Forgot to stir my priming sugar

A checklist will though! I always use one for bottling.

 

Regardless of your experience, don't be surprised if you forget again. It's easy to do because you're thinking of so many other things. My wife is my bottle capper, and she reminds me before and 2-3 times DURING the bottling process.

 

Too funny. My wife was my capping partner, hated it, and told me finally to just buy kegging gear

 

I have a related question. My last couple batches I made went right to keg. So when I brewed 2 batches recently that I planned on bottling to give away, I realized on bottle day that I didn't have a fresh bag of priming sugar. I did have a large 3/4-full bag of corn sugar left over from a DIPA recipe probably 6 months ago. It was folded over and resealed in a Ziploc so I thought that would be fine. I used my normal ratio and after 2 weeks, most of the beers have zero carb. I assume the sugar was "old" or had absorbed water making it less active. I've bottled many batches with zero problems before but I've never used "old" sugar. Any thoughts?

 

Sounds like the approach I need to take. My wife helps me every now and then, but the last few batches have been all me. Guess it's time to "need help bottling" again.

 

The age of the corn sugar should not be a problem, and it's okay to use that as a substitute. Table sugar is also okay to use as a substitute. Since your bottles have not carbonated after two weeks, the first thing that I'll guess could be an issue is that after you added the sugar, you didn't mix it well enough, and the bottle(s) that you've tested so far are ones that did not get enough sugar in it. Try another one from a different section of your storage case.

A longshot possibility for this issue is that the beer that you brewed was a big beer and the yeast crapped out and don't feel like eating that corn sugar.

 

After 2 years of homebrewing I hit my first major problem yesterday GUSHERS and now I need some advice....brewed a brown ale and all was ok except SG was a little higher than expected, by about 4-6 pts off of the expected. Bottled anyway therefore potential source number one. Bottling day was uneventful but reused older star san stored properly but didn't check ph and was a little cloudy. Potential source of problem number 2. Mixed priming sugar every 9 bottles. 3 weeks in dark closet temp hanging around 75-78 degrees. Yesterday took a bottle out and noticed it and all the bottles had variable amounts of an oily sheen and a few white tiny specks at the surface. Potential problem number 3. Freaked out and opened one warm, potential problem number 4, and mt Vesuvius erupted. Went outside and opened several more with similar results after donning gloves and protective eyewear. 5th bottle blew in my hand and showered glass and drawing blood (right cheek). Put rest of bottles in plastic trash cans covered with tarp in yard nowhere near children, pets or the elderly. :-)
I am a little stunned by the sequence of events and not sure how to procede. Should I at least try to ice some of these down? Or just leave them to explode or whatever in their current location. Thoughts??

 

When you say 'SG' in the second line I assume that you meant FG (Final Gravity), but did you take two readings a few days apart after you thought that fermentation was complete? At least two readings are needed for comparison purposes to confirm that fermentation is no longer occurring. These two readings should be almost identical, and should also be pretty close to your expected FG, and only then should you proceed with bottling.

After you bottled, you say that you stored them at 75-78 degrees, which is quite warm, and I suspect that all of the priming sugar was eaten very quickly and carbonation was maximized right away. Storing your bottles at the temp at which the beer was fermented is the recommended way to do it. But since the priming sugar is probably all consumed, the good news is that your bottles are not likely to develop any more carbonation than what they have now. So, chilling them will not stop further re-fermentation if the sugar is already consumed. (Additional handling of these bottles may be dangerous anyway.)

From your description about already drawing some blood, these bottles have shown that they are already dangerous, so I can't recommend that you try to consume them for safety reasons. Keep the trash can covered and use a long pole poked under the tarp to break those bottles, drain the liquid onto your flower beds and trash the broken glass. Learn from your experience and move on to your next batch.

 

Thank you for the reply...yes SG used here instead of FG or TG because as events played out it is unlikely I was at FG. After 2 years of tasty, trouble free brews I guess I was both in a hurry and lazy, both terminal flaws for this ale. I believe I may have carbonated a stuck fermentation or more likely an unfinished fermentation even after 3 weeks.....I will go back to basics again and check SG twice at least 3 days apart to verify FG has been reached AND IS appropriate. Not ruled out is infection also so I am going to attack it as If it was an infection, as no harm in tightening sanitation.

This brown ale was fermented at about 65 degrees. Winter evaporated into summer quickly here In florida. Temps in the house warmer than with previously bottle conditioned beers.

Finally I am I agreement on trashing the remaining bottles albeit reluctantly. Damn that was a good recipe the first time!
Thanks again for "listening".