They primed in the primary

[OkieTrappist]

My newbie friends bottled from the primary!

Saw a post on FB that some friends from high school lucked into a bunch of free brewing equipment and had just brewed their first batch. I messaged them and offered to help anytime. They invited me over on bottling day. I got there late and they had just added priming sugar solution directly to the primary carboy and started bottling. No transfer to bottling bucket and obviously no stirring was done! I sense a disaster with very inconsistent carbonating and possible bottle bombs. I told them to enclose the cases of bottles in trash bags. Any recommendations 2 days after bottling? Should I have told them to move to the bottling bucket and add more dextrose?
Guess we'll find out what happens in a couple of weeks!

 

[ncbrewer]

I sense a disaster with very inconsistent carbonating and possible bottle bombs.

I agree. It would probably be best to keep these bottles in the plastic and wait an extra long time before handling them - maybe 4 or 5 weeks. That way, any bombs will have already exploded, so less chance of injury. And wear protective gear when opening them. I've read about bottles exploding while being opened. Evidently, even though the pressure would be reduced after being cooled, the stress on the neck from removing the cap can be too much.

 

[schatzke]

If fermentation was complete why would there be a concern about bottle bombs? Obviously there might be a bit more stuff floating around in the bottles but if fermentation was complete I can't see how this would be a safety issue unless I'm missing something(which I very well could be).

 

[canehdianman]

If fermentation was complete why would there be a concern about bottle bombs? Obviously there might be a bit more stuff floating around in the bottles but if fermentation was complete I can't see how this would be a safety issue unless I'm missing something(which I very well could be).

Because they didn't mix the sugar into the beer before bottling, so some bottles will have significantly more sugar in them than others.

 

[schatzke]

When I used to bottle condition I used a bottling bucket but never stirred it up. Just added sugar water solution to the bucket, transfer on top of it and bottle. Never had an issue but maybe I just got lucky.

 

[microbusbrewery]

When I used to bottle condition I used a bottling bucket but never stirred it up. Just added sugar water solution to the bucket, transfer on top of it and bottle. Never had an issue but maybe I just got lucky.

Transferring on top of your priming sugar would tend to mix it in better than just adding it to the primary. There'd be some mixing, but the denser sugar solution would have a tendency to sink to the bottom.

 

[ncbrewer]

I've probably transferred around half of my batches into the bottling bucket (priming solution already in the bottling bucket) without stirring and haven't had a problem. The siphon tube rests on the bottom at a tangent to make it swirl around. But adding the priming solution on top of the beer without stirring would be asking for trouble.

 

[GPP33]

How long did they wait to bottle after adding the priming sugar? With time it will disperse, not idea what the required time is, 1 minute probably isn't long enough, one day is probably more than sufficient. Since the sugar solution is soluble in the beer it's not going to "sink", you'll just have a concentration difference which will even out pretty quickly.

 

[clone63]

I do this. Sort of. I let it sit a few minutes with a swirl or two before starting.
You said priming sugar 'solution' so I am assuming this was boiled and liquid. It would disperse evenly over time, so after a few bottles you'd be getting some beer mixed with priming solution. The first few might be flat-ish depending how long it actually took to get the siphon going. I'd be surprised if you had a bottle bomb, but unevenness, sure. Doesn't hurt to bag em' so better safe than sorry.

 

[Northbank]

Transferring on top of your priming sugar would tend to mix it in better than just adding it to the primary. There'd be some mixing, but the denser sugar solution would have a tendency to sink to the bottom.

This was my finding. Bottling approx 50 bottles a batch would give me a range of different carb levels despite a good stir.

 

[OkieTrappist]

Y'all are awesome. I believe they poured the boiled dextrose on top and let it sit about 30-60 minutes. They bagged the bottles and put them in the shower.

 

[GPP33]

Y'all are awesome. I believe they poured the boiled dextrose on top and let it sit about 30-60 minutes. They bagged the bottles and put them in the shower.

If it was closer to 60 I'd bet it'll be fine. That's purely my gut making that bet though.