carbonating without sweetening?

I am trying to carbonate some random drinks just to see how good they'd be, but I have no idea how much sugar I need for the yeast to carbonate it.

Does anyone know how much sugar I'd need to carbonate without changing the taste (without sweetening). I'm using 16floz bottles.

No amount of sugar will make the final product sweet. They yeast will just continue to eat the sugar until it is gone.

And that is the real issue. If you give them too much sugar, they will eat it. That produces CO2. The pressure in the bottle will build and build until it explodes.

Just google "priming calculator homebrew" and you'll get numerous online calculators to help you get the sugar level right. If you are willing to spend a couple bucks, they sell carbonation drops that are premeasured. Unless you have a precise scale (down to 0.01 ounce), measuring those small amounts is going to be a challenge.

I should have been clearer. I want to add just enough sugar so it is used up by the time it is carbonated, after about 2 days

Masterjuggler said:

I should have been clearer. I want to add just enough sugar so it is used up by the time it is carbonated, after about 2 days

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1 oz per gallon, by weight, for a light carbonation.

But remember that if you are doing this with a liquid that has some sugar, either added or naturally, the yeast won't know when to stop or how fast to go- so you may not have it carbonated after two days, or you may have bottle bombs.

You can try first with an unsweetened beverage- say, diet kool aid or crystal light, first- to make sure you know what you're in for!

Or try this calc for other sugar types: http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

I would say force carbonation is your best bet here..

Yooper said:

remember that if you are doing this with a liquid that has some sugar, either added or naturally, the yeast won't know when to stop or how fast to go- so you may not have it carbonated after two days, or you may have bottle bombs.

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Bottle bombs are scary. Be careful!