Priming Sugar

I have seen priming sugar calculators that use the current beer temperature to tell how much sugar to add and I have seen calculators that use the fermentation temperature. Which is right?

If I have cold crashed the beer and the temperature is still low does this matter?

Do I have to wait till the temperature is the same as room temperature?

Thanks

I think what you consider is the highest temperature the beer reached after fermentation.

When you warm up a solution with a gas dissolved in it, the gas will start coming out, so calculators try to account for that. I don't think it matters a large amount though.

I warm mine up a bit so that sugar dissolves more evenly, but not to room temperature. When I bottle, I try to have my beer cool, so that when it goes in the bottle, it will warm up, release some CO2 and push some O2 out. After that happens, I lock down the caps

It would be the temperature at bottling. Take the temp before you are about to bottle. Brewersfriend.com has a ton of calculators.

m_stodd said:

I think what you consider is the highest temperature the beer reached after fermentation.

When you warm up a solution with a gas dissolved in it, the gas will start coming out, so calculators try to account for that. I don't think it matters a large amount though.

I warm mine up a bit so that sugar dissolves more evenly, but not to room temperature. When I bottle, I try to have my beer cool, so that when it goes in the bottle, it will warm up, release some CO2 and push some O2 out. After that happens, I lock down the caps

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This is correct. If your beer finished fermentation at, say, 72 degrees, and then you cold crashed it at 34 degrees for a few days, you'd use 72 degrees as the temperature.

The reason is that the calculator tries to "guestimate" the amount of residual co2 in the beer. Since co2 is released more readily at warmer temperatures, and fermentation would be finished before going into cold cold and no more co2 would be created or be dissolved in the beer, you would still use the temperature of 72 degrees.

I dislike those calculators for several reasons, but this is one of them!

Yooper said:

I dislike those calculators for several reasons, but this is one of them!

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Did you forget the link to the calculator, or are you telling me to use my favorite, but follow your response?

I'm just trying to figure out if I have this right. I just had to pour out 24 bottles of an over carbonated centennial blonde and it hurt so bad to do it. Two bottles blew up in the case they were in and when I opened the others after the foam filled the sink, I had about an inch in the bottom of each bottle.

So, the instructions from the LHBS on the dextrose package tells me to add 3/4 of a cup for 5 gallons. Since I brew 2.5 gallons I should use half this amount, or .375 cups. I have been adding .333 cups since it is an easy. 1/3 cup of dextrose weighs about 2.375 ounces. and when I use the calculator it tells me i should use 2.14 oz for an american ale at 2.4 volumes. and the amount they want me to use would be good if I wanted 2.7 volumes.

Does all of this make sense?

Why the hell didn't you just bleed off some pressure???

AlCophile said:

Why the hell didn't you just bleed off some pressure???

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Thats what I was trying to do, There was so much pressure that it just foamed out of the neck of the bottle and left only one inch of beer left. I made the rest in to a short rib recipe. I didn't have a way to save any of it.

Listen, I had Xact same problem, but, like a dummy, I had foam caused by particles of hops in a Heavy Ale.
Got desperate, so slllllooooowwwly, read: slowly!!! gently lift the edge of cap just a leeeeetle bit, it will hiss, and foam comes up the neck. Stop lifting and cap may actually return to seal it up again. If not, you can gently recap with the same cap. Repeat. Damned if I was gonna waste ale!!!
It's a PITA, but the ale is really good(11 mo. old) and hopped to high Heaven.

raymadigan said:

Did you forget the link to the calculator, or are you telling me to use my favorite, but follow your response?

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I don't use ANY calculator. They are flawed in many ways. The first is the "temperature" part. The second is having you carb "to style" For example, a British mild might be 1.5 volumes of c02 (totally flat) while a weizen might be 4.5 (bottle bombs). Most people who drink bottled beer are accustomed to a "normal" bottled beer pressure of 2.4-2.7 volumes of co2. A British beer on cask is great when flat and served with a beer engine- but if you're bottling, you want the beer carbed.

For me, I always use a scale. And I always use .75-1 ounce of corn sugar per finished gallon of beer. I use .75 ounces for beers that I like with a little less carb, and 1 ounce for others. It works perfectly! No flat beer, no guessing about temperature, and no bottle bombs.

The thing is, "cups" doesn't work. You need a little kitchen scale. I use the scale for my hops as well, so it wasn't an extra investment.

Yooper said:

For me, I always use a scale. And I always use .75-1 ounce of corn sugar per finished gallon of beer. I use .75 ounces for beers that I like with a little less carb, and 1 ounce for others. It works perfectly! No flat beer, no guessing about temperature, and no bottle bombs.

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I have a scale that I use for hops, it measures to 1/8th of an oz. Now that I know the program it is easy. One problem with the web is knowing what to believe. There are so many differing techniques. I really appreciate HBT and the people here, there is so much experience.

Thank you for all of your hep.

raymadigan said:

I'm just trying to figure out if I have this right. I just had to pour out 24 bottles of an over carbonated centennial blonde and it hurt so bad to do it. Two bottles blew up in the case they were in and when I opened the others after the foam filled the sink, I had about an inch in the bottom of each bottle.

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Almost sounds more like an infection than over carbing.

whoaru99 said:

Almost sounds more like an infection than over carbing.

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Well, it tasted pretty good, it was bierMuncher's Centennial Blonde I drank some, cooked with some. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong. I left it in the primary for 4 weeks and the fg was right where it should be. All I could think of is priming sugar, too much of it.

I've drank a brew or two that I think was infected (did same thing, just kept foaming and foaming after opening the bottles) but was still tasted good enough to drink at the time.

whoaru99 said:

I've drank a brew or two that I think was infected (did same thing, just kept foaming and foaming after opening the bottles) but was still tasted good enough to drink at the time.

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What evidence did you note that made you think it was an infection. I'm fairly new to this and would like to know how to understand this. I really have no idea what could have caused his, maybe next time I should keep a couple of bottles and open them at different intervals to see if it somehow re veils itself.

This is a somewhat scary thread!
No matter how many threads I read on priming the infamous bottle explosions hinder. I may only assume that maybe ending with a flatter than expected beer is still much better than ending with beer bombs. Also maybe as a total beginner using plastic bottles would make things safer!?

Even after I have recalculated the amount of priming sugar for my beer I get 109 gr per 20 liters (3.8 ounce per ~5 gallon) that's for 2.3 vols - Beersmith.

Can anyone let me know what is 2.3 vols? e.g. a Heineken would be 2 vols!

raymadigan said:

What evidence did you note that made you think it was an infection.

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Reading here and elsewhere about gusher infections.

Over carbing can cause gushers but, as I understand it, this sort of gusher mostly subsides once the pressure is relieved. Whereas, a gusher infection will just keep foaming and foaming and foaming out until most of the bottle is gone.

As I also understand it, early on you may not even be able to tell the difference between early stage gusher infection and overcarbing because the gusher infection can take a while before it really affects the taste.

What's going on for you may not be a gusher infection, but that's what it sounds like to me.

There is plenty of reading on it here... paste the line below into Google, et al. search.

gusher infection site:homebrewtalk.com