priming sugar

[KNOTSANE]

I have a bag of priming sugar at 4.1 ounces. Should this be about right for a 5 gallon batch. How much water do I need to dissolve this in before adding it to the bottling bucket?

 

[McGarnigle]

That's a good amount to use, although there's variance depending on the style. I'd say a couple cups of water. You just need enough so it will dissolve.

 

[KNOTSANE]

Thanks McGarnigle, It's an american amber ale (a Stone Levitation)

 

[TipsyDragon]

assuming your carbing to style that would use a 3 oz. of sugar or about half a cup at 74F carbing temperature.

 

[Scimmia]

3 oz would most likely be undercarbonated; 4.1 oz is a good amount, as McGarnigle said. You just need use enough water to dissolve the sugar, it won't be much. I never measured, just added a bit until it dissolves.

 

[bce22]

3 oz would most likely be undercarbonated; 4.1 oz is a good amount, as McGarnigle said. You just need use enough water to dissolve the sugar, it won't be much. I never measured, just added a bit until it dissolves.

Scimmia is right.

Using Tastybrew's bottle priming calculator an Amber Ale to style should have between 2.26-2.78 CO2 by volume. If you strike this in the middle at 2.52 and use corn sugar (dextrose) to prime, if your beer was fermenting at 68F you'd need 4.3 oz.

If it was me I'd prime with the 4.1 oz. This would be a little lower carb but probably would still get you into the style guidelines depending on your fermentation temp (risidual C02 in the beer).

 

[TipsyDragon]

Using Tastybrew's bottle priming calculator an Amber Ale to style should have between 2.26-2.78 CO2 by volume. If you strike this in the middle at 2.52 and use corn sugar (dextrose) to prime, if your beer was fermenting at 68F you'd need 4.3 oz.

I was basing my value on a temp of 74F and figures in Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. the book recommends 2 - 2.5 volumes. At 74F 3.4 oz corn sugar would be enough to give you a volume of 2.25. but if you guys are right and it should be between 2.26-2.78. then yes it would need 4.1 oz. sugar to prime properly at 74F.

at 68F 3.9 oz sugar is needed to hit 2.5 volumes. adding 4.1 oz. at 68F will still give you a carbonation level that is still well within the style guidelines of 2.26-2.78 volumes.

the cooler the brew is during carbonation the less sugar it needs to properly carb and the longer it will take to hit full carbonation and properly condition. also if your yeast can't function at the cold temp then whats the point of cooling it that much.

 

[Scimmia]

You're throwing around temps a bit much there, TipsyDragon. The temperature you bottle condition at will not affect how much carbonation you have, as long as it's high enough for the yeast to be active. Let me repeat that:

The temperature you bottle condition at will have no bearing on the level of carbonation.

 

[TipsyDragon]

The temperature you bottle condition at will have no bearing on the level of carbonation.

no you are quite wrong. cooler brews are easier to carbonate because of residual CO2 still in the liquid. check out the nomiograph on page 113 of How To Brew by John Palmer. as you can see if you draw a line from any temp through a single volume of CO2 to the amount of sugar on the right you need less and less sugar as your temp goes down.

TastyBrew also agrees with me. plug in the same values for volumes CO2 and number of gallons and play with the beer temperature. watch what happens to the recommended amounts of Corn Sugar. as the temp does down so does the amount of sugar needed to hit the target volume.

 

[Scimmia]

Look at that nomograph again. You need less sugar because of the residual CO2 left in the beer. It has nothing to do with the temp you are conditioning at, but with the temp the beer was at before bottling.

 

[bce22]

no you are quite wrong. cooler brews are easier to carbonate. check out the nomiograph on page 113 of How To Brew by John Palmer. as you can see if you draw a line from any temp through a single volume of CO2 to the amount of sugar on the right you need less and less sugar as your temp goes down.

http://***********/stories/techniques/article/indices/21-carbonation/1276-priming-with-sugar also agrees with me. plug in the same values for volumes CO2 and number of gallons and play with the beer temperature. watch what happens to the recommended amounts of Corn Sugar. as the temp does down so does the amount of sugar needed to hit the target volume.

I believe that in regards to volume co2, it does not matter what temperature the bottles are conditioned at. There is the same amount of fermentable sugar whether the bottles are stored at 60 or 80. How fast the bottles actually reach carb is determined by the stored temperature.

I could be wrong, but I really think that Tastybrew and Palmer are talking about the temp your beer is at DURING FERMENTATION.

For more information in regards to bottling & priming and "risidual co2" check out:

http://***********/stories/techniques/article/indices/21-carbonation/1276-priming-with-sugar

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

4oz of corn sugar is good. Just get it dissolved, throw it in the bottom of the bottling bucket, rack on top of it and give it a stir. This ain't rocket science, making beer should be a joy, not just yet another reason to panic.

 

[Yooper]

The carbonation chart is helpful for carbing to style- but very few people would have their beer at 74 degrees during fermentation (that's too warm). If you want to use the chart, that's fine, but use the temperature of the beer. Not necessarily the current temperature, but the fermentation temperature or the highest temperature of the beer after fermentation.

For example, you made a lager and it fermented at 50 degrees. You raised the temperature to 65 degrees for a diacetyl rest. Then, lowered it to 34 degrees for lagering. Since the beer was at 65 degrees after it was done, the co2 offgassing would be more at 65 degrees than if it hadn't been raised. So, you'd use 65 degrees as the beer temperature.

For many people, that's just too complicated. And the truth is, it really doesn't matter. You can get a very nice carbonation level by using 4 ounces of corn sugar per 5 gallons for most beers, or can use 1 ounce corn sugar per gallon as well (5 ounces per 5 gallons). That might not be exactly to style, but it'll be fine. I would bet that most people couldn't tell the difference between 2.2 volumes and 2.5 volumes anyway.

 

[TipsyDragon]

I could be wrong, but I really think that Tastybrew and Palmer are talking about the temp your beer is at DURING FERMENTATION.

temperature still affects carbonation and the amount of sugar you need to add to hit a particular style.

but i do agree with Yooper. the difference between 2.2 and 2.5 isn't gong to be noticed and the highest temp the brew got to after fermentation should be used in calculating the amount of priming sugar needed.