Bottle Priming my ESB

[Tindel]

I'm about to prime my ESB in the next couple days... and boy does it taste GOOD! :rockin:

Anyway, I'm using the TastyBrew.com priming calculator and it's giving me the following (all weights are for table sugar at 62ºF, 5.0 gals):

CO2 Weight
1.3 0.9oz
1.025 0.2oz
0.75 -0.5oz <---- WTF?

What's going on? That seems awfully low. Even at 1oz... that's not much priming sugar. I know ESB's should be somewhat flat, but should they be THAT flat?

I tried searching and found nothing useful to me. So sorry if this has been covered already.

 

[danlad]

Sometimes those style guideline are a bit odd. Does that mean the carbonation of a cask conditioned beer? Or bottled?

Bottles of bitter are more carbed than that I'd say, though it is all down to personal taste of course. I'd do 2.5-3oz at a minimum based on my experience.

 

[Tindel]

That's for batch priming in bottles.

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

This is the link.

 

[Revvy]

That's the point of carbing to style. Not all beers really are as fizzy as we think they should be...and to get less you use less sugar. But honestly if you are carbing to the proper style then you really won't perceive the beer as flatter. The body, the flavor and everything will just the way it should be. Think about how lower carbed some stouts seem? They are not a fizzy as bud (except Guinness) but the body and the correct level of co2 make it perfect.

 

[CPooley4]

I'm coming up with -.55 oz for .75 co2 and 1.46 oz for 1.5 co2. If you're looking to keep it to style then that is the range you should be using.

Good luck.

cp

 

[Tindel]

How are you getting those numbers CP?

 

[CPooley4]

I have a bottle priming calculator/how to in my brew chart I've developed. You can find it in my signature below. It's free to download/use so feel free to give it a whirl.

Good luck.

cp

 

[CPooley4]

Whoops, wait a second, I misread my calculator. That's NEGATIVE .55 oz for .75 co2. My apologies.

By my calculation on your numbers you've got a beer with a carbonation of .95 volumes of co2 without doing anything. You're in style without even carbonating essentially. Now, if you want to up that a bit and still stay in style don't go above 1.46 oz of corn sugar and you'll be right around 1.5 volumes of co2 which is the high end imo.

Good luck and my apologies for my error up above.

 

[ayoungrad]

I've done a couple of bitters with bottle carbing and the priming sugar weights were very low - along the lines of what has been stated. I shot for the upper end of the style range and the beers have both come out more carbonated than you would get in a London pub.

 

[Tindel]

I've never been to a London pub so I guess that would make sense why I have this question. Every ESB I've ever had has been pretty well carbonated (most recently Red Hook ESB - which I didn't care for... tasted like honey), at least to give a short head when served, and dwindle quickly. The added carbonation must be an American variation on the style.

So do they not add much, if any, priming sugar to their beers... just ferment, and then put it in the cask? I think they mostly cask 'condition' their beers, right?

Silly Brits... don't know how to prime their beer.
Silly Americans... can't make a british beer to style

I guess that's what makes this hobby so addictive and fun. You can come pretty damn close to any style of beer, no matter where you live. Water would be / is the hardest thing to replicate.

 

[ayoungrad]

I'm not sure how they carbonate bitters in London. The beers I had in pubs there were always from the keg and usually pulled rather than poured - I don't think they pressurize their kegs the way we do.

They were all "flat" by American standards and served warmer than typical in the US. but I really liked them. For the most part, you can't get them around here because the bottles are typically overcarbed for export. I don't like these, so I make my own.

But occasionally you can go to the right bar and get a pretty good imitation of the real thing on tap.

And yes water is tough. But I think for some people, Burtonized water is the goal for bitters.