My Plan: Keg first, bottle second... suggestions?

I usually brew so that I end up with 6 gallons in the fermenter. Since only 5 gallons goes into the keg, I end up tossing about a gallon or so down the drain. While this was my plan initially, I'm now thinking I should bottle up that last gallon and let them condition, just so I have some leftover once the keg is cashed. My guess is there are a lot of folks who already do this... so my question is:

What's the best way to go about adding sugar to that final gallon so the beer carbs properly during conditioning? My preference would be to mix up a 1/2 pint of a normal dextrose solution that I would keep on hand and use after kegging each batch... I can't imagine a single bottle requiring more than 3-5 drops, no? I've also heard of (never used) Cooper's carb caps... do these work well?

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Cheers!

Carb caps sound the easiest. This process has been on my to-do list as well.

phoenixs4r said:

Carb caps sound the easiest. This process has been on my to-do list as well.

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My exact thought, initially. Then I realized that's also the more expensive option, plus I've heard the caps can overcarbonate a beer pretty easily. Hmm... I just want to know how much of a typical corn sugar solution should go into each bottle.

BrightSpotBrewing said:

. . . . ... I just want to know how much of a typical corn sugar solution should go into each bottle.

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1/2 teaspoon dextrose per 12oz.

There are several calculators online that tell you how much to add to the total amount of beer. Adding to individual bottles is too imprecise and time consuming.
The Beer Recipator - Carbonation
TastyBrew.com | Homebrewing Calculators | Botting Priming Calculator

I've got a 3-way measuring scoop that I got online from one of the suppliers (sorry, I don't remember which one). Each scoop is labeled for the amount of corn sugar you need for a 12 oz., 16 oz, or 22 oz. bottle. I bottle a case of bombers from each batch I make and keg the rest. This makes it quick and easy.

When bottling, typically I believe you would use 5oz priming sugar per five -six gal. batch, which is 1 oz per gal. I would boil 1 oz of priming sugar with a little water on the stove, and mix it in with the remainimg 1 gal. of beer, and then bottle as normal.

Brewham said:

. . . . . . Adding to individual bottles is too imprecise and time consuming.
. . . . .

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?? Takes about two minutes for a six pack. I do it all the time, seems to carbonate fine. I like to have a sixer I can age for extended periods and use for competitions if needed, etc.

I'd put measurment marks on my bottling bucket so I know how much beer is left. Then just use the carb calculator referenced above to add the appropriate amount of sugar. Priming by weight is more precise than by volume.

Consider priming the whole batch and not force carb...?

I bottled one week ago using Coopers for the first time. I'll be interested to see how it works out... This was a porter so it may over carb, I wouldn't be as concerned with an IPA...

ValleyBrew said:

Consider priming the whole batch and not force carb...?

I bottled one week ago using Coopers for the first time. I'll be interested to see how it works out... This was a porter so it may over carb, I wouldn't be as concerned with an IPA...

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+1, this works as well, natural carb in the keg as well as the bottles. Turn the keg upside down for a few minutes to make sure it doesn't leak, pull the relief valve a little the next day to purge the o2, shake the keg on it's side every other day for 2-3 weeks.

COLObrewer said:

+1, this works as well, natural carb in the keg as well as the bottles. Turn the keg upside down for a few minutes to make sure it doesn't leak, pull the relief valve a little the next day to purge the o2, shake the keg on it's side every other day for 2-3 weeks.

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Whats the point of shaking the keg?

phoenixs4r said:

Whats the point of shaking the keg?

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Helps get co2 into solution a little faster, put it on its side and roll the pi$$ out of it. You wanna make sure the o2 is purged though.

Scutrbrau said:

I've got a 3-way measuring scoop that I got online from one of the suppliers (sorry, I don't remember which one). Each scoop is labeled for the amount of corn sugar you need for a 12 oz., 16 oz, or 22 oz. bottle. I bottle a case of bombers from each batch I make and keg the rest. This makes it quick and easy.

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This sounds way cool, and exactly what I'm looking for! Any chance you could upload a pic for me to reference when shopping?

Happy Friday... and New Year!! (SN Celebration Ale in the cup... cashed both kegs last night :cross

Scutrbrau said:

I've got a 3-way measuring scoop that I got online from one of the suppliers (sorry, I don't remember which one). Each scoop is labeled for the amount of corn sugar you need for a 12 oz., 16 oz, or 22 oz. bottle. I bottle a case of bombers from each batch I make and keg the rest. This makes it quick and easy.

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Does it look like this?

BrightSpotBrewing said:

Does it look like this?

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http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/69/nm/Sugar_Measure_1

COLObrewer said:

+1, this works as well, natural carb in the keg as well as the bottles. Turn the keg upside down for a few minutes to make sure it doesn't leak, pull the relief valve a little the next day to purge the o2, shake the keg on it's side every other day for 2-3 weeks.

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Why not put in enough co2 to bleed out the o2 and also seal the keg up? Then you don't have to worry about it leaking or the oxygen.

RogueVassar said:

Why not put in enough co2 to bleed out the o2 and also seal the keg up? Then you don't have to worry about it leaking or the oxygen.

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Yeah.

RogueVassar said:

Why not put in enough co2 to bleed out the o2 and also seal the keg up? Then you don't have to worry about it leaking or the oxygen.

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This works too, no worries either way.