How much to prime?

Hi there,

I made a Coopers Draught 3 weeks ago and tomorrow is bottling day!! Been in the primary for 3 weeks today. It’s been some of the longest 3 weeks of my life waiting for it, but after reading so much on here I figured I better hold off.

So I have a bunch of Grolsch bottles (500 ml) that I'm using to bottle tomorrow. How much Dextrose do I add to each bottle to properly prime it?

I also have 3 Ikea 1 Liter swing top bottles (which I replaced the gaskets with new Grolsch ones) is it just a simple matter of doubling the amount of dextrose?

So how about it?

How much Dextrose to properly prime 500ml and 1 liter Glass bottles?

I'm wondering the same thing myself. I think most people will take the dextrose, dissolve in water and add to a bottling bucket. Also im sure there will be talk of carbing to certain styles. I'd love to know if there is a quick and easy way to drop say a whatever per bottle.

I'm only looking to bottle condition though. I don't feel like racking the beer all over the place.

I just want to add the proper amount to bottles and go!

Any idea on amounts?

I dont know how much per bottle but it is really recommended to add all the priming sugar to the beer rather than to each bottle. When adding it to each bottle you will have really inconsistent results where some are flat and others are gushers.

Well I don't own a bottling bucket so its what I'm doing. I'll report back after I do it.

I figure 1 Teaspoon for 500ml should be good according to CraigTube

Okey dokey then. I highly recommend getting a bottling bucket and a bottling wand for the future. Neither are very expensive.

Remember that you not only have to put the same amount of priming sugar in each bottle, but you also have to put the same amount of beer in each bottle. I think you'll find that the latter is incredibly difficult.

Dude a bottling bucket is like $5 if that. Go to a bakery or grocery store with bakery counter and ask for an empty 5 gallon frosting bucket they'll give it to you for free. If you dont want to buy a spigot and bottling wand at least you can rack the beer into new bucket and add all priming sugar, then siphon into bottles. I have a feeling your gonna have a mess on ur hands though.

You could also consider boiling 3/4 a cup of sugar with 2 cups of water, cooling that, then pouring into your fermenter and allowing it to rest a while before bottling. I have only bottled once, so am in no way an expert, but that may give you a more uniform approach than adding sugar per bottle. They also make tablets you can put in each bottle. Again, I am new and have not tried them, but saw them in several online stores.

Do a search for CraigTube on this forum and you'll find that his advice is not the best to take. Don't be a cheap-@$$, go get a bottling bucket with a spigot and a wand. Trust me, it'll make your life way easier.

use this: http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

and adjust your beer volume to the size of the vessel that you are using to condition the beer.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

My primary has a spigot, and I do have a bottling wand already.

I just figure if I take one of those baking measuring spoons and put the required 1 Teaspoon or whatever in each bottle and fill it up to the neck I should be good.

It just seems like a lot more work to sanitize, and rack it all into a new bucket. Sanitize my mixing spoon, mix it all up and then pour. Meanwhile worrying about accidentally aerating it, and the rest of it. I just can't see that being easier than dumping a spoon full of dextrose into a funnel into the bottle and topping it up with beer.

Any more thoughts?

The big issue is that the sugar you're dumping in to the bottles isn't sanitized because it wasn't heated in water. That and it won't be very easily dissolved in the cold beer.

Check out: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-4.html

Boil 3/4 cup of corn sugar (4 oz by weight), or 2/3 cup of white sugar, or 1 and 1/4 cup dry malt extract in 2 cups of water and let it cool.

How are you going to sanitize your bottles? I assume a dishwasher? If you don't have one you're going to have to get some kind of bucket to sanitize them in anyhow...

I've run my bottles through the dish washer already (without soap).

And I have one of them "push down and it sprays up" bottle washers with Sodium Meto blah blah stuff. And one of them fancy "screws onto your your sink bottle sprayer" rinsing devices. I was also going to dip the swinging top of the Grolsch bottles (without a gasket on) into a cup of the sanitizer and then strap on a brand new sanitized gasket.

Sound ok?

Sorry for my technical language. . .

If you REALLY don't want to rack into a bottling bucket to mix your priming sugar, I have seen priming tablets. Add one tablet into each bottle, fill, mix, and let condition. I have heard bad things about these tablets being inconsistent and expensive. In fact, you could probably buy a cheap bottling bucket for as much as a package of priming tablets.

I'm just sayin. . .