Looking for priming options....

[Brownalemikie]

I usually brew 2 gallon batches of Caribou Slobber brown ale and have been using "fizz drops" for bottle conditioning. Would like to switch to using corn sugar and mixing my own priming solution. Question is, how would I mix the priming solution in the beer before bottling? Thanks!

 

[dmtaylor]

Use regular white table sugar (beet or cane sugar), 1/4 cup per 2 gallons. Place sugar in a pot. Add half cup of water. Boil on the stove for 5 minutes. Cool and add to your beer. Bottle. Done.

 

[Brownalemikie]

Use regular white table sugar (beet or cane sugar), 1/4 cup per 2 gallons. Place sugar in a pot. Add half cup of water. Boil on the stove for 5 minutes. Cool and add to your beer. Bottle. Done.

Thank you.....would I then simply pour it into the carboy and swirl the beer around a few times?

 

[Decimotox]

^Do you have a bottling bucket? You don't want to aerate the beer too much for fear of oxygenation. I'd highly recommend getting a bottling bucket/another carboy even for bottling. Most places I've seen advise to pour the cooled sugar water into the bottling bucket and then siphon the beer on top of the sugar water so that it distributes evenly throughout the beer. This will help ensure consistent carbonation in all bottles.

You may be able to pour the sugar water directly into the carboy once it's cooled, but I would try to stir it as gently as possible.

 

[laredo7mm]

I have never bottled beer, only kegged, but I would think you would put your water and sugar solution into a bottling bucket and then rack your beer from the carboy into the bucket. Give it a gentle stir (if needed) and then transfer to your bottles.

Or I reckon you could buy some syringes and calculate the amount needed in each bottle and inject it prior to filing the bottle. The carbonation drops seem the easiest to me.

Or I seem to remember seeing someone use a powder dispensing thing like is used in reloading ammunition to meter out the amount of sugar for each bottle. Then you can dump the correct amount of dry sugar into each bottle.

 

[helibrewer]

Use as small a volume of water as possible. You only need >160F for 5 minutes or >180F momentarily. No need to cool it before adding to your beer, the 2 gallon volume will easily distribute the heat from that small of an amount. Spoilage organisms cannot survive in 100% sugar environments so the risk of contamination is minuscule.

 

[flars]

You might be better off to use sugar cubes for carbonation instead of the Fizz drops. Domino has sugar cube "Dots". A one pound package contains 198 cubes or Dots. This would be equal to 2.29 grams per Dot. According to NB's carbonation calculator one 12 ounce bottle of beer at 68°F would need 2.27 grams of sugar for 2.6 volumes of CO2.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

Check my math if you want to go this route.

Like with the Fizz drops you won't need a bottling bucket or measure a sugar solution with a syringe for each bottle.

You definitely don't want to add the sugar solution to the fermentor and then stir. This would bring up the trub which will end up in your bottles.

 

[Brownalemikie]

You might be better off to use sugar cubes for carbonation instead of the Fizz drops. Domino has sugar cube "Dots". A one pound package contains 198 cubes or Dots. This would be equal to 2.29 grams per Dot. According to NB's carbonation calculator one 12 ounce bottle of beer at 68°F would need 2.27 grams of sugar for 2.6 volumes of CO2.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

Check my math if you want to go this route.

Like with the Fizz drops you won't need a bottling bucket or measure a sugar solution with a syringe for each bottle.

You definitely don't want to add the sugar solution to the fermentor and then stir. This would bring up the trub which will end up in your bottles.

Now this is what I was looking for. My only question is will a sugar cube fit into the end of the bottle?

 

[flars]

Dots will fit. Full size sugar cubes won't fit in some bottles. It will only cost a couple of dollars to find out for sure.

 

[Brownalemikie]

Dots will fit. Full size sugar cubes won't fit in some bottles. It will only cost a couple of dollars to find out for sure.

Thanks Flars, just ordered 2 boxes (198 cubes each) on Amazon for $9.75. The dots are waaaay cheaper than fizz drops....about 1/4 the price. I hope they work as good. Thanks!

 

[flars]

Thanks Flars, just ordered 2 boxes (198 cubes each) on Amazon for $9.75. The dots are waaaay cheaper than fizz drops....about 1/4 the price. I hope they work as good. Thanks!

At my home place sugar cube users have said they worked very well. I'm old style with 5 gallon brews using corn sugar in the bottling bucket.

Edit: Doesn't your local grocery carry the Dots?

 

[mcarmack]

From day one, I've been doing it as has been described: corn sugar boiled with water, dump it into the bucket, rack into the bucket (without letting the sugar water cool), and off you go. Couldn't be easier (kegging aside, I suppose). Corn sugar is sold in 5 oz packages, which is often too much but has never resulted in gushers for me. I'm only now starting to measure how much sugar to use to achieve a specific volume, and trying different options (just bottled a porter with some brown sugar last week).

 

[Brownalemikie]

At my home place sugar cube users have said they worked very well. I'm old style with 5 gallon brews using corn sugar in the bottling bucket.

Edit: Doesn't your local grocery carry the Dots?

Yes, local stores carry them but they are the bigger 4 gram dots and there are 126 dots per pound.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

If you plan to continue brewing and try some different styles, it really is worth your while to try out bulk priming. All you need is a bottling bucket and an accurate scale, each of which you can get for under $20. In brewing, one size does not fit all. Bulk priming allows you to adjust your carbonation for any brew from a 2.2 volume milk stout to a 3.3 volume Belgian. There are plenty of online calculators (I use Northern Brewer's) to tell you exactly how much sugar to use. Boil it in some water, put it in the bucket and siphon your brew into the bucket. Bada-bing-bada-boom-Betty-Boop.

 

[Brownalemikie]

If you plan to continue brewing and try some different styles, it really is worth your while to try out bulk priming. All you need is a bottling bucket and an accurate scale, each of which you can get for under $20. In brewing, one size does not fit all. Bulk priming allows you to adjust your carbonation for any brew from a 2.2 volume milk stout to a 3.3 volume Belgian. There are plenty of online calculators (I use Northern Brewer's) to tell you exactly how much sugar to use. Boil it in some water, put it in the bucket and siphon your brew into the bucket. Bada-bing-bada-boom-Betty-Boop.

Makes sense, but I've heard the less times you transfer your brew the less chance of infection. And how do you know that the bulk priming solution is dispersed equally through-out the bottling bucket?

 

[catdaddy66]

Makes sense, but I've heard the less times you transfer your brew the less chance of infection. And how do you know that the bulk priming solution is dispersed equally through-out the bottling bucket?

The short time that the solution is in the bottling bucket gives minimal time for infection to set up shop. If you have good sanitation you will be fine. Take a sanitized spoon and mix the solution for even distribution or swirl the bucket gently for a minute or so.

 

[Brownalemikie]

The short time that the solution is in the bottling bucket gives minimal time for infection to set up shop. If you have good sanitation you will be fine. Take a sanitized spoon and mix the solution for even distribution or swirl the bucket gently for a minute or so.

Ok, I'll try it.....but I have to use the 396 sugar cube dots first.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Makes sense, but I've heard the less times you transfer your brew the less chance of infection. And how do you know that the bulk priming solution is dispersed equally through-out the bottling bucket?

If you've boiled your sugar and sanitized your bottling bucket (and spigot!) there is very little chance for infection. Siphon gently and there is little chance of oxidation, either. An added advantage of the bottling bucket is that you are much less apt to suck up trub into the bottles than siphoning directly from the fermenter.

If you put your boiled priming solution in the bottling bucket first and siphon the brew from the fermenter on top of it, that will serve to fully mix your solution by the time you've siphoned it all in. You can even give it a gentle stir (with a sanitized spoon) to play it safe.