Ok, So I am about to bottle my first batch of beer and I have ONE major question?
I am brewing a True Brew Oktoberfest Extract Kit, and I have heard from others that I DO NOT want to use all the priming sugar that comes in the kit because of exploding bottles. Is this true? If so, is there a way to figure out exactly how much sugar I will want to use?
Thanks…
[quote=“elexrmxr”]Ok, So I am about to bottle my first batch of beer and I have ONE major question?
I am brewing a True Brew Oktoberfest Extract Kit, and I have heard from others that I DO NOT want to use all the priming sugar that comes in the kit because of exploding bottles. Is this true? If so, is there a way to figure out exactly how much sugar I will want to use?
Thanks…[/quote]
Short Answer:
Exploding bottles come from a beer that has not fermented completely.
Google “tastybrew priming sugar calculator” and you can dial in exactly how much sugar you need to carbonate your batch. dissolve in a few cups of water on the stove, cool, and add to your bottling bucket.
You will need a scale. I recommend picking up a digital scale. It should be under $20 at Target or anywhere like that and you will use it throughout your brewing career (and for a million other things in the kitchen!). Great/borderline essential pick up.
The only way to be sure you will not get bottle bombs is ensuring that the fermentation has finished (read: all simple sugars in the wort have been consumed). Do you have a hydrometer? Another phenomenal $20 investment, IMHO something every brewer needs.
Could you give a few more details (how long the beer was in the ale pail, at what temperature, etc.).
[quote=“Pietro”][quote=“elexrmxr”]Ok, So I am about to bottle my first batch of beer and I have ONE major question?
I am brewing a True Brew Oktoberfest Extract Kit, and I have heard from others that I DO NOT want to use all the priming sugar that comes in the kit because of exploding bottles. Is this true? If so, is there a way to figure out exactly how much sugar I will want to use?
Thanks…[/quote]
Short Answer:
Exploding bottles come from a beer that has not fermented completely. [/quote]
Not true. Adding too much sugar will also cause bottle bombs.
The advice is still valid, make sure that fermentation is complete. Once you’ve done that go to tastybrew and figure out how much sugar you need for the style.
Where it asks for beer temperature, put the highest temperature that the beer saw.
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.htmlNot sure what TrueBrew adds for priming sugar but if it’s like NB it’s 5oz of corn sugar. If you didn’t do a diacetyl rest, and fermented at 50*F you will get around 3.0vol by adding the full 5oz.
[quote=“mvsawyer”][quote=“Pietro”][quote=“elexrmxr”]Ok, So I am about to bottle my first batch of beer and I have ONE major question?
I am brewing a True Brew Oktoberfest Extract Kit, and I have heard from others that I DO NOT want to use all the priming sugar that comes in the kit because of exploding bottles. Is this true? If so, is there a way to figure out exactly how much sugar I will want to use?
Thanks…[/quote]
Short Answer:
Exploding bottles come from a beer that has not fermented completely. [/quote]
Not true. Adding too much sugar will also cause bottle bombs.
[/quote]
Thats why I said he needs a calculator and a scale. If you have both of those things (and use them), too many simple sugars in the solution (the ultimate cause of bottle bombs) could only come from an incomplete fermentation.
Testing your batch to see how much sugar has been consumed (fermented) with a hydrometer is also necessary to avoid bottle bombs. This will tell you whether the fermentation was complete.
[quote=“Pietro”][quote=“mvsawyer”][quote=“Pietro”]
Short Answer:
Exploding bottles come from a beer that has not fermented completely. [/quote]
Not true. Adding too much sugar will also cause bottle bombs.
[/quote]
Thats why I said he needs a calculator and a scale. If you have both of those things (and use them), too many simple sugars in the solution (the ultimate cause of bottle bombs) could only come from an incomplete fermentation.[/quote]
Oh, i thought the first sentence was your “short answer.” My mistake for misinterpreting.
my attempts at brevity are usually flaming wreckages of disasters, so thats about as ‘short’ as I can be!
Kidding aside, OP, you need to be able to measure your gravity and ensure fermentation has completed. No idea what your numbers are, but on a 1.055 OG Oktoberfest, 1.014 TG ((1.055-1.014)/.055) = 0.745, or 74.5% apparent attenuation (the amount the yeast ate). Above 70% for most beers means its done and you can add your priming sugar. However, you want to check gravity once, then again in a few days, and if it hasn’t moved, its done.
But definitely don’t just add all of the sugar from the kit as Sawyer and I said above. A scale is a great investment, and will ensure that nobody gets hit with glass shrapnel in your house. I still remember a chunk of jagged glass embedded in my wall from an underattenuated beer (my first saison…don’t ever use WLP 565 yeast). Seriously though, it can be VERY dangerous if you don’t know what your doing. Keep the bottles in covered cases just to be sure.
The Tastybrew calculator (and others) are very easy to use and allow you to dial in exactly how many volumes of CO2 you want when you drink your beer.
How much priming sugar would it take to cause a bottle bomb? I’d think an awful lot.
Depends on the bottle. I’ve added 8 oz of sugar without issue. I don’t think I’d ever carbonate over that though unless I was using a thick glass bottle.
