Am I about to make 48 Glass Bombs??

[rossmarp]

So batch number 1 for me is approaching bottle-time. It's a nut brown ale that was in the primary for a week and in the secondary for another week (or will be when I plan to bottle in a day or two -- Wed or Thurs).

Like others, I've whittled my beer volume down a bit due to sampling for SG readings and from racking to the secondary fermenter. The beer level is down to about half the curve from the fattest part of the carboy to the lower part of the neck (ie, it's not quite down to where the carboy is the fattest). I hope that makes sense.

My question is, do I have to compensate some of the priming sugar to account for a loss of this magnitude or is it fairly irrelevant?

Does anyone know what happens to marriages when 48 glass-shrapnel bombs filled with beer explode in one's living quarters??? Umm... I'd rather NOT find out first hand!! :)

Thanks for the help!

[paul84043]

3/4 to 1 cup per 5 gallon batch is a general guideline. Most kits will give you 3/4 cup.
If I go under the 5 gallon mark (yes, it happens to all of us..), I do hold back on a bit of the sugar. Just use common sense, if you're down a half a gallon, I'll leave 1/10th of the sugar behind approximately. (10 half gallons in 5 gallons...)
No worries, even if you used the whole thing it would probably turn out just fine. I try to err on the side of caution and common sense whenever possible.

When I make a batch of beer, I over fill initially to slightly less than 5.25 gallons to compensate for all the solids in suspension and for loss at transfer time.
Typically, I will overflow when I transfer if I don't keep an eye on things, with only a tiny bit left in the primary. I fill the secondary all the way up, then when you take your sample for gravity readings (very carefully), you're left with the perfect amount of airspace.

[shughes600]

Just make absolutely sure that your gravity has stabilized. I like to bottle when SG gets to within .001 within three readings. Example: Fri - 1.008 Sat 1.007 Sun 1.007 Bottling on Sunday in this example is no real problem. If you are still concerned, leave the bottles in the box they came in and then hide them in a closet or basement.

[yonkersbrewer]

I take my nuerosis one step farther and keep the cases on a waterproof (beerproof!) container for the first week of conditioning. I have been looking enviously at those plastic mail boxes ... they look like I could put in spacers and then use that for bottling and initial conditioning. If I spill a bit or if one becomes a grenade I have it all contained and just need to hose it all out. Course taking one from the UPS is a federal offense...hmmmmmm!

[rossmarp]

Well, thanks for the insight. I bottled yesterday (5/8) and everything seemed to go well -- slick!

It turns out that I did not compensate any priming sugar... Upon further inspection, I realized that I probably wasn't down any more than a quart, MAYBE a half gallon. So I figured what the heck -- give 'er a shot. Hopefully all will be just fine.

Thanks again.

[paul84043]

You'll be fine!

Yonkers, I'd be careful trying to take anything away from the mailman, I hear they're pretty good shots...