Looking to bottle tonight or tomorrow, and have a few different size bottles. Couple half gallon, couple 750 ml bottles, and couple 1 liter bottles. Is there a general amount of sugar to add to bottles per ounce?
Priming sugar - how much to add?
- Thread starter markm2151
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Are you planning to bulk prime, which is the safest, most effective way to bottle?
As to the amount you want to use, it depends on whether you're carbing to style or not. The rule of thumb for priming most beers (not talking about carbing to style) to 2-2.5 volumes of co2, is 1 ounce (28 grams) of corn sugar/gallon of beer.
Many Styles are carbed higher than the standard 4.5- 5 ounces of sugar/2.-2.5 volumes of co2 that comes with basic kits, and often that is more sugar than that. Think of belgian beers for instance, or some pilsners, or Autralian sparkling ales. They are all carbed higher than most basic beers, and except for beligians are often bottled in normal bottles and they don't gush or explode.
You can just look at beersmith and see the different amounts of sugar needed to carb by style.
For example the style volume of co2 range for an Australian Ale is 2-2.8 volumes of Co2, and if the beer is @ 70 degrees at bottling time, then you would need, 6.12 ounces of sugar if you wanted to carb at the highest volume for that style.
That 4.5 - 5 ounces really just tends to be the baseline for most gravity/ styles of beer, (when bottled at 70 degrees) but there are plenty of styles that use less or more sugar to be less or more carbed than that.
Here's the volumes of co2 for most beer styles...you can see how high Belgians and German weizens can be carbed.
Style & Volumes of CO2
American ales 2.2–3.0
British ales 1.5–2.2
German weizens 2.8–5.1
Belgian ales 2.0–4.5
European Lagers 2.4–2.6
American Lagers 2.5–2.8
But for most people starting out, the amount is usually 1oz/ gallon of beer.
Typically we dissolve the requisite amount into 2 cups of water and boil that. I recommend you read my bottling sticky for an explanation of the bottling process and tips.
As to the amount you want to use, it depends on whether you're carbing to style or not. The rule of thumb for priming most beers (not talking about carbing to style) to 2-2.5 volumes of co2, is 1 ounce (28 grams) of corn sugar/gallon of beer.
Many Styles are carbed higher than the standard 4.5- 5 ounces of sugar/2.-2.5 volumes of co2 that comes with basic kits, and often that is more sugar than that. Think of belgian beers for instance, or some pilsners, or Autralian sparkling ales. They are all carbed higher than most basic beers, and except for beligians are often bottled in normal bottles and they don't gush or explode.
You can just look at beersmith and see the different amounts of sugar needed to carb by style.
For example the style volume of co2 range for an Australian Ale is 2-2.8 volumes of Co2, and if the beer is @ 70 degrees at bottling time, then you would need, 6.12 ounces of sugar if you wanted to carb at the highest volume for that style.
That 4.5 - 5 ounces really just tends to be the baseline for most gravity/ styles of beer, (when bottled at 70 degrees) but there are plenty of styles that use less or more sugar to be less or more carbed than that.
Here's the volumes of co2 for most beer styles...you can see how high Belgians and German weizens can be carbed.
Style & Volumes of CO2
American ales 2.2–3.0
British ales 1.5–2.2
German weizens 2.8–5.1
Belgian ales 2.0–4.5
European Lagers 2.4–2.6
American Lagers 2.5–2.8
But for most people starting out, the amount is usually 1oz/ gallon of beer.
Typically we dissolve the requisite amount into 2 cups of water and boil that. I recommend you read my bottling sticky for an explanation of the bottling process and tips.
markm2151
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the awesome response! I can bulk prime, there's no problem there. I have 5 gallons of a super hoppy american pale ale. So, boil two cups of water, add 5 oz of sugar and dissolve. Add to secondary, how long do I wait to bottle after mixing it in to secondary? Immediately? Overnight?
Immediately.
I'd add the priming solution to a bottling bucket, and then rack the beer into that so that it mixes well (put the tubing on the very bottom, in a circle, so that the beer fills from the bottom and and swirls to mix), and then bottle immediately from the bottling bucket with a bottling wand in the spigot.
mrstevenund
Well-Known Member
Northern Brewer has the answer! http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/
