Brewer's Best Conditioning Tabs

[blong4133]

Has anyone used these? I was going to order some priming sugar and saw theses. Since this is my first brew (2 gallons), I'm a little worried about potentially putting in too much priming sugar. According to the description, you can control the amount of carbonation depending on how many tablets you put in the bottle etc.

Says there is no fructose or sucrose, just dextrose and Briess Pilsen Light DME

Would anyone recommend this or should I just stay away from them and just opt for the traditional method?

Thanks!

 

[Hogarthe]

I haven't used that brand, but have used a different brand in the past. they worked well and were easy. the usual method can be good to. if you need to figure out how much sugar to use for priming, use a calculator like this one:
http://brewblogger.net/index.php?page=tools&section=sugar

 

[BrewMasta]

I think it's best not to put the pellets in, as they can often lead to over or under carbonation. When I first started brewing I was also interested in these for bottling as it seemed like an easy solution to a tedious process. However, I have come to find that many of the big retailers like NB don't even offer these anymore for good reason I'm sure. If I were you I would steer clear of the pellets and just go for the tried and true method of boiling the sugar with water and adding it to the bottling bucket prior to racking your beer to the bucket, then stir gently with the auto siphon it works like a charm. I also find that the calculator above works well as each beer style requires different amounts of priming sugar to carbonate the beer and be true to the style. In other words don't just use the whole pack of sugar, use the correct required quantity which will likely leave you with some left over sugar.

 

[timduncan200021]

I just used these on my brew, they seem to have worked fine. I bought them as an impulse buy at the lhbs and threw them in. I did half my batch with 4 tablets (average carbonation) and half with 5 (high carbonation). I personally preferred the 5 tablets a little bit more but I think it depends on the style you are making. The only downside is that occasionally you will have some white specks floating around in your bottle, I guess just left over material from the pellet. You can only notice them up close and there aren't many. Once I poured into a glass I couldn't find any of them.

 

[blaster_54738]

I think it's best not to put the pellets in, as they can often lead to over or under carbonation. When I first started brewing I was also interested in these for bottling as it seemed like an easy solution to a tedious process. However, I have come to find that many of the big retailers like NB don't even offer these anymore for good reason I'm sure. If I were you I would steer clear of the pellets and just go for the tried and true method of boiling the sugar with water and adding it to the bottling bucket prior to racking your beer to the bucket, then stir gently with the auto siphon it works like a charm. I also find that the calculator above works well as each beer style requires different amounts of priming sugar to carbonate the beer and be true to the style. In other words don't just use the whole pack of sugar, use the correct required quantity which will likely leave you with some left over sugar.

NB has their own line now that's why they don't carry the Brewers Best. I used coopers carb drops and NB's fizz drops and they both work fine. Very easy to use

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/nb-fizz-drops-8-oz.html

 

[fizgig]

I just used these on my brew, they seem to have worked fine. I bought them as an impulse buy at the lhbs and threw them in. I did half my batch with 4 tablets (average carbonation) and half with 5 (high carbonation). I personally preferred the 5 tablets a little bit more but I think it depends on the style you are making. The only downside is that occasionally you will have some white specks floating around in your bottle, I guess just left over material from the pellet. You can only notice them up close and there aren't many. Once I poured into a glass I couldn't find any of them.

I just used these tabs with a kit (it came with them), it's been about a week since I bottled and there's a ton of those white flakes in all of the bottles. Do they reduce? I know it's not yeast as I can see that in the bottles a bit as well, and the beer was clear before the tablets started to break down. Any tips? Should I invert them all a few times to see if they dissolve more completely?