Help : Carb levels

[Murray]

I have just brewed a standard/ordinary English bitter and it is sitting in secondary waiting to be bottled. I have hit all my gravity targets, the clarity is excellent after fining, the taste is fantastic and I want to make damn sure I don't mess it up when carbonating. I am going to bottle condition. I see from Beersmith the suggested carb range for this style is between 0.8-2.2 vols CO2. This is a pretty big range. Where do you think I should aim for? The bitter is only 3.6%, FG1.01 and is pretty light and fruity (used mainly Maris Otter and then Wyeast 1318 London Ale yeast).

Let me know what you think?

 

[houndsbreath]

Carbonate it to your preference. I prefer well carbed beers and almost always aim toward the maximum suggested volume of CO2. If you are unsure, pick a volume in the middle to see how you like it and then adjust carbonation on your next batch.

 

[Revvy]

You're a brit, so culturally one could say you're more used to the proper carb levels of a bitter. If I'm making them, I tend to aim for the higher end of the spectrum, because we grew up with highly fizzy, yellow beer.

If you're drinking bitter on tap, what do you like? Do you like them barely carbed or not?

You can always err on the side of caution and aim for the mid range of the style, when I'm in doubt that's what I aim for....

I think you need to decide what you like about the bitters you normally drink in terms of that and start from there.

 

[BrewKnurd]

I'm another in the camp if being acclimated to fizzy beers, so i wouldn't go below 2. I brewed a mild that I carbed around 1.5 volumes and it was just too flat for my preferences, even though it was "correct."

 

[Murray]

Thanks. Yeah I don't like overly carbed bitters, and prefer the tap bitters in the UK which are more mildly carbonated. Does anyone know what a Sambrooks, or a Fullers etc would be in terms of volumes CO2 when tapped ?