How much table sugar for bottle conditionin

[mikecshultz]

I have been scouring other posts to find an answer to my question but so far I can't figure it out. I am about to bottle my first beer, a Chinook IPA extract kit from northern brewers. I pitched one packet of Safale US-05 Dry Yeast.
It has an OG of 1.051 and an FG of 1.013 (comes out to an ABV of about 5.1%). It spent two weeks in primary and then another 17 days in secondary.

I think that I have slightly less than 5 gallons of beer at this point because I left some behind in the primary when I was racking to avoid trub. I looked at the recipe that came with the kit and it said to add 2/3 cup of priming sugar. However, when I used the Northern Brewers and a whole host of other priming sugar calculators it gave a me a number closer to 1/2 a cup of sucrose (around .48 cups when I plugged in how much I would need for 4.5 gallons and about .53 cups when I plugged in how much I would need for 5 gallons).

My question is, how much should I actually use? And if I use a half a cup based on these calculations will that be too much for a 4.5 gallon batch or too little for a 5 gallon batch.

The beer has been fermenting at 70F, and will be at that temperature when I bottle it. Any help you could give would be appreciated. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

Well first of all get a scale I really hate cups or any other volume scale... then second remember that your kits probably is talking about corn sugar and not table sugar two different things there. Comparing quantity you always use less table sugar than corn sugar.
I´ll just use "half a cup" and forget about it.
Remeber to account for your fermentation temperature when calculating priming sugar.

 

[seriousbeef]

Well first of all get a scale I really hate cups or any other volume scale... then second remember that your kits probably is talking about corn sugar and not table sugar two different things there. Comparing quantity you always use less table sugar than corn sugar.
I´ll just use "half a cup" and forget about it.
Remeber to account for your fermentation temperature when calculating priming sugar.

This.
I know you wern't planning to anyway, but I'd like to reiterate to measure your sugar by weight rather than volume.

Bring about a pint to the boil and add, only boil for 2-3 mins, 10 is not necessary.

And you haven't stated how carbonated you want it (measured in volumes of C02)

Don't just replicate a beer, make it your own. If you want it major flat or with serious head, say so and we'll go from there

 

[mikecshultz]

Thank you for the responses. I do not have a scale so measuring by weight won't work. The carbonation I am looking for is 2.4. The calculators were saying about 3.7 oz, which comes out to about half a cup using all the conversions I have found. Even with the corn sugar the amount the kit gave was higher than what I was getting with the calculators. Honestly, I am just worried about bottle bombs or having flat beer. Thanks again for your help.

 

[frazier]

I've been brewing for nearly three years (not long compared to some), and I still feel like I'm making a WAG when it comes to priming. What I've learned is this:
-- Use an accurate digital scale, they can be had for cheap on ebay;
-- Use a priming calculator (I use TastyBrew, but I'm sure Northern Brewer's is just fine);
-- Right around 2.3 volumes CO2 seems to work for me for most styles, but I'll do my Scottish ale at 2.0. Tasty Brew wants to do a Scottish at 1.5, I say forget that, it's MY beer!
-- At the end of the day, as you are enjoying your beer, the carb level is just a minor aspect of the total package. Yes it's great when everything comes together perfectly, but if the carb is a bit off, just shrug and have another. Then make plans for your next batch.

Cheers!

 

[Obliviousbrew]

2.4 it´s pretty standard, if it as you said 4.5 gallons about "half a cup" of table sugar will do the trick (depending always on your fermentation temps). You don´t need to worry about bottle bombs or flat beer.

 

[mikecshultz]

My first batch. Just bottled.

 

[Calder]

Thank you for the responses. I do not have a scale so measuring by weight won't work. The carbonation I am looking for is 2.4. The calculators were saying about 3.7 oz, which comes out to about half a cup using all the conversions I have found. Even with the corn sugar the amount the kit gave was higher than what I was getting with the calculators. Honestly, I am just worried about bottle bombs or having flat beer. Thanks again for your help.

I always use weight, but have found that for table sugar, 1 ozs weight is pretty damned close to 1 fl-ozs. So half a cup = 4 ozs wt. Sounds close to what you are looking for.

 

[unionrdr]

I use a $20 digital scale I got at walmart for priming sugar,hops,etc. And this calculator; http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html