes with a kit but as long as you let things dry a bit and didn't tip the sanitising solution into your brew, you should be fine!

[seino]

I don't know what kind of sanitiser comes with a kit but as long as you let things dry a bit and didn't tip the sanitising solution into your brew, you should be fine!

Cheers Water_Wolf. Everything was let dry and I ran a bit of wort through the syphon into a cup (for tasting) before I filled my fermenting bucket, so I suspect it will be ok. Cold rinse in future!

This barrage of panic stricken questions should stop in, ooh, about 6 weeks when I've finally tasted the bloomin' ale...

It's bubbling away contentedly as we speak, so I guess I've done something right.