How do YOU carbonate bottles?

So its a very simple question, but does anyone NOT use the pre-packaged priming sugar? Are there any benefits to using something else, like DME?

You can prime with any fermentable sugar...dextrose, sucrose, honey, DME/LME, etc. I prefer dextrose, as in small amounts it doesn't impact taste, color or body. It's also very consistent and predictable, easily measured, very cheap, and readily available.

Many people use DME with good results, but others report various issues: longer carbonation times, krausen rings in bottles, inconsistent results, etc. Personally, I don't see any advantage to using DME, other than most brewers already keep a supply of it on hand.

Ultimately it's up to the brewer.

I bottle from kegs or use carbonation drops.

For the average homebrewer, corn sugar/dextrose is just fine. DME or even saved wort has its positives and negatives, depending on what you're carbonating. DME can leave a scummy ring around the neck of the bottle. Saved wort (from an AG batch) may do this, but to a lesser extent than DME. If you're brewing a lager or super-clean tasting ale, non-maltbased sugars may produce some estery flavors, but dextrose probably the least of those. Even maltbased sugars can produce esters (in lagers, e.g.) if they're carbonated at higher than primary fermentation temps.

I've used saved wort before when trying to be all Reinheitsgeboty, but this got to be a pain in the ass and I've since done all my beers with dextrose with no noticable change, or at least not noticable enough to go through all that trouble. I don't use kits, so I buy bulk dextrose and measure out appropriate quantities for each batch.

I've never used carb drops. I always bulk prime if I bottle with DME solution.

I use corn sugar most of the time because of price / convenience. I have used DME a few times and I was very happy with the results, they actually carbed faster than with corn sugar and I thought tasted slightly maltier. the biggest problem I had using DME was getting the stuff dissolved in the boiling water before dumping it into the priming bucket its way more difficult than corn sugar.

I usually use powdered dextrose. Occasionally, I'll use carb tabs if I want to control the level of carbonation more precisely.

I buy bulk priming sugar, and use beersmith to calculate the correct amount of sugar based on the style and the temp of beer at bottling time...then I measure it up on my 20 dollar target digital scale.

Revvy said:

I buy bulk priming sugar, and use beersmith to calculate the correct amount of sugar based on the style and the temp of beer at bottling time...then I measure it up on my 20 dollar target digital scale.

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great minds think alike.

already had the $50 scale, and bulk corn sugar's cheaper than the 5 oz. bags.

Well the reason I asked is because I have had an overwhelmingly dry/ generic taste in some if not most of my beers (about 20-25 batches). I have moved on from extract and most recently my first PM batch of a Wit is drinkable. Sadly it came out tasting the same as many of my other extract beers before it, pretty dry, generic, and bland. Very dissapointed. I only did the one PM before I went to AG and have done 4 of them since. Anyway, im thinking that maybe the priming sugar in those little bags may be to blame since its the only thing that hasnt changed in my very expensive and time consuming strive for better tasting homebrew. To be honest, its very disheartening for my beers to be just "okay" when all I do is think about my homebrewing 24/7. Especially now that I have moved away from extract.

Not to hijack, but in everyone's opinion, how much carb should you expect at one week from bottling with corn sugar? Two weeks? And is it fully carbed at three weeks, or should it take less time? I know, excluding certain styles, it's still green, I'm just curious on everyone's thoughts.

And I've used both for bottles, I prefer corn sugar most of the time, but DME tastes better in some styles, IMO.

Eskimo Spy said:

Not to hijack, but in everyone's opinion, how much carb should you expect at one week from bottling with corn sugar? Two weeks? And is it fully carbed at three weeks, or should it take less time?

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Here's a pretty good demonstration.

[youtube]FlBlnTfZ2iw[/youtube]

EamusCatuli said:

Well the reason I asked is because I have had an overwhelmingly dry/ generic taste in some if not most of my beers (about 20-25 batches). I have moved on from extract and most recently my first PM batch of a Wit is drinkable. Sadly it came out tasting the same as many of my other extract beers before it, pretty dry, generic, and bland. Very dissapointed. I only did the one PM before I went to AG and have done 4 of them since. Anyway, im thinking that maybe the priming sugar in those little bags may be to blame since its the only thing that hasnt changed in my very expensive and time consuming strive for better tasting homebrew. To be honest, its very disheartening for my beers to be just "okay" when all I do is think about my homebrewing 24/7. Especially now that I have moved away from extract.

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There should be no flavor whatsoever from using priming sugar to bottle with. It's 100% fermentable, that means it turns to alchohol/co2.

How long do you let your beers condition...does the taste change over time?

There is one more consistent thing that more than likely transfered over from extract to AG.....Your water (unless you've done some with bottled, some with tap and some with boiled,) and they all take the same.

The way you prime isn't making your beers dry, generic or bland. It has little effect on the overall taste of the beer.

Yeah I figured that wouldnt be it, but im just trying to narrow things down. For now im going to wait and see how my AG beers taste, if its as good as I think it should be then I would say my problems are fixed thanks to all grain.

But who knows, if its got those same tastes I had from extract then it might be the water

BTW, for conditioning I do the standard 1-2-3 approach. So 3 weeks bottles. Unless, of course, its something that calls for more aging (trappist, etc.)

EamusCatuli said:

But who knows, if its got those same tastes I had from extract then it might be the water

BTW, for conditioning I do the standard 1-2-3 approach. So 3 weeks bottles. Unless, of course, its something that calls for more aging (trappist, etc.)

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FWIW, I find that my beer is nowhere NEAR it's best after six weeks. Somewhere around the 3 month point it starts to get really good. The pale ale I've currently got on tap was brewed in March...it's really good!!

With your next batch, try using bottled water as a test. Or get a simple activated charcoal filter, and see if there is any difference. I use these:

BlindLemonLars said:

FWIW, I find that my beer is nowhere NEAR it's best after six weeks. Somewhere around the 3 month point it starts to get really good. The pale ale I've currently got on tap was brewed in March...it's really good!!

With your next batch, try using bottled water as a test. Or get a simple activated charcoal filter, and see if there is any difference. I use these:

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Doesnt look cheap . . . hah

So would you say 3 weeks just isnt enough time??? Its so hard to wait already!!!

EamusCatuli said:

Doesnt look cheap . . . hah

So would you say 3 weeks just isnt enough time??? Its so hard to wait already!!!

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They are very cheap...$10 at Amazon. Walmart has them in the RV section, maybe even cheaper. Along with a $6.00 potable water hose (same section at Walmart) you've got a super cheap filter setup that lasts a LONG time.

I think three weeks is the absolute minimum for what might be considered drinkable. Of course there is a wide margin between "drinkable" and "delicious." With virtually every batch I make, the last pull from the keg is the best one! Right around the time you starting thinking "Wow, this could be the best batch I've made yet!" the keg blows.

Revvy said:

There should be no flavor whatsoever from using priming sugar to bottle with. It's 100% fermentable, that means it turns to alchohol/co2.

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Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Depending on which types of sugar molecules the yeast are breaking down, different fermentation by-products are produced. 100% fermentable doesn't mean 100% CO2 and alcohol. Sucrose, for example, is 100% fermentable too, but since it is a disaccharide (glucose and fructose), the yeast have to break these molecules apart in order to metabolize them. It's this energy expense on the yeast's part that produce fermentation by-products and, subsequently, off-flavors. However, dextrose is a monosaccharide (D-Glucose) and the yeast doesn't really produce these fermentation by-products with it.

And then, of course, there is the temperature that comes into play. Even with maltose, yeast will produce fermentation by-products at fermentation temps beyond the optimum range.

All that said, the quantities of any type of sugar used for carbonation are so small that, if esters, etc. are produced, they may not be detectable anyway. I really don't think the OP's flavor problem lies in the priming sugar.

Sorry if I'm coming across all sciency and geeky. That's just who I am. I love both the art and science of beer. For me, the art of brewing is in creatively defining the goal, the science is in understanding how to reach it.

Yuri_Rage said:

I bottle from kegs or use carbonation drops.

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How do you bottle from kegs? Do you just open up the keg and siphon out? Won't it lose carbonation once it gets in the bottle?

I was actually interested in doing this, I'm about ready to buy a kegerator, but I don't want to lose bottling all together. I like to give beers away (if they turn out well).

Blichmann Beer Gun or BMBF

BlindLemonLars said:

Here's a pretty good demonstration.

[youtube]FlBlnTfZ2iw[/youtube]

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Duh, I forgot about that video, thanks for the reminder!