Priming

[Richard Walley]

OK, I can just imagine the intense rolling of eyes that's going to go on when you guys read yet another stupid, stupid newbie question, but I'm going to stick my head in the lion's mouth anyway... Do I really need to prime my beer?

I'm aiming for an English-style bitter, and my experience of these out of UK hand pulled pumps is that, whilst not flat as a pancake, they don't have much more than a little bit of a 'sparkle'. Which makes me wonder whether, for this style of beer, I actually need to go to the trouble of putting a bit of something fermentable in each bottle. If I bottle at just off the predicted FG, won't the stuff just naturally condition anyway?

I tried this approach with brew no. 1, but the stuff didn't seem to do much in the bottle as I had no idea what the gravity of anything was (I know, d'oh). Now I have a brand new shiny hydrometer and testing cylinder for brew number 2, I'm in a bit more control of the thing and fairly keen to test my theory.

Right, I'm going to go and hide in a corner and wait now...

[Barry]

As well as using your hydrometer for a constant reading over 3 days, it's also important to have a feel for what your final gravity _should_ be - easy as an all grain brewer if you are in tune with your recipe, mash temp, yeast, fermentation regime.
If your yeast health wasn't quite what it should've been and your beer finished high leaving some residual fermentables, adding simple sugar for priming combined with the re-suspension that will occur will be enough for the yeast to start chewing and you might find things have overcarbed somewhat.
When I bottled I used a very very low amount of priming, in fact I kept lowering the sugar dose until I found the sweet spot. It was less than half of what every basic kit and every crappy homebrew book will tell you to use. I still think though that you need some simple sugar, to my mind bottling with none would just be wasting beer.
I also bottled one by one, I found it less effort than bulk priming - I'd rather fuss over each bottle than clean and sanitise a second container.
My $0.02

[Edward Siddle]

with a yeast like saf04 i just add the priming sugar (in solution) direct to primary and stir very gently. doesn't seem to stir up the bottom sediment, and negates the need for sanitising a second container. but then my fermenters all just sit round with sanitising solution in them when not in use anyhow so they are kinda always sanitised if you see what i mean.

i guess we all have our systems that suit our own situation, which is the beauty of it!

[Tim]

Depends on your brewing process and the yeast that you use...
I have not had the need to primed any of my brews at all for over 7 years, and even then, on occassion I get a brew which carries too much condition.

Wassail
Tim
www.brauhaus.co.nz

[Richard Walley]

Oh wow! And I completely want to come and stay at some point... been planning it for years! Don't suppose you do a discount for realbeer forum contributors...?

[Dan]

I dont know about forum members! LOL but if your a SOBA member this is the deal:
* 100% discount on the already free house ales! ;)
* 25% off Emersons entire bottled beer range excluding the Weissbier

[Steve Nally]

Hi Dan
Can you give me a ring at the brewery sometime please
Steve