monty3777

Recipes 

Is there a rule of thumb for how much priming sugar to add before bottling?

My instructions only give the amount of sugar to add to each bottle - but I will be using several different sized bottles so I figure it would be best to add sugar to the beer in a bottling bucket then rack.

I used 4 gallons to increase the alcohol if that makes any difference.

Thanks all.

flyangler18

Recipes 

Check this out: Carbonation Priming Chart - Brew Your Own (BYO), the How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine

And as a matter of best practice, add the sugar solution to the bottling bucket, rack the beer on top, then use your bottling wand to fill each bottle. This will insure even carbonation.

tom777

Recipes 

At good starting point is to use 1oz priming sugar per gallon of beer.
You can adjust a little from there depending the style of beer or your preference. While many will recommend 3/4 cup, I usually use about 1 cup per five gallons as 1 cup of the priming sugar from my LHBS weighs just under 5oz.

homebrewer_99

Recipes 

Use the weight measurement and not the cup.

If you pour 5 oz into a cup you can smack it on the counter and it'll compact. Once that happens you'll be overpriming.

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FishinDave07

Recipes 

Here is a nice little carbonation calculator

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BigKahuna

Recipes 

Use 1 oz of priming sugar per gallon. You won't be dissapointed.



and isn't the rule of thumb the one that states you can beat your SWMBO with a stick (No Bigger around than your thumb)?

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monty3777

Recipes 

Absolutely. However, my wife calls her's the "rule of bat." I should be out of the hospital in a couple of days and ready to add all that priming sugar!

monty3777

Recipes 

So, what does "rack the beer on top" mean?

Yooper

Recipes 

"Rack" means siphon. You siphon the beer, putting the tip of the tubing at the very bottom of the receiving vessel (usually a bottling bucket), and let it fill from the bottom without splashing. You kind of wind the tubing around the bottom of the bucket inside, so that the priming solution swirls around and mixes into the beer without any splashing or aerating. Most beers are racked at least once, to remove it from the sediment.

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BigKahuna

Recipes 

Your wife and my wife must PM each other.

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