2 questions coopers IPA

When using an airlock, I read, when the bubbles are 3 seconds apart it is ready to bottle. Is that accurate? Also when priming with dextrose, how much in each 12oz bottle? Thanks, any help is much appreciated, this is my first "real" batch, the first two were mr beer all american light, it got me in the hobby, but the beer didn't impress the fellow beer drinkers on the street like I was hoping. So if you guys (or gals) have any tips or tricks for some beginner wine or beer, cheers to ya.

The airlock isn't a very dependable way of telling when fermentation is complete. The best way is to use a hydrometer to take the specific gravity, and then check the specific gravity again 3 days later to see if it has changed. If it hasn't, then you should be OK to bottle. For priming, the way I prefer to do it is by bulk priming. That means adding all of the sugar you need for your entire batch into a bottling bucket and then siphoning your beer on top of it so it can all mix together before you put the beer into bottles. The amount you use depends on the amount you brewed and the level of carbonation you want.

If you have a chance, read through here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/beginner-extract-brewing-howto-99139/

That will give you some really good pointers for getting started. I started with a Mr. Beer kit, too, and I still keep it around for small test batches, but I mostly brew 5-6 gallon batches now. I generally use about 1 oz of corn sugar per gallon when I am priming, so for 5 gallons I use a 5oz packet of sugar conveniently pre-packaged at my LHBS

You're going to have a lot of fun. There's no shortage of information available, and the reward for your effort is BEER!

When you're ready to prime the beer,dissolve the weighed amount of priming sugar in 2C of water that's been boiled a few minutes. cover & cool while you get set up to bottle. When you start racking the beer into the bottling bucket,let it fill a couple inches,then slowly pour in the priming solution. Then give it a few gentle stirs when it's done racking over. Some do some don't,but it can help sometimes.
Before you get to any of this,give the beer time to ferment down to a stable FG as mentioned earlier. Then give it another 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty.Then prime & bottle. Here's the priming calculator I like to use; http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

unionrdr said:

When you're ready to prime the beer,dissolve the weighed amount of priming sugar in 2C of water that's been boiled a few minutes.

Click to expand...

+1 always dissolve the sugar in water that you have boiled before adding to the bottling bucket. The Mr. Beer kits tell you to put sugar directly into the bottles, but that method tends to create uneven carbonation from bottle to bottle due to slight differences in the amount of sugar that makes it into each bottle. Bulk priming really evens it out.

boydsbitchinbrews said:

+1 always dissolve the sugar in water that you have boiled before adding to the bottling bucket. The Mr. Beer kits tell you to put sugar directly into the bottles, but that method tends to create uneven carbonation from bottle to bottle due to slight differences in the amount of sugar that makes it into each bottle. Bulk priming really evens it out.

Click to expand...

I am glad you told me that, about priming the bottles. I opened the first bottle of mr beer american light, and it was decent, then the second bottle got opened up and it was sweet and little to no carbonation. So I waited another week week and a half and tried another one, it was the same, sweet and flat, a week later the others were the same way. I put the same amount of sugar in each bottle and they were all stored in the same refridgerator any idea what happened?

Did you keep them at 70° for a few weeks after bottling? If they went straight into the fridge after you added the sugar, that could explain it. The Mr. Beer instructions I think tell you to give it a week for carbonation, but really they need at least 3 weeks. Then, they can really use a day or 2 in the fridge to re-absorb the CO2 before you crack 'em open.

For the batch you are doing now, bulk prime it with 1oz of sugar per gallon of beer, and leave the bottles at 70° for at least 3 weeks before you start drinking them. Then chill a couple for 24-48 hours and sample to see if you are happy with carbonation level.

As long as you use enough priming sugar, they will carb up. Patience is the only other thing you need an abundance of at that point.