priming the Keg

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dannymac

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I am ready to put my beer in the keg. I have realised that I added the priming sugar at the start of the brewing process.
Will this affect the product and do I need to add more sugar to print the beer in the Keg?
This is my first brew so any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
 
Yes, you'll need to add priming sugar at the point of kegging, as that which you put in at the start of fermentation will have been used up by now.
What you want from priming sugar is the CO2 rather than the alcohol. This both carbonates and helps preserve.
 
I am ready to put my beer in the keg. I have realised that I added the priming sugar at the start of the brewing process.
Will this affect the product and do I need to add more sugar to print the beer in the Keg?
This is my first brew so any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Just in case it’s not explicitly clear from other replies as you’re a n00b…

The sugar you meant for priming but added at the start will have been eaten by yeast. It’s a simple sugar (I assume) and it will have gobbled it up. So it will have effected your beer in that you will have created more alcohol than intended as it will have been converted during fermentation.

Have you been using software to calculate the recipe? If so you should be able to add the amount of sugar you used as a fermentable with your grain bill and find out the effect on your gravity /ABV%.

Also, worth double checking the target Final Gravity hasn’t changed with the additional sugar, it might have shifted the goal posts ever so slightly.

In terms of priming you will need to add priming sugar again, as like the previous poster stated, you need the sugar to be eaten after packaging in a pressure tight container so that when residual yeast eats it you trap the CO2 produced in the beer (and thus carbonate it).

Assume you are using plastic keg as just starting but when you eventually switch to metal and get a gas canister hooked up these problems vanish.

Hope it turns out ok
 
Thanks for all your help. I have got a king keg so do have a gas canister.
I did get very fast bubbles in the airlock but this didn't last long, maybe a couple of days.
The final hydrometer measure looked about right but I have no knowledge of how accurate these things are.
The final test is in the drinking I suppose.
I'll keg it on Saturday then have a couple of pints Christmas day and let you know how it went.
Thanks Again.
Dan
 
@dannymac I've been at this for about 13 months now, I've probably made at least a minor 'error' in everything I've done, and definitely a major one with a cider I pressed and started fermenting this season (there's a thread on here in the cider section on that!)

Errors from prep, ingredients, fermentation, storage or packaging.

So far, either through luck or that I'm just not sensitive to any off flavours its produced (or both) it hasn't caused any major problems.

All I can say is I've improved a bit each time.

Adding your priming sugar at the start shouldn't be the biggest disaster at all, and more than recoverable! athumb..
 
For new brewers or plastic keg users it's worth noting that they have a max working pressure of about 15 psi so higher carbed/fizzy beers like lager aren't really suited to pb's,although you could put lager in one and havd it less fizzy if you like I suppose!
But regards to priming these kegs...if you accidentally put too much sugar in don't worry too much as they have a relief valve which will vent any excess gas.
 
Thanks for all your help. I have got a king keg so do have a gas canister.
I did get very fast bubbles in the airlock but this didn't last long, maybe a couple of days.
The final hydrometer measure looked about right but I have no knowledge of how accurate these things are.
The final test is in the drinking I suppose.
I'll keg it on Saturday then have a couple of pints Christmas day and let you know how it went.
Thanks Again.
Dan

Ah seeet so you could just skip the priming and hook it up to the gas for a few days instead 🤷‍♂️ Hope it tastes good
 

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