Bottling - How Do I Prime?

[Budista]

Hey all,

I've pretty much made a topic for every other stage of our first batch, so I figured why not keep that tradition alive.

Our batch has been in the secondary for roughly a week and a half and I'm seeing quite a marked difference in clarity. The trub has almost all settled (with a few flakey bits still hanging on at the top). I made a minor mistake when racking from primary to secondary, as the kit suggested topping up the beer with water before putting the bung+airlock on. I read this the day after racking and immediately added some cool, clean water to the beer to top it off. This has had no effect on specific gravity that my hydrometer can detect.

I did today notice that I had a distinct line of particles floating about halfway between the top and bottom of the carboy. I stirred the beer gently for about 10 minutes, being careful not to aerate the beer, and seem to have gotten it mixed back together.

Tuesday (after the suggested 2 weeks in secondary), I'll be adding gelatin as a fining agent.

I just want to know, with a 23L batch, how much priming sugar I should put into my bottling bucket in order to achieve the right level of carbonation. This is a beer with a 1.051 OG and a 1.012 FG (steady at this for over 2 weeks). Is there a formula or something I use to calculate the amount of sugar? My kit came with a bag of dextrose, but I'd really like to avoid bottle-bombs. We are bottling in Grolsch bottles with new gaskets, but better safe than covered with beer and glass shards, right?

Anyhow, this forum has yet to let me down! Thanks for all your patience and wisdom.

- Budista

 

[JetSmooth]

Many people will give you amounts as an absolute, which can work fine. However, different beer styles are carbonated to different levels.

I used an online calculator that lets you specify your style, select your specific level of carbonation, and even what sugar you're using.

I primed my last batch with DME, because I felt my beer needed a bit of extra maltiness. That measurement was way different than if I used corn sugar.

Here's the calculator I used,

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

 

[Vuarra]

As a first time brewer, the "standard" is 3/4 cup of dextrose for ~23 litres. Having said that, JetSmooth is more correct, as different styles have different needs for carbonation.

But... I found that calculator rather confusing and slightly elitist. If you are brewing for yourself, then *start* with the 3/4 cup, and go from there... if you are entering in a contest, then I would strongly advise using that calculator.

 

[dantose]

echo:

3/4 of a cup is a good general amount adjust as desired. Go a little heavier if you are using something that isn't as fermentable like honey.