CO2 volume loss due to stirring the bottling bucket

[BenB]

Previously I had some very uneven carbonations due to the priming solution not dispersing equally. Last time I gave it a good sanitised stir but lots of bubbles came up. With my bitter I need to add about 40g to get to 1.3 volumes. Won't stirring risk losing more????

[IPA]

Previously I had some very uneven carbonations due to the priming solution not dispersing equally. Last time I gave it a good sanitised stir but lots of bubbles came up. With my bitter I need to add about 40g to get to 1.3 volumes. Won't stirring risk losing more????

Did it lose any more? If not QED.

[Kev888]

IMO Stirring is necessary, provided you don't aerate, for the reason you mentioned. The key thing is to be consistent in it, batch to batch, then you can adjust priming sugars to your taste and to your process.

I'd be surprised if it made a massive difference though, unless you fermented under pressure.

Cheers
Kev

[BenB]

That's what I was kind of wondering IE what anyone else did. There did seem to be a fair bit of bubbling when I stirred in the priming solution but whether it was significant or not- who knows! My previous brews have been quite highly carbonated but I really don't want to over-carb this one particularly because I'm brewing a fair bit of it for my father who really likes the Grainstore Cooking Ale which is seriously uncarbonated to the extent they don't sell if in the bottle only cask via a beer engine. Obviously in a bottle it'll need some carbonation otherwise it'll be dull. But I don't want to over-do it.... So I'm planning on just over 1 volume....

Good plan re keeping things constant so I can adopt a trial-and-error approach.

[MTW]

I tend to stir just the bottom few litres while it's being racked onto the priming solution - when there's just enough to submerge the spoon at the bottom of the long handle, and avoid splashing. If you use very little water to dilute the sugar, I figure it is thicker and may take more mixing up off the bottom, so I tend to use a good 300ml or so in 20L, and not lose any sleep about that minor dilution of the brew. After that point, if it's mixed well into the bottom few litres, it will certainly mix itself fine as the rest goes in. I also doubt it will make much difference at all, but if you're concerned, you can avoid having to agitate the rest of the brew.