Confusion about bottle carbing and temps

[ScootersAle]

Here is my situation: I store most of my beer in my basement. Right now it is in the upper 60s (66 right now) and will dip down into the lower 40s and upper 50s during winter, but can get as high as 72~ during the hottest part of the summer. I have some mostly commercial beers but planning on doing a barley wine this year and want to age these bottles months or even years.

Here is my question: If I keep my beer in my basement will it over carb because the temps are on the high side or will the sugar run out before too much CO2 is produced? I'm wondering if I need to rethink my storage, or at least rethink till the basement gets to 50s~ and plan on some other solution before it gets back to the 60s/70s next summer.

Sorry if this question has been answered a lot, but a search didn't lead me to an answer of my exact question.

 

[pablo1337]

I have never had a beer over-carbonate after warming up, from 70 to at least 95, when my air conditioning went out this summer. However, it is my understanding for long term storage it is best to keep the beer at a constant temperature. Personally i can never let a beer age for more than 6 months before I kill it. I am working on my own barleywine and expect that some might last for a year.

 

[Hang Glider]

The yeast consume what sugar is available and settle out. If you prime with the right amount of sugar for the style, it cannot overcarb.

Warmer beer will allow the CO2 to come out of the beer and pressurize the headspace, allowing for a more intense foaming and a lighter carbonation, while colder beers will keep more CO2 in suspension. But the ranges you're indicating are not out of line.

 

[ScootersAle]

Thanks for the responses.

TL;DR: Most kits provide 5oz~ of priming sugar. Is that for 5G of beer measured at bottling or 5G put into primary (IE: not actually 5G at bottling since some is lost with transfer)

I thought I'd update this thread... So I have this Saison I brewed like 2 months ago. It turned out great, tastes exactly as it should, hit my OG/FG, and after about 3 weeks it was carbed perfectly. Cracked open one today that has been sitting in a fridge for 48 hrs, and it is a bit more carbed than I think it should be. So this got me thinking did I put too much priming sugar in? This particular beer was a kit from Northern Brewer, and I used the given 5oz of priming sugar.

This got me thinking, I normally make 5G of beer and some of that 5 gallons is lost while transferring. I've got an IPA dry hopping now which is ready to be bottled. It was already transferred once into a glass carboy to dry hop and will be again. I'm guessing it will be closer to 4 1/2 or 4 3/4 gallons of beer that will actually bottled. I have a package of 5 oz package of priming sugar to prime this.

So my question is, for my IPA that will be about 4 3/4 gallons in the bottling bucket should I try to use less than the 5oz I got in the kit?

I noticed a lot of recipes on this site are for 5.5 or higher, I'm wondering if that is so you finish with 5 gallons of beer to bottle, with the rest being lost in the trub.

 

[durk]

good question.... subscribed.

 

[McGarnigle]

People do brew more than 5g so they'll end up with 5g at the end. You should use priming sugar based on the amount of beer you have in your bottling bucket. In addition, personally, think one ounce per gallon is a little too much (although some styles are suited to this).

 

[copyright1997]

Thanks for the responses.

TL;DR: Most kits provide 5oz~ of priming sugar. Is that for 5G of beer measured at bottling or 5G put into primary (IE: not actually 5G at bottling since some is lost with transfer)

I thought I'd update this thread... So I have this Saison I brewed like 2 months ago. It turned out great, tastes exactly as it should, hit my OG/FG, and after about 3 weeks it was carbed perfectly. Cracked open one today that has been sitting in a fridge for 48 hrs, and it is a bit more carbed than I think it should be. So this got me thinking did I put too much priming sugar in? This particular beer was a kit from Northern Brewer, and I used the given 5oz of priming sugar.

This got me thinking, I normally make 5G of beer and some of that 5 gallons is lost while transferring. I've got an IPA dry hopping now which is ready to be bottled. It was already transferred once into a glass carboy to dry hop and will be again. I'm guessing it will be closer to 4 1/2 or 4 3/4 gallons of beer that will actually bottled. I have a package of 5 oz package of priming sugar to prime this.

So my question is, for my IPA that will be about 4 3/4 gallons in the bottling bucket should I try to use less than the 5oz I got in the kit?

I noticed a lot of recipes on this site are for 5.5 or higher, I'm wondering if that is so you finish with 5 gallons of beer to bottle, with the rest being lost in the trub.

This priming calculator suggests that for a Saison of 5 gallons bottle carbonated at 65 degrees you should use 3.3 ounces of corn sugar.

 

[ScootersAle]

This priming calculator suggests that for a Saison of 5 gallons bottle carbonated at 65 degrees you should use 3.3 ounces of corn sugar.

Wow, this calculator is great! Although makes me wonder if I've been over carbing all my beers. Does anyone know of an easy way to convert corn sugar from oz to tsp/tbsp/cups?

Based on what I've read 4oz = 3/4 cup for Corn sugar. I assume Corn sugar and Cane sugar weight the same, so maybe there is some conversion chart for cane sugar to tsp/tbsp for cooking. Guess I need to break down and buy a digital scale.

Edit: Quick google search brings up 1oz of sugar = 2 tbsp

 

[944play]

A scale will be a good investment if you get one with enough resolution to weigh salt additions and enough range to measure hop additions. Tenths of grams is about right.

To my mind, a Saison should have pretty strong carbonation. I would use heavy bottles and target around 3 volumes.