No prime bottling

[Matt]

Anyone got tips on this? I gather it's a case of leaving longer at RT.

Cheers

[guypettigrew]

This probably won't help, but here goes anyway!

I keg my beer, and gave up priming it ages ago.

7-10 days in the FV, depending how fermentation is going, then straight into a keg with some auxiliary finings added. The keg is then moved to a cool room (about 12C) and after 24 hours isinglass is added, plus dry hops if needed.

Within 3-4 days the beer is clear and gassed up well enough come out of the keg (a King Keg) without any need for extra CO2.

Perhaps the same process would work with bottles?

Guy

[Matt]

Cheers Guy. I have read it works for bottles, but can I find the threads

[Nofolkandchance]

This probably won't help, but here goes anyway!

I keg my beer, and gave up priming it ages ago.

7-10 days in the FV, depending how fermentation is going, then straight into a keg with some auxiliary finings added. The keg is then moved to a cool room (about 12C) and after 24 hours isinglass is added, plus dry hops if needed.

Within 3-4 days the beer is clear and gassed up well enough come out of the keg (a King Keg) without any need for extra CO2.

Perhaps the same process would work with bottles?

Guy

+1. I now use use jigsaw bag-in-a box exclusively for my beer now with no prime. I intend at some point to post up (for those interested if it hasn't been covered before) the procedure/set up. Current beer was bagged in December and having just finished the bag, the last pint was as good if not better than the first and still conditioned with no sugar addition. I also keep it at controlled at 12C and use Muphys Cellabrite (aux finings)

[ECW]

Hmm. I thought the conditioning came from the yeast feeding on the priming sugars and producing extra co2. In your cases, is the yeast feeding on the last few fermentables, or am I missing the point?

[Nofolkandchance]

Hmm. I thought the conditioning came from the yeast feeding on the priming sugars and producing extra co2. In your cases, is the yeast feeding on the last few fermentables, or am I missing the point?

Yep probably the last of the fermentable's but remember theres still residual CO2 still in the fermented beer which gives enough mouthfeel for me as I serve through a beer engine. For me its 2 days at the same gravity reading then into the bag with the auxilliary finings.

[6470zzy]

Anyone got tips on this? I gather it's a case of leaving longer at RT.

Cheers

If you follow this technique and the yeast has truly finished fermenting then all you will be left with is the residual CO2, which may in fact be enough for you depending on the temperature of the beer and also how many volumes of CO2 you are after in the first place.

Out of curiosity, are you trying to limit the yeast sediment in your bottled beer or is there something else that you are trying to attain?

Cheers

[orlando]

What is it that concerns you about priming, that might help more in giving an answer?

[verno]

I have tried this and can say it didn't really work. I did a hobgoblin clone and bottle half with no priming and half with priming. the non primed stuff never got any carbonation even after 3 months and while still perfectly drinkable the primed stuff was better.

I have had a few issues over priming and getting really fizzy beer which does ruin it but I now just err on the side of caution and use the online calc and go with bottom of range value

[guypettigrew]

Hmm. I thought the conditioning came from the yeast feeding on the priming sugars and producing extra co2. In your cases, is the yeast feeding on the last few fermentables, or am I missing the point?

Yeast will feed on whatever's available. Adding normal white sugar as the priming sugar might mean the yeast swaps to feeding on this rather than the less easily used sugars in the beer.

My experience is that adding priming sugar gives a horrid sweet taste to the beer for a few days. Possibly until the yeast has used it all up. It also over carbonates it, meaning I have to keep letting the excess gas out of the keg.

Leaving the yeast to carbonate the beer from the remaining fermentables from the mash gives me a good amount of gas in the beer, no need to vent off any excess, and rarely any need to add extra CO2 to get the beer out of the keg.

I suspect the key to doing it this way is not to leave the beer in the FV too long, and definitely not to drop it into a secondary conditioning vessel. Just straight into the keg!

Guy

[6470zzy]

Yeast will feed on whatever's available. Adding normal white sugar as the priming sugar might mean the yeast swaps to feeding on this rather than the less easily used sugars in the beer.

Guy

Sounds as though you are actually kegging your beer before it has met it's FG ?

[guypettigrew]

Sounds as though you are actually kegging your beer before it has met it's FG ?

Possibly. I've never really understood FG. Beer keeps fermenting even in the keg. One day I ought to take the SG of a beer just as I keg it, then again just before it's all gone from the keg.

Beer has huge fermentation activity in the FV, then it slows down. I'm not sure it ever reaches a true final gravity unless it's left until the yeast has died from lack of nutrients.

What I've always understood is that beer should reach about 1/4 of the starting gravity, indicating initial fermentation has finished. After this, decisions have to be taken about leaving it longer in the FV, dropping it to a secondary or, in my case, dropping it into a keg. At 1/4 gravity there's loads of fermentables left to gas the ale up. Or at least, this is what my experience has led me to understand. Always happy and willing to learn more.

Guy

[fisherman]

I use very little priming if any. If you don't want to prime but still want conditioned bottled beer I would mash at 68oc to encourage more dextrins . Then after fermentation store under airlock for seven days then using gelatine to clear then bottle. Conditioning for at least 2 to 4 months.

[mozza]

I now prime with 1/2 a tsp using unrefined (or less refined) brown sugar. I find it gives a much more rounded taste to a young beer.

Think about it another way, if you have some in the cupboard have a taste of some and then taste brewing sugar

[Matt]

Interesting reading the contributions here

What is it that concerns you about priming, that might help more in giving an answer?

Orlando, good point. I'm just wondering if I can simplify my methods. I get so little sediment in my secondary fv I'm wondering if I can bottle straight from it. I have read a few 'I gave up priming years ago' comments but can't find the authors now (perhaps I dreamt it!), so I wondered about omitting this step.

However, the obvious alternative is to dose the secondary with a few hundred mls of dissolved sugar solution with a gentle stir to ensure it is an even dose, what do you guys think?

Matt