How much sugar to add to 500ml bottle for carbonation?

[zadamxtr]

Using some online tools I had figured out I need approximately 1/2 a teaspoon to carbonate in a 500ml bottle, however I seem to have gotten a very low level of carbonation with that. Did I miscalculate somehow? I'm using brown sugar btw.

How much sugar does everyone add per litre to carbonate? Assuming you want to go for a moderate level of carbonation?

 

[BongoYodeler]

Thread 'Individual Bottle Priming Instructions with Cane Sugar'
Individual Bottle Priming Instructions with Cane Sugar

 

[zadamxtr]

Ok that thread suggest as I read elsewhere, 1/2 teaspoon per bottle, which is what I did.

Any ideas why I got very little carbonation?

 

[Chalkyt]

Most "authorities" suggest about 10g (2 teaspoons) of sugar per litre. (Andrew Lea says 10g/L, Jolicoeur's table 15.3 shows 4g/L for 1.5 vols and 8.5g/L for 2.5 vols, and Proulx and Nicholls go with 2 teaspoons or up to 10 gravity points for a champagne bottle).

I work on the basis that adding sugar (or AJ or AJC) to increase 5 gravity points should result in 2.5 vols of CO2, although sometimes the carbonation seems to be a little less than this.

These approaches all give more or less the same answer. My approach when using sugar is to make up a concentrated syrup and add this to the bottling bucket (easier to mix evenly) until the SG has increased to where I want it, bottle then let it do its thing.

Carbonation time can vary from 2 to 4 weeks. How long did you leave it, and are you sure the bottle seals were good. "Flip-top" half-litre bottles can leak. Even Grolsch admit that their seals can leak above 70psi pressure (mind you, this would be around 4 vols at 30C).

 

[Dgallo]

Ok that thread suggest as I read elsewhere, 1/2 teaspoon per bottle, which is what I did.

Any ideas why I got very little carbonation?

1/2 teaspoon is about correct for cane sugar for 16.9 (500ml). brown sugar is going to need a touch more as brown sugar has molasses in it and will add some unfermentable sugars. If using brown sugar you’ll need an overfilled 1/2 teaspoon

 

[zadamxtr]

1/2 teaspoon is about correct for cane sugar for 16.9 (500ml). brown sugar is going to need a touch more as brown sugar has molasses in it and will add some unfermentable sugars. If using brown sugar you’ll need and overfilled 1/2 teaspoon

Ahh ok thanks, that would explain it.

 

[Somesaymybeerisdrinkable]

I use 1/2 teaspoon table sugar per 12oz (355ml) bottle to get to the carbonation I like. 1/2 teaspoon should have around 2.1g of sugar which will result in a little over 1g of CO2. Assuming there is 0.8 volumes of CO2 from fermentation then my 12oz bottle will have (1.05/1.977)/0.355 + 0.8 = 2.3 volumes of CO2.

Changing to a larger volume you get (1.05/1.977)/0.5 + 0.8 = 1.9 volumes of CO2.

 

[Raptor99]

Assuming there is 0.8 volumes of CO2 from fermentation then my 12oz bottle will have (1.05/1.977)/0.355 + 0.8 = 2.3 volumes of CO2.

Since I have gotten my AIO wine pump, I have noticed that I need to increase the amount of priming sugar. The AIO pump removes some of the CO2 during racking, so the assumption of the initial amount of CO2 before bottling is no longer valid. Most of the online calculators make an assumption about this, so you might need to increase your target volumes of CO2 when using a calculator.

 

[Zambezi Special]

I work on 6-8 gr per litre (table sugar).
Works well for me.
Maybe a little test, some with 3 gr/500 ml, some with 4 gr?

 

[zadamxtr]

I use 1/2 teaspoon table sugar per 12oz (355ml) bottle to get to the carbonation I like. 1/2 teaspoon should have around 2.1g of sugar which will result in a little over 1g of CO2. Assuming there is 0.8 volumes of CO2 from fermentation then my 12oz bottle will have (1.05/1.977)/0.355 + 0.8 = 2.3 volumes of CO2.

Changing to a larger volume you get (1.05/1.977)/0.5 + 0.8 = 1.9 volumes of CO2.

Yep ok, My bottles are 500ml, so I will need to try a higher amount of sugar. Also sounds like it needs to be higher again due to it being a brown sugar rather than white sugar. I'm guessing 1 teaspoon will give me what I want.

 

[GoodTruble]

I always thought my beers were under-carbed when I used most of the common calculators. So I stopped using them, and through trial and error discovered that 3 tsp per quart/liter consistently produced a level of carbonation I liked (and to keep measuring simple, that's roughly 1 tsp for standard 12 oz bottles and 2 tsp for 500 ml- 18 oz bottles).

I err on the side of over-carbing because the beer will flatten out as it sits in the glass after pouring anyway. So it's easy to resolve over-carbed beer (up to a point), but not much to do about under-carbed beer once it's bottled/served.

I also like to just dissolve the sugar in boiling water, chill, & and individually dose the bottles prior to filling using a large plastic plunger/syringe.

 

[Somesaymybeerisdrinkable]

Yep ok, My bottles are 500ml, so I will need to try a higher amount of sugar. Also sounds like it needs to be higher again due to it being a brown sugar rather than white sugar. I'm guessing 1 teaspoon will give me what I want.

I believe brown sugar is only 2% water, the rest would be fermentable, if you measure priming sugar by weight table sugar and brown sugar would be about the same.

The reason I like using table sugar is that it is easier to measure by volume, brown sugar will not fill the full volume of the measuring spoon unless it is packed.

1 teaspoon should get you between 2.8 to 3 volumes of CO2, which would be more inline with a typical carbonation level for cider.

 

[Maylar]

And some people (including me) think fermented brown sugar tastes nasty.

 

[zadamxtr]

And some people (including me) think fermented brown sugar tastes nasty.

Hmm interesting.... I read somewhere that it gives a nice deeper flavour. What do you find bad about the taste? I'll need to experiment with different types.

 

[z-bob]

3/4 tsp of granulated white sugar is about right for a 500ml bottle.

 

[Maylar]

Hmm interesting.... I read somewhere that it gives a nice deeper flavour. What do you find bad about the taste? I'll need to experiment with different types.

As a sweetener it's fine but once the sugar is gone it leaves a bitter kinda burnt taste.

 

[zadamxtr]

As a sweetener it's fine but once the sugar is gone it leaves a bitter kinda burnt taste.

Wow really. Thanks for that I'll need to keep that in mind.

 

[Bayou Fatma Brewer]

Using some online tools I had figured out I need approximately 1/2 a teaspoon to carbonate in a 500ml bottle, however I seem to have gotten a very low level of carbonation with that. Did I miscalculate somehow? I'm using brown sugar btw.

How much sugar does everyone add per litre to carbonate? Assuming you want to go for a moderate level of carbonation?

I always had issues when priming individual bottles with sugar. After a year of doing this, I then switched to a bottling bucket which worked out great...especially using a bottling wand to fill the bottles. There are great calculators out there for the amount of sugar to use per gallon and your preference on carbonation levels. Let me know if you need more info on this.
Almost had a few "Bottle Bombz" when priming individual bottles.
Brown Sugar is fully fermentable and shouldn’t be an issue. Also you should weigh you sugar as it’s really hard to judge a teaspoon...Especially with Brown Sugar that compacts tightly or has air gaps in it.
Happy Brewing & Cheers.

[Removed All-Bold/All Italics formatting -Mod]

 

[BongoYodeler]

I always had issues when priming individual bottles with sugar. After a year of doing this, I then switched to a bottling bucket which worked out great...especially using a bottling wand to fill the bottles. There are great calculators out there for the amount of sugar to use per gallon and your preference on carbonation levels. Let me know if you need more info on this.
Almost had a few "Bottle Bombz" when priming individual bottles.
Brown Sugar is fully fermentable and shouldn’t be an issue. Also you should weigh you sugar as it’s really hard to judge a teaspoon...Especially with Brown Sugar that compacts tightly or has air gaps in it.
Happy Brewing & Cheers.

I haven't bottled since switching over to kegging, but when I used to bottle my experience was just the opposite. Once I switched from a bottling bucket to individual priming with white table sugar my consistency improved to the point where every single was perfectly carb'd. Also, I never bottled with brown sugar because I didn't want the flavor it adds.

 

[GoodTruble]

I found dosing each bottle to be more consistent and provides less chance for oxidation of your beer (unless you are CO2 purging and using closed transfers with the bottling bucket, which most don't).

But I'm sure both methods can work and produce good beer. May just come down to personal preference.

Also, when bottling, I like to use at least two plastic bottles because that makes it easy to monitor the carbonation progress by just squeezing the bottle.

 

[Zambezi Special]

I have the same experience as @BongoYodeler and @GoodTruble

Also always a couple of 500 or 330 ml pet bottles to follow carbonation