How Much Difference is there between 1.8, 2.0, or 2.2 volumes CO2?

[GrowleyMonster]

I normally keg, and right now I just happen to have almost 6 gallons in the fermenter. So, I am going to bottle at least part of the currently fermenting batch, and bottle condition the bottled part. Assuming 73F beer temperature, if I want 2 volumes of CO2 it looks like I need 0.45133248 teaspoons of corn sugar per 12 oz bottle. If I want to put an even level half teaspoon per bottle, I will be looking at 2.2424 volumes. So really, is the difference between 2 volumes and 2.4 volumes really noticeable? The beer will be a fairly big beer with a lot of oats in it and some lactose, for extra chewieness, and ABV will be around 7.8%. FG a bit high, around 1.019. I don't want my beer to look like a science experiment gone wrong when I open it, but I do want some head when it is poured cold.

According to the calculator I can go 0.34873248 tsp per bottle for 1.8 volumes. An even 3/8 tsp would give me 1.8768 volumes. I am thinking with this recipe maybe I do a couple of bottles at 3/8 teaspoons corn sugar per bottle, and half teaspoon per bottle in a couple more. Maybe 7/16 teaspoon in two more? No, I am not going to fiddle around with weighing each sugar charge seperately for each bottle, and I might only be bottling the overage after filling a corny keg so I really don't want to mess with a bottling bucket and a sugar priming solution, either. I want to simply scoop a volumetric measure right into the bottle, fill it, and cap it. But I was wondering just how much difference a tenth of a volume or a couple tenths can really make.

I have been brewing very similar to the current recipe and I only need about 5psi of gas on it to get a very bold head. The only other time I bottled a beer like this they went off like volcanoes, foam everywhere. I thought about using them for fire extinguishers. They were seriously foamy no matter how carefully I would sneak up on them with the cap lifter. Now I will admit I didn't really give it much thought. I just took a standard pack of corn sugar left over from an ingredient kit and dissolved it all in some hot water and dumped it in a bottling bucket with the beer. I should have expected a big beer to be big trouble. I am shooting for a better result this time.

So how much difference is really noticeable, and how much is a deal breaker? Do I NEED to batch prime? Do I NEED to weigh my sugar to the nearest μg?

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Couldn't you add the priming sugar solution to the fermenter, gently stir to mix, transfer 5 gallons to your keg, then transfer the remaining 1 gallon to a bottling bucket?

Or, are you bottling directly from the tap? If that's the case, you could add the priming sugar solution to your fermenter, fill & pressurize the keg, bottle a gallon from the tap, then top off the keg.

I've never done either of these, so I'm just thinking out loud and offering up suggestions.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

Couldn't you add the priming sugar solution to the fermenter, gently stir to mix, transfer 5 gallons to your keg, then transfer the remaining 1 gallon to a bottling bucket?

Or, are you bottling directly from the tap? If that's the case, you could add the priming sugar solution to your fermenter, fill & pressurize the keg, bottle a gallon from the tap, then top off the keg.

I've never done either of these, so I'm just thinking out loud and offering up suggestions.

Well, the reason for bottling is I am out of kegs. In fact I thought I would have a keg available and so only need to bottle the overage, but it now looks like I will be bottling the entire batch. So I intended to bottle directly from the fermenter spigot. I would rather avoid extra transfers. Stirring in the fermenter with an inch and a half of trub in the bottom is not something I really want to do. So, to me the obvious solution is to dose the bottles with sugar, then fill and cap. I am considering boiling a solution, though, instead of just adding sugar dry into the bottle, out of sanitary concerns.

Another reason for dosing the bottles individually is I can do a test bottle at each of several different doses, in addition to the main run.

Maybe I will just go ahead and use the bucket or a clean fermenter for priming.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Maybe I will just go ahead and use the bucket or a clean fermenter for priming.

That would be my recommendation. Seems so much easier than dosing each bottle.

 

[marc1]

Powders by volume isn't the greatest measurement. Weight is much better.

Liquids by volume works well with the right tool. You could dissolve the sugar in some water and use a dosing syringe to dispense. You could set it up for 5mL/bottle (or whatever is convenient for you) to get the volumes you want.

With doing it your way, I think as long as you're not going way over on the carbonation, you'll be fine. You can pour the beer a little more aggressively to disperse some of the CO2 if it's a little too high for you. Or just drink it. I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference between 2.0 and 2.2 volumes.

 

[Homebrew Harry]

I normally keg, and right now I just happen to have almost 6 gallons in the fermenter. So, I am going to bottle at least part of the currently fermenting batch, and bottle condition the bottled part. Assuming 73F beer temperature, if I want 2 volumes of CO2 it looks like I need 0.45133248 teaspoons of corn sugar per 12 oz bottle. If I want to put an even level half teaspoon per bottle, I will be looking at 2.2424 volumes. So really, is the difference between 2 volumes and 2.4 volumes really noticeable? The beer will be a fairly big beer with a lot of oats in it and some lactose, for extra chewieness, and ABV will be around 7.8%. FG a bit high, around 1.019. I don't want my beer to look like a science experiment gone wrong when I open it, but I do want some head when it is poured cold.

According to the calculator I can go 0.34873248 tsp per bottle for 1.8 volumes. An even 3/8 tsp would give me 1.8768 volumes. I am thinking with this recipe maybe I do a couple of bottles at 3/8 teaspoons corn sugar per bottle, and half teaspoon per bottle in a couple more. Maybe 7/16 teaspoon in two more? No, I am not going to fiddle around with weighing each sugar charge seperately for each bottle, and I might only be bottling the overage after filling a corny keg so I really don't want to mess with a bottling bucket and a sugar priming solution, either. I want to simply scoop a volumetric measure right into the bottle, fill it, and cap it. But I was wondering just how much difference a tenth of a volume or a couple tenths can really make.

I have been brewing very similar to the current recipe and I only need about 5psi of gas on it to get a very bold head. The only other time I bottled a beer like this they went off like volcanoes, foam everywhere. I thought about using them for fire extinguishers. They were seriously foamy no matter how carefully I would sneak up on them with the cap lifter. Now I will admit I didn't really give it much thought. I just took a standard pack of corn sugar left over from an ingredient kit and dissolved it all in some hot water and dumped it in a bottling bucket with the beer. I should have expected a big beer to be big trouble. I am shooting for a better result this time.

So how much difference is really noticeable, and how much is a deal breaker? Do I NEED to batch prime? Do I NEED to weigh my sugar to the nearest μg?

I have no answers about the difference of 2 to 2.25 volumes, but I think you were on to something when considering trying diff amounts. If it were me I would try using the 3/8 tsp that you mentioned on half of the batch and a scant 1/2 tsp on the rest. Whatever you choose to do, please keep this thread updated so we know how it turns out.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I will routinely measure out a specific amount of sugar to add to each bottle. If I am only bottling 12 bottles, it is less time and effort than using a bottling bucket. I use a cheap jewelers scale and just aim for +/- 0.1 gram from my target.

When I played around with measuring level scoops (say a 1/2 tsp) there was more variation from scoop to scoop than I would be comfortable with...though probably close enough, especially with such a low carbonation level target.

 

[Beermeister32]

These work great without having to break out the jewelers scale…!