?'s on temp range, priming sugar, bottles

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by RobertP, Nov 6, 2020.

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  1. RobertP

    RobertP Aspirant (225) May 21, 2015 Florida

    I've got the BrewDemon fermenter, airlock with lid seal, hydrometer, bottling wand/hose, mixing spoon.

    At a local brew supply place I got PBW and Starsan to go a step beyond the "no-rinse cleaner" that comes with the BrewDemon, also got pH test strips.

    In videos I've seen people use both granulated sugar and sugar drops to bottle prime. The guy at the supply store raised concerns about the sugar drops re: contamination - he sells them but says the manufacturers don't guarantee that they're contaminant-free and that handling them could introduce contamination. He also said that regular household granulated sugar contains silicates which inhibits fermentation.

    He further recommended batch priming with corn sugar instead of bottle priming. According to him you can simply boil the necessary amount of sugar in just enough water to dissolve it to a solution which sanitizes it, then carefully add that to the fermenter in such a way as to not aerate it or disturb the trub - maybe with a sanitized turkey baster or the like? - slowly stir and it yields a more consistent sugar mix and eliminates sanitization concerns.

    He also said he doesn't like plastic bottles because he's had problems with them not sealing and holding in carbonation.

    Also - I find recommendations for a temperature range of around 65 - 72 deg Fahrenheit as optimal for fermenting - I keep my thermostat at 78. 72 deg and lower would be both too low for comfort and would really jack up my electric bill. The BrewDemon instructions recommend a range of 64 - 82 degrees.

    Is 78 okay or should I look for a way to bring down the temp of the fermenter? I've seen the suggestion of a large cooler with ice bottles changed at intervals. I'm in Florida where it's getting cooler by Florida standards but we don't have real winters here - you can't count on consistent temperature at any time of the year - it can literally be in the 30's one day and the 80's or 90's the next.

    I appreciate your thoughts on all of the above - do you consider the concerns the brew supply guy raised to be legitimate or not something you've ever had a problem with?

    Thanks.
     
    #1 RobertP, Nov 6, 2020
  2. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    1. I have never used drops for priming. I weigh cane sugar and mix with a couple cups of tap water, heat till it boils then add to bottleing bucket. Sugar solution is mixed with the beer as I rack it into the bottleing bucket. Corn sugar is fine, whichever you like.

    2. Never have used plastic bottles so, no opinion.

    3. Check the temperature range od your yeast, this will tell you what is correct.

    Have fun
     
    #2 GormBrewhouse, Nov 6, 2020
    RobertP and PapaGoose03 like this.
  3. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Contamination from carbonation drop: unlikely if you handle them properly.
    Silicates from table sugar inhibiting fermentation: nonsense.

    Corn sugar is fine. But your LHBS guy's comment about table sugar is either because he's incompetent (sadly, not unusual in this hobby) or wants to push corn sugar. Guess who sells that?

    This is more or less correct, but it would be better to rack the beer to a bottling bucket where it can be mixed with the priming sugar solution. If you add it to the primary fermenter, and mix it well enough for even carbonation, you will stir up trub. If you don't have a bottling bucket, I would recommend the carb drops or adding table sugar directly to the bottles.

    Plastic bottles aren't great, because they are somewhat permeable to oxygen.

    A 78F ambient temp means a peak fermentation temp in the low 80s. For most yeast stains, that's too high and will result in off flavors.
     
    #3 VikeMan, Nov 6, 2020
    billandsuz, RobertP, MrOH and 2 others like this.
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