is it safe to use over 7 oz to bottle prime?

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jigidyjim

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Just used a carbonation calculator for a Dunkelweisen - at 3.6 volumes (low end) it says to use 7.46 oz of sugar (211g). at the high end 9.8 ounces!

this is almost 50% more sugar than I normally use (125g). Is this safe to do?

I'm entering this in the local oktoberfest competition... so I want to do it to style, but pretty scared of using that much sugar...
 
That's pushing the limit for the pressure your standard glass beer bottles can handle iirc. I think they're rated for up to 3.8 volumes CO2 max, so I would be careful. Someone else correct me if I'm wrong.
 
You should think in terms of volumes or grams per liter of c02 rather than ounces of corn sugar. How many volumes of c02 7 ounces will get you is dependent on the temperature of the beer at bottling and also how much beer you have.

Now in terms of the safety, you should think in terms of pressure, which is a function of the temperature of the bottled beer and the volumes of c02.

Personally I have not had any problems going to 4 volumes in standard (ISB) bottles, I just don't let the beer get above room temperature and this is equivalent to 3 volumes in a car during the summer.

When I carb high in a bottle I take time to inspect bottles for flaws.

As an anecdote, I have bought a few commercial beers over the years that were (due to infection) HIGHLY carbonated in ISB bottles. I am talking easily 5, maybe 6 volumes, more than most champagne. So I figure all over the country liquor stores have beers in standard bottles at 4+ volumes at room temperature and I have never heard of bottles spontaneously bursting in liquor stores.
 
arover said:
That's pushing the limit for the pressure your standard glass beer bottles can handle iirc. I think they're rated for up to 3.8 volumes CO2 max, so I would be careful. Someone else correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

I would agree with this. If anything goes wrong, you're probably going to face some exploding bottles. When I bottle my berliner weiss, I use champagne bottles because they can handle the pressure.
 
remilard said:
You should think in terms of volumes or grams per liter of c02 rather than ounces of corn sugar. How many volumes of c02 7 ounces will get you is dependent on the temperature of the beer at bottling and also how much beer you have.

Now in terms of the safety, you should think in terms of pressure, which is a function of the temperature of the bottled beer and the volumes of c02.

Personally I have not had any problems going to 4 volumes in standard (ISB) bottles, I just don't let the beer get above room temperature and this is equivalent to 3 volumes in a car during the summer.

When I carb high in a bottle I take time to inspect bottles for flaws.

As an anecdote, I have bought a few commercial beers over the years that were (due to infection) HIGHLY carbonated in ISB bottles. I am talking easily 5, maybe 6 volumes, more than most champagne. So I figure all over the country liquor stores have beers in standard bottles at 4+ volumes at room temperature and I have never heard of bottles spontaneously bursting in liquor stores.
Click to expand...

Oh man, it happens.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok. I'm a chicken. I'm going to go for 165 grams, which would be 3.0 volumes - still way more than I usually do but under the supposed 3.8 rating of bottles.

Question - this batch is easy to understand - it ferments at 70, and I'll bottle condition at 70.

But lets say its a colder ale, or more extreme, a lager. What temperature do I put into the calculator? Is it the temperature that it fermented at? Lagered at? The temperature it is when I put the sugar into the beer? Am I supposed to let the beer warm up to room temp, and then put the room temperature in to the calculator, and use that?

Thanks!
 
carnevoodoo said:
Oh man, it happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPzAuI9kRZI
Click to expand...

Hey, who knew.

Point still stands though, you can clearly observe through the commercial beer trade that bottles can generally withstand well over 4 volumes at room temperature.

I see 3 volumes quotes about ISB bottles all the time. Obviously the bottle doesn't care what the mass of c02 is, it cares about the pressure. I assume the 3 volume rule of thumb bakes in an assumption that consumers will leave the beer in the trunk of their car in the summer.

I wouldn't go above 4 volumes in an ISB bottle. If I could easily buy those 33 cl bottles Rochefort, St Bernardus etc use, I would pay any quasi reasonable price for them. They (brown 12ish ounce bottles that take a cap) just aren't available for purchase. I do save the ones I drink but a lot of my bottled beer gets drunk outside of my home and I don't get multiple uses out of them.
 
I've used 8oz table sugar a few times with Hefes. No problems at all--other than it being enough to effect the body of the beer. Krausening would work better because it will not change the FG of the beer.
 

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