Bulk Priming question

[scanman]

Hi brewers.

I have been bulk priming for a good 6 months now with no issues till this week. My normal bulk prime tchnique is simple. Add 180gm to 200gm of dex to 330ml of hot water, stir to disolve, then add to priming vessel. Then rack the brew to this vessel using a plastic tubing coiled down the bottom of the racking vessel, then fill slowly as possible so as to no add in any extra air bubbles.

Having done that, I recently had a batch of a bavarian lager I made where about 5 or 6 of the bottles were well and truly carbonated, with on bottle bomb even! The rest of the batch was very low carbonated or flat even ( i almost cried when I tipped the flat ones down the sink ).

The question is why would this happen when bulk priming? This is the way I have always done it without issues till now.

Also what is the prefered sugar to use when bulk priming. I always use dex but i get told by a brewer at work that white sugar gives you a better head. What is the best bulk prime sugar for most beers, as I suspect it may vary for different beer styles.

[KEG]

try diluting the sugar in a little more water (at that ratio it'd be borderline on a light syrup, and may not mix easily). also, try a bit less priming sugar - 170-180g for a lager, 150 or so for a british ale (roughly - depends on taste).

it's far more likely to blend evenly if you up the water to about 450ml. also, when racking into the priming vessel, try to aim the hose sideways to make the beer slowly 'whirlpool' as it fills - obviously while avoiding splashing it about.

[scanman]

Thanks for the advice Keg.
Thats what I do when racking, i coil it in the bottom so it whirlpools when filling. This I would assume makes it mix properly.

Next batch I'll add more water to the priming mix.

[KEG]

also, try boiling the sugar/water to make sure it's thoroughly dissolved. it can *look* dissolved, yet still settle out pretty easily - which would definitely bias the sugar towards certain bottles.

[scblack]

Bulk priming is usually done using about 500ml water with the 180gm dextrose. Boil that mix very well - I once mixed the dextrose with very hot water, but after bottling half the dextrose was left undissolved in the bottom of the bulk priming vessel. A good boil ensures all the dextrose is mixed well for bottling.

Also when you are transferring from the fermenter, kink the hose a couple of inches below the tap, then open the tap so the brew fills the hose, THEN unkink and let the brew flow through - this will ensure the hose has no oxygen in it. It also flows much faster this way.

Some people also suggest a bit of a stir after transferring into the bulk priming vessel to ensure the dextrose is well mixed, but I personally don't need this.

[Boonie]

I use 500ml (2 Measuring Cups) of water, out of my kettle, into a Saucepan. Boil the water add Dextrose and Mix in til it become clear.

Start to rack with the hose twirled at the bottom and add the boiled Dex when about 6 Inches from bottom....Don't want 100 Degree Water in the Plastic Fermenter by itself Just me

When full I pull out the extra long spoon from HBS and Stir without splashing.

Place the Fermenter, when bottling or racking, on the highest shelf and watch gravity do it's thing .

I have had a couple of bottles flat but generally this is when I look closer at the bottle in question and there may be a minor chip on the edge.....but with your bottle bombs, I'd say not mixed enough.Try the spoon method, never failed me..........sorry, Sterilised Spoon.

Was it a full 23 Litre batch?

Cheers

Boonie

[Rod]

I always give mine a stir using a long handled plastic spoon , with a rolling motion .

When I fill my first bottle , say half full , I tip it back in the fermenter as the tap will not be mixed well .

works for me

ps I use about 120 to 180 grams dextrose depending on style dissovled in boiling water .

[scanman]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm pretty much happy I was doing it right bar the amount of water i was using. I bottled up a Singha clone this afternoon and boiled up 500ml of water before adding 180gms of dex, stiring till disolved then adding to the fermenter, then racking as usual before bottling.

Can't wait to get over all this and get myself a keg system probably next year.

[Stubbie]

( i almost cried when I tipped the flat ones down the sink ).

I had this happen to a stout brew some time back. No bottle bombs, but a few well carbonated and the remainder flat. No need to pour the flat ones down the sink!!!!

I just uncapped and recarbonated using carbonation drops. I found out the hard way that there's only a few seconds grace before the carbonation drop begins to react with the bottled beer. Stout spray all over the laundry. The following worked for me:

1. In the left hand, hold a new cap against the capping die and only about 2 cm above the bottle.
2. In the right hand, hold a carbonation drop between the cap and bottle mouth.
3. Drop/push the carbonation drop into the bottle, and quickly, and I mean quickly, reach for the capping lever and seal the bottle. Warning: any hesitation here results in a mess!!

It worked a treat

Cheers.

[Boonie]

Picture in my head

Classic, beer spray everywhere, like the end of a F1 GP with champers

[morgs]

Wouldnt it be easier to put the carb drop in before you fill the bottle?

[warra48]

Wouldnt it be easier to put the carb drop in before you fill the bottle?

Not if the bottles have previously been filled, but not carbed up.
This is about trying to carb up previously filled bottles.

[Stubbie]

Boonie,

You hit the nail on the head.

The first time I tried, I used dex boiled and cooled in some water. Ended up with a slow brown froth eruption.

So, then I thought of carbonation drops. Early on, a bit too much hesitation in cranking the handle after "bombs away" with carb drop. Cap squeezed down just at the right moment as pressure was escalating. Bloody high pressure stout spray all over the place !!!!!!!!!! I can look back and laugh now, but gee I was swearing back then!

Even after I cottoned on to what had to be done, the odd cock-eyed cap ended up with a similar bloody mess. Never with proper crown seal bottles; only with twisties.

Needless to say, I now make sure the dex solution gets a thorough mix when racking to the bottling fermenter. Better still, I just parked my 'new' beer fridge in the garage today, so kegs are not too far away.

Cheers

[StuTee]

Hey
I'm a ah... lurker, on these forums, and so far have been able to find answers too all my Q's, until I wanted to give bulk priming a go...
I have a brew in the fermenter that has quite a lot of sediment in it, and I want to give bulk priming a go but don't have anywhere to rack the brew to.
So, I was thinking of dumping the sugar mix in the fermenter, giving it a stir and bottling it, but then I realised I'd be stirring up the sediment. Can I leave the bulk-primed brew in the fermenter for, say, a couple of hours, or overnight, to give the sediment time to settle again, or do i need to bottle as soon as i bulk-prime?
Cheers for any input
Stu.

[Kevnlis]

You need to bottle pretty much straight after you add the fermentables when bulk priming. I would suggest going to Bunnings or the like and buying a second fermentor, they are only $20 or so with a tap and well worth the money! While you are there pick up a clear vinyl racking hose that fits nicely over the tap outlet to make it easier to transfer the beer.

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Also what is the prefered sugar to use when bulk priming. I always use dex but i get told by a brewer at work that white sugar gives you a better head. What is the best bulk prime sugar for most beers, as I suspect it may vary for different beer styles.

This is one of those Home Brew Religious Questions. I think there are probably four or five candidate sugars you could use for priming and you will find at least a dozen opinions one which is best and why.

I've used dextrose, carb drops, table sugar, raw sugar and LDME. I've force carbonated in the (plastic) bottle. I have not added fresh wort to date. I've bottle- and bulk- primed. I usually use table sugar.

As best I can tell, the difference between all the sugars is zero. The thing that affects what your foam turns out like is the beer, not the priming sugars. Consider that you're using 200grams of sugar for priming, but around 3000grams of sugars in the brew, so the % of your total bill is around 5-6%. If we were talking some of the big bold malts that carry proteins and other things with them that hang around in your beer poking fun at the simple sugars, that would be significant, but not something as gentle and innocuous as wall-flower table sugar.

For me, table sugar remains king. It's cheap and cheerful - in that Forest Gump kind of way that works so nicely for beer...

[StuTee]

You need to bottle pretty much straight after you add the fermentables when bulk priming. I would suggest going to Bunnings or the like and buying a second fermentor, they are only $20 or so with a tap and well worth the money! While you are there pick up a clear vinyl racking hose that fits nicely over the tap outlet to make it easier to transfer the beer.

Cheers Kevnlis, payday is wens so I might make a trip to Bunnings then. It's a dire situation when you can't afford $20 for a plastic container and a bit of hose... =)

[StuTee]

Just another quick question
I took Kevnlis' advice and racked the bugger today. Naturally, I had a quick taste, and realised this beer is gold. It's a JSGA from a recipe I think Ash posted somewhere (can't find it now).
Anyway, as a (very) regular (heavy) drinker of JSGA I noticed that the real one is fairly lightly carbonated.
A normal amount of sugar for a bulk prime is about 170g for 23L, I think?
Anyone give me an idea of how much I should aim for if I want to replicate their lighter carbonation?

[KEG]

use the Bulk Priming Calculator.

take into account the temperature of the beer, and aim for 2.2 - 2.4 volumes of CO2 (my recommendation; have a look through the drop-down list if you'd like to vary it).

at 20c, this would be between 125 and 140g of dextrose.

[StuTee]

Champion!
Cheers.