How many coopers carbonation drops?

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jay2k6ie

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Hi,

I just started my second coopers brew kit. The first one was the European lager kit which is now in bottles and has a few weeks of maturing left.

In the kit came 44 500ml plastic bottles and the instructions to add 1 carbonation drop per bottle when bottling. I followed these directions for the lager kit and bottled with one carbonation drop in the plastic bottles..

My second batch is the Coopers APA but this time I will be bottling in 500ml cleaned glass beer bottles (tiger beer and budvar bottles).

I am wondering should I use the same one carbonation drop per glass bottle?

Great site you have here, I look forward to contributing.

Cheers :)
 
I've been following the same rules from the first Cooper's kit brew (2 drops for 750ml, 1 drop for a 12 oz bottle and probably the 500ml bottles like you have), and it's been working fairly well.

Although I've noticed less carbonation with the PET bottles than my reclaimed glass bottles, but I think that's because I don't use fresh PET caps every time and I don't get the seal.
 
Two drops will probably be too much -

You can try an alternate solution - make a sugar solution (4 oz corn sugar with 1.5 cup water, boiled, cooled) - mix this in with your beer and the carbonation will be correct no matter what size bottle you choose.

Carb drops are convenient, no doubt, but if you are going to change bottle sizes frequently, you may want to prime more traditionally (above method).
 
I think I might just use the carb drops for this next batch and then after I might do the proper priming as hang glider suggested. Im using one drop for 500ml plastic bottles so would that translate as the same amount for the 500ml glass bottles I have?
 
Yes.

Cooper's Drops are very convenient for carbing a few bottles at a time, but for bottling entire batches they quickly become a significant expense when compared with ordinary sugar. Priming with a boiled sugar solution allows you to dial in the carbonation to your liking or to the style of beer.

I like this priming calculator, but they should all work the same.
http://kotmf.com/tools/prime.php
 
Yes.

Cooper's Drops are very convenient for carbing a few bottles at a time, but for bottling entire batches they quickly become a significant expense when compared with ordinary sugar. Priming with a boiled sugar solution allows you to dial in the carbonation to your liking or to the style of beer.

I like this priming calculator, but they should all work the same.
http://kotmf.com/tools/prime.php

I might go the table sugar priming route now that I've had a look at it. Im unsure as to what co2 volumes I should be going for the tough with an Australian Pale Ale? Anyone any ideas?
 
I wanted to try coopers on small batches to make life easier. Since it is a small batch, I have refrigerator room to condition these bottles. At what point, if any should I switch from room temp to refrigerated?
 
With the 25oz cooper's PET bottles,you have to tighten those caps a lot to get'em tight enough. drop in 2 carb drops,fill them all,capping as you go. Then go back & crank'em again. They always seem to need to be tightened one last time,like torquing head bolts.
And their caps are designed to be reused,so no worries there. But I calculated this for a member once before,& 500ml would need 1.5 drops per bottle.
I've since built a bottling bucket with the Italian spigot that has a recess on it for 3/8" tubing that comes with the Fermtech bottling wand. I buy a good size bag of dextrose,& one of demerara sugar for amber & darker ales. Use a priming calculator to get the right weight of sugar per style,& dissolve in 2C of boiled water. Rack a couple inches of beer to the bottling bucket,& gently pour the priming solution into the surface of the swirling volume of beer. A few light stirs when it's done racking,& it won't matter what size bottle you're using.
Bigger bottles take longer to carb up & condition. But they'll be a lot more evenly carbonated. And bottled beer needs at least 3-5 weeks at room temp to carb & condition. Then at least one week fridge time to settle chill haze,& drive co2 in the head space into solution. Two weeks is def better for thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.
 
My husband and I used a wood chisel to crack the coopers carbonation drops in half and used 1 1/2 in each 500ml bottle.
I've been using a sanitized knife to do the same with mine. I have yet to see the final result of this because mine are still in the bottling stage, but I have seen this method recommended elsewhere if you intend to use the carbonation drops made by Coopers.
 
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