Priming sugar in primary fermenter

3dsteel

I only have a primary fermenter at the moment. It keeps things nice and simple for a noob!

I had a brainwave a few weeks ago to add the priming sugar to the fermenter before bottling but I read on some other forum (homebrewtalk I think) that this was a bad idea.

I was reading "How to Brew" by John J Palmer last night and while he recommends using a separate bottling bucket, he says you can add the priming sugar to the primary fermenter, give it a gentle stir and then wait 30min to let it settle before bottling?

Has anyone tried this? Would like to hear your opinions. It would cut down the bottling work a bit. I find the carbonation drops are too small for the 500ml bottles and 2 drops is too much! I'm priming bottles with a funnel and dextrose and it's messy :mad:

BeerNut

Never tried it but it's probably fine. Remember, it's a dissolved priming solution you add, not solid sugar.

mayto

3dsteel wrote: »

I only have a primary fermenter at the moment. It keeps things nice and simple for a noob!

I had a brainwave a few weeks ago to add the priming sugar to the fermenter before bottling but I read on some other forum (homebrewtalk I think) that this was a bad idea.

I was reading "How to Brew" by John J Palmer last night and while he recommends using a separate bottling bucket, he says you can add the priming sugar to the primary fermenter, give it a gentle stir and then wait 30min to let it settle before bottling?

Has anyone tried this? Would like to hear your opinions. It would cut down the bottling work a bit. I find the carbonation drops are too small for the 500ml bottles and 2 drops is too much! I'm priming bottles with a funnel and dextrose and it's messy :mad:

A seperate bottling bucket is really recommended as if you add the priming solution to the primary fermenter you will disturb all the yeast sediment which you do not want in the bottles. I mix my priming sugar in a bowl with a few cups of water, put in microwave for a few min to dissolve. Add this to your empty sanitised bottling bucket and siphon the beer on top and it will mix the priming sugar evenly.

Piercemeear

I was having similar thoughts about getting away with a single fermenter (dry-hopping into the primary, priming in the primary). In the end I just got a second bucket. It cost very few euro, and more importantly the buckets slot into one another when not in use, so it doesn't actually take up any more room in your life than one fermenter! It is making things a lot easier.

3dsteel

Thanks for the advice. Dispite that, I'm probably going to give it a go with my next batch :eek: A little bit of sediment doesn't bother me! It's not budweiser I'm brewing

I'll let ye know how it goes in a few weeks.

Krusty_Clown

Yup, I've done it a couple of times (dry-hop and batch-priming all in the same fermentor). Just bring the priming sugar and water to a boil for a few minutes and let it cool. Gently pour it into the fermentor, and stir gently with a sanitized spoon, trying to avoid stirring up the sediment. Leave it to settle/disperse for 30 minutes before bottling.

Tube

I would be reluctant as to mix the priming solution thoroughly you risk disturbing the sediment.

You really should use a bottling bucket.

Carawaystick

Tube wrote: »

I would be reluctant as to mix the priming solution thoroughly you risk disturbing the sediment.

You really should use a bottling bucket.

I'm going to bottle from primary tomorrow, put stout out in shed today to cold condition and clear most floating sediment, gonna add sugar solution and see how it goes.
This is because, the primary is my bottling Bucket, as I'm lagering something else in my fermentor

Tripple P

Hey,

I'm back home brewing after a 20 year break. I made some beer about 6months ago, I bottled the beer from the first container but never primed it. It tastes nice but of course its flat. Can I now open the bottles and add some coppers carbon drops? do I have to leave it at room tempature if so? Any help would be appreciated. I don't want to bin the lot

BeerNut

Give it a go. If the alternative is binning it, then what harm?

As you're kicking off another fermentation, yes, you will need to leave it at room temperature to condition.

Tripple P

Thanks Beer nut

sharingan

Your bottling bucket doesnt have to be anything fancy you know ...

joctcl

Tripple P wrote: »

Hey,

I'm back home brewing after a 20 year break. I made some beer about 6months ago, I bottled the beer from the first container but never primed it. It tastes nice but of course its flat. Can I now open the bottles and add some coppers carbon drops? do I have to leave it at room tempature if so? Any help would be appreciated. I don't want to bin the lot

You get carbonation from yeast consuming sugars and releasing C02. The C02 gets absorbed into your beer.
By adding sugar if all the yeast is dead(unlikely) you will just make sweet beer.
Consider just one or two bottles into coopers bottles or screw cap plastic lucozade bottles. 1 drop per 500Ml. In 4-6 weeks at room temp depending on the stiffness of the bottle you will know if you have carbed it or not.

If you are really sentimental about this beer and it hasn't carbed only way then is a a pinch of yeast or consider making a liquid dose with a packet and a small squirt into each bottle using a syringe, but is a lot of hassle and a restart would be easier.

Carawaystick

Carawaystick wrote: »

I'm going to bottle from primary tomorrow, put stout out in shed today to cold condition and clear most floating sediment, gonna add sugar solution and see how it goes.
This is because, the primary is my bottling Bucket, as I'm lagering something else in my fermentor

I left the primary out in the cold for a bit longer than planned, 60 ish hours!
Anyway adding sugar to the beer, leaving for half an hour to disperse, and bottling. Much more hit than miss, I got two bottles with decent fizz and a head, and a dozen bottles looking like cocacola....

3dsteel

I bottled mine last night. There was a lot of sediment in the fermenter, much more than I'd had for my previous brews, so I decided not to add the sugar to the fermenter this time. I didn't want to go stiring it with so much sediment there already. I bought a bottling bucket in the end

Thanks for all the advice, at least I know it can be done if I'm stuck. Maybe if I have a clearer beer down the line I'll give it a go?