Priming methods

I'll be bottling my beer in 2 weeks and was wondering what to prime my stout with to have a good thick head and nice retention. I know that the guy at my local HBS uses honey to prime to form a thick head, but he told me it takes him a month to prime. I was unsure if he meant that he beer had to be in the bottle for a month or what. Anybody out there know any tricks for me?

I'm sure he meant that it needed to bottle condition for a month. You can use 1 1/4 cup of DME or 1/2 cup of corn sugar to prime. I dissolve it in as little hot water as I can and add it to the bottling bucket. You'll get carbonation in as little as 2 days, but give it a couple of weeks for the full effect. That time means the difference between the bottle going " pssst" and tasting flat , and having millions of tiny bubbles in your creation. They tell me that patience is the key.
Good luck.
Monkey

A patient Monkey? .. give me a break.

There's no such thing. Remember, I'm the guy who uses the Natural Selection method of bottle conditioning. What I wrote was THEY say, not I say. I have very few virtues left. :cross:

sudsmonkey said:

I have very few virtues left. :cross:

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Yes, but you more than make up for it in vices.

Where you been ? Where are you going, or are you going ? As far as my vices, I feel OK about them. I have a support group here.
Hi, I'm Wesley and I'm a homebrewer. Sadly, I think that also means alcoholic. Look at it. People who grow pot usually smoke a good bit of it. Cattle farmers eat beef. Never met a non-drinker who made beer.

sudsmonkey said:

Where you been ?

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Out cooking chicken on the grill.

sudsmonkey said:

Where are you going, or are you going ?

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Cars are all packed up ready to go...just waiting for the traffic to clear, tho if it continues to look like she's heading east, then we'll stay.

sudsmonkey said:

As far as my vices, I feel OK about them. I have a support group here.

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Vice is nice, on any day.
Vice is nice, throw some my way.
Vice is nice, dah dah dah dah.
Can't remember last line, dah dah dah dah.

Good deal on the chicken. Hope the storm heads East. Like the rhyme.

I use 1-1/4 cup DME in about two cups of water, boiled for ~15 mins. and cooled. A good thick head and nice retention is more about the ingredients and brewing technique than priming. I like to add CaraPils and a bit of flaked barley for head retention in my stouts.