Carbination Drops-Coopers

Hello All-
Looks like the batch is ready to bottle. It has been a total of 6 days....no bubbles/ferm for 2 days. Beer is really clear and looks very good.

My question: I didnt have the cash to set up a corney keg/co2/etc. and I didnt want to mess around with mixing the sugar then bottling....so I bought some Coopers drops. They state 2 per 750ml. I have liter bottles - swing top kind.
Some people say to just add 2 and it should be fine. Others say to add 3.

"Should" be fine doesnt give me a good feeling but on the same token, I dont want any "bang" issues.

Also- I will be adding a little ID Carlsons "Raspberry" flavor to each bottle. Will that have an effect on the whole carbination issue or does that have nothing to do with it?

Beer Type: Wheat Beer W/ Raspberry - ( Have to make the wife happy before the stouts come to be brewed."
Thanks for all your help.

Use 2 carb drops - much better to be safe than sorry. The raspberry flavoring doesn't likely have any sugars in it, so it won't affect anything other than the flavor.

Thanks Yuri.

I just had a thought: Did I add too much water?
I used a can of extract ( Mr. Beer), 1/2 gallon of water then added the sugar - boiled it and added it to the carboy. Then I added the rest of the 2 gallons of water.
Is that correct?

Brad3529 said:

Thanks Yuri.

I just had a thought: Did I add too much water?
I used a can of extract ( Mr. Beer), 1/2 gallon of water then added the sugar - boiled it and added it to the carboy. Then I added the rest of the 2 gallons of water.
Is that correct?

Click to expand...

So you made a Mr. Beer kit? I'm not sure if that is right or not, never made one. But from what I inderstand, I would say that is right.

If you used sugar (or even the Mr. Beer booster) you may be in for a disappointing brew. Although the wheat was also my first beer and I liked it, but comparing it to my more resent stuff shows its shortcomings.

I have also played with the Coopers drops. Much better then using table sugar. For a one liter bottle and a wheat beer you will want to use three drops. Drank a Hefe last night made in quart bottles and three drops. Just about perfect, but definitely not over carbed.

Tip: Get a bag of the Munton drops. For 16oz bottles one Coopers and one Munton are just about right (and much easier then using multiple Munton drops.)

Ive used those coopers drops for every brew ive done so far... been too lazy to use sugar... my bad.

I put 2 per 800ml bottle, and find my beer has been slightly under carb'd... so ya might wanna go with 3 for 1L bottles.

I used both Coopers and Muntons in my first Mr. Beer batch. 1 Coopers for 12 oz 2 Coopers for 22 ox and 5 Muntons for 16 ox swing tops. I'm mostly happy with the results althought some bottles seemed slightly undercarbinated. I'll try the 1 Coopers and 1 Muntons for the 16 oz swing tops as per Anoldur - seems like smart idea. I'm also glad to see someone else is brewing Mr. beer, I find its easier and more importantly less time consuming. I'd rather brew 5 gallon batches but just am strapped for time. Keep up the good work Brad3529, let us know how it turns out.

Mainly I keg, so when I bottle a bit, I use Cooper's drops. I use 3 drops in a liter and 4 in a 1.5L swing top.

I've been using coopers for the stuff I don't keg, they work well, but I've noticed they vary in physical size quite a bit, which scares me a little. Maybe I got a bad bag.

I have found that the Coopers drops over-carbonated my beer, following their recommendations for use. The other problem with them is that they are big, so you have little control over the carbonation produced (and you can't really cut them in half -- I have tried that too).

You might also try the Muntons carb tablets. They are much smaller (you use 4 or 5 in a bottle), so you have more control over your final carbonation. I have used those once now, and really liked them. Far superior to the Coopers version.