CO2 volume recomendations...

[dieden187]

I have a Black Belgian Wit that is currently 72 hours into the fermentation process. I am wondering exactly how high I should carb it. I bottle condition every batch, and will be bottling the first 2 gallons right off of primary fermentation with no adjuncts.

If it matters... the grain bill is...
46.6% Pilsner malt, 26.6% malt wheat, 13.3% midnight meat, 13.3% flaked oats.
We went a little high on the midnight wheat, so there is a hint of porter taste to the wort.

The few carbonation guides I have seen show most wheat beers being carbed at 3.3-4.5 volumes. Is this a correct level of carbonation for this style (seems a bit high), and how many ounces of dextrose would be needed in a 2gal volume to achieve this level for bottling? Sorry for the nube questions...

 

[Mozart]

I asked the same question once about a Hefeweizen I was doing. Some HBTers who know a lot more about this stuff than I do mentioned that especially at the upper end of that carbonation range, bottle bombs are a possibility and gushers would be virtually guaranteed.

The BJCP guidelines may call for that level of carbonation, and I think it might be possible of one kegs (willing to stand corrected on that), but the advice I got for bottling was to maybe carb wheats, like my Hefeweizen, to somewhere closer to 2.8 to 3.0 volumes.

Edit: I neglected to answer your second question with regard to how many ounces of dextrose to use. The answer is temperature dependent, but there are a lot of online carbonation calculators that are easy to use.

Here's one: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html

 

[Yooper]

I tend to like almost all bottled beers at a medium/high level, like commercial beers, at 1 ounce of corn sugar per gallon of finished beer. For lower carbed beers (maybe an English brown), I"ll go with .75 ounce of corn sugar per finished gallon.

I know that it's "to style" to carb higher, but for bottled beers I don't appreciate flat beer (lower carbed types) or gushers (above about 2.7 volumes of c02).

 

[Mozart]

I know that it's "to style" to carb higher, but for bottled beers I don't appreciate flat beer (lower carbed types) or gushers (above about 2.7 volumes of c02).

For my own education, is 2.7 volumes really gusher territory?

The reason I ask is that the 1 oz. per gallon you recommend seems, at least according to this calculator, to just about hit that 2.7 volume mark at standard room temperature of 72 degrees.

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?16283437#tag

 

[Yooper]

For my own education, is 2.7 volumes really gusher territory?

The reason I ask is that the 1 oz. per gallon you recommend seems, at least according to this calculator, to just about hit that 2.7 volume mark at standard room temperature of 72 degrees.

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?16283437#tag

I've never fermented at 72 degrees (lower is my normal fermentation temperatures like at 66-68), but over about 2.7 volumes, yes, you can get some foamers.

 

[Mozart]

I've never fermented at 72 degrees (lower is my normal fermentation temperatures like at 66-68), but over about 2.7 volumes, yes, you can get some foamers.

I don't ferment at 72 degrees either.

I do bottle at that temperature, though, which to my understanding, is the temperature one wants to use as some offgassing will happen when the beer warms up to room temperature once taken out of the fermentation chamber, no?

At 66 degrees that 2.7 volumes of 1 ounce per gallon climbs just a tad to 2.75, or am I missing something?

 

[Brewitt]

I've never fermented at 72 degrees (lower is my normal fermentation temperatures like at 66-68), but over about 2.7 volumes, yes, you can get some foamers.

Been there, done that. I bottled an IPA shooting for 2.5 vol and instead hit ~3.0. Everytime I opened a bottle the beer foamed out for several minutes before settling down a bit. And that was when it was cold, closer to room temp it never seemed to stop. Good beer but too fizzy.

 

[Yooper]

I don't ferment at 72 degrees either.

I do bottle at that temperature, though, which to my understanding, is the temperature one wants to use as some offgassing will happen when the beer warms up to room temperature once taken out of the fermentation chamber, no?

At 66 degrees that 2.7 volumes of 1 ounce per gallon climbs just a tad to 2.75, or am I missing something?

Well, when I bottle it doesn't zoom up to 72 degrees, either. It may rise a degree or so, but not 6 degrees in the (less than) hour it takes me to bottle the batch.

 

[Mozart]

Well, when I bottle it doesn't zoom up to 72 degrees, either. It may rise a degree or so, but not 6 degrees in the (less than) hour it takes me to bottle the batch.

Makes perfect sense, and that's the difference, thank you.

I will pull my fermenter out of the chamber and move it into bottling position, but since this inevitably results in some sloshing, I leave it in bottling position overnight to let whatever I stirred up settle, hence the rise in temp.

Thank you again.

 

[dieden187]

Ok Witbier primary almost done... And yes, it's jet black.

Ok... Saturday will be bottling day for the first 2 gallons (the other 2.5 gallons are in a separate 3gal better bottle). I am bottling the first 2 as is with 1/3cup of cane sugar minus 2 teaspoons (2oz for just under 3 volumes).
Once the first fermenter is empty it will get cleaned/sanitized and become my secondary for the other half. I really want to have pepper as an adjunct on this one because I think it will go well with the roasty flavor we got from going too heavy on the midnight wheat. The wort definitely has the wheaty mouthfeel and that witbeir crispness, but with ever the little hint of porter. I think I want a pepper that's got a little kick to it, but keep it as a tertiary flavor and preferably on your palette at the very end.
My first instinct is to go high in capsaicin and light on flavor (i.e. Habanero), but I'm afraid this would bring the heat out too soon. Any ideas???
Also, what would be the best way to sanitize my adjunct?

 

[dieden187]

Just realized that I never updated this thread... I wasn't much of a fan of the first two gallons I bottled, but boy was the 2.5 gallons that had habanero spectacular. I have been pouring it at 55° And the flavors are GREAT. The habanero never really hits you, it just slowly builds until your chest, throat, and mouth feel really warm.

 

[LowNotes]

I have sort of a piggyback question that seemed related to some earlier comments in this thread. I often see it recommended to carb sour ales or Belgian lambic type beers to 4.0 volumes of CO2, but based on what I read in this thread, it sounds like that would result in nothing but gushers? I have had one batch of gushers out of 18 batches of beer, and am terrified of spending over a year on a sour ale only to ruin in trying to carb too high.

Is there something special about those beers, or some special process to keep them from turning into nothing but foam? Would it really be worth the risk to go for 4.0 volumes instead of playing it safe and using a not-to-style carb level around 2.5 volumes?