Priming Sugar Discrepancy and Resulting Fear

[reet]

So many places I've read online (including that handy priming calculator) say that to achieve 2.4 I'd want to ad around 140g of dextrose, sometimes less.
My fear:
There are two homebrew shops where I live. One sells baggies of dextrose with their kits that weighs 250g and is for a 5gal batch. The other sells bulk dextrose with instructions saying 200g for 5gal batch.
Both of these numbers seem so high in comparison to what I'm reading online but, in my experience, the 250g baggies seem to create a good result.
Except my last batch, to which I added around 225mL of dextrose and have around 40 geysers (should I gas them off (grolsch bottles)).

I'm really happy with the beer and it is for a competition so I really don't want to flub the carbs...

Which dextrose dosage do I follow?
I am quaking.

 

[Yooper]

200 grams is way too much for a 5 gallon sized batch.

I assume we're talking US gallons, and not imperial gallons (which are bigger), but it's probably best to just go with "liters" so there isn't any misunderstanding!

I use 1 ounce (by weight) of priming sugar per finished gallon of beer.

That is 28 grams per 3.79 liters.

Most batches I make are 19 liters. So I would use roughly 140 grams for a nice bubbly carbonation level, and for something with less carbonation, I'd use 114 grams per 19 liters.

 

[Shred]

200 and 250 seem insanely high for 5 gallons. I would expect that to get you closer to 3.5-4.0 (likely geysers). 140 sounds better.

 

[Shred]

Oops... posted before I saw Yooper's reply. Always listen to her!

 

[reet]

"Always listen to her".
Ok.
Thanks.
Now, in regards to some over-carbed grolsch bottles, is the finished product savable by gassing off for half a second every couple days?, or is that just too much fuss?

 

[reet]

I guess the things that then astound me would be that a) these brewer stores (one of which seems quite good) recommend such high levels and b) batches I've made following these recommendations have turned out alright in the past.
Now everything is just so much less like a dream and so much more like a stark reality, filled with bottle bombs and excitement.

 

[Shred]

I don't know what they're recommending that amount of sugar for. Is it for larger batches?

3.5 vols isn't super-crazy carbonation for some styles. I did a 3.3 "Champagne Ale" in Grolsch bottle. With age, they definitely creep up the neck but they don't come spraying out. They make a nice champagne cork "pop" when you open them too. This would not be what I'd consider the norm for carb levels in most beers however.

I think most brown bottles are rated for no more than 3 or so. Grolsch are quite a bit thicker.

Not sure about the degassing. You may end up with flat beer. Never tried it.

 

[mysteryshrimp]

I've degassed a cider to remove some carbonation and it turned out fine. My guess is that it took out about .5 volumes total. If you're trying to take out CO2, don't do it cold. Also, I've carbed a Berliner Weisse to 4.0 in standard longnecks without issue.

 

[Shred]

I've degassed a cider to remove some carbonation and it turned out fine. My guess is that it took out about .5 volumes total. If you're trying to take out CO2, don't do it cold. Also, I've carbed a Berliner Weisse to 4.0 in standard longnecks without issue.

Good info on the degassing. If my Champagne Ale continues to get more "bubbly" I may have to try that.

I'm sure most of the time longnecks would be fine, but if you have one with a scratch inside it or something, I'd be afraid all the pressure could be enough to create a dangerous situation at that level of carbonation.

I've also heard that Sam Adam's bottles are made of substantially thinner glass than the bottles you might get from your LHBS to keep down shipping costs. I don't know if there is truth to this or not.