How to prime a bock beer and a Hefeweizen

[cereel]

I have a question. What do I use to prime a hefeweizen when it is ready to be bottled. And what do I use to prime a bock beer. I know bocks tend to have a stronger taste, but I dont want the beer to be to sweet.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I use Extra Light DME. Depending on the amount of carbonation you want and time you're willing to wait DME is better than sugar.

BTW, 1 1/4 C of DME is about right. Your bubbles should be nice and small and leave a better "Brussels Lace" effect as well as a good head.

 

[Janx]

Priming sugar doesn't make beer sweet. It gets fermented by the yeast and makes bubbles. Remember all that sugar (malt) you added in the first place when you made the beer?

 

[cereel]

I use Extra Light DME. Depending on the amount of carbonation you want and time you're willing to wait DME is better than sugar.

BTW, 1 1/4 C of DME is about right. Your bubbles should be nice and small and leave a better "Brussels Lace" effect as well as a good head.

Thank you for the advice. I do have one question. Do I mix the D.M.E. with the beer in the carboy or how does that work?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Some people will say to take 1C of brew and boil it with the DME, and some with water.

I've done both and really couldn't tell the difference. The addition of 1 C water is not going to affect the brew enough to worry about it.

Boil for 5 mins and let cool to approximately the same temp as the brew then mix.

 

[rightwingnut]

If you have a bottling bucket with a spigot, toss in the sugar-water that you boiled, then siphon the beer in. Then go ahead and bottle from there. If you don't have a bottling bucket, use your primary. But you want to mix the sugar before you bottle, and I think it's best to do so in another container (not the carboy.)

 

[homebrewer_99]

If you have a bottling bucket with a spigot, toss in the sugar-water that you boiled, then siphon the beer in. Then go ahead and bottle from there. If you don't have a bottling bucket, use your primary. But you want to mix the sugar before you bottle, and I think it's best to do so in another container (not the carboy.)

Oops! My bad...I missed the question...NO...transfer to the bottling bucket BEFORE adding any priming sugar....

 

[rightwingnut]

Oops! My bad...I missed the question...NO...transfer to the bottling bucket BEFORE adding any priming sugar....

Why so? What does the order matter, as long as you add beer and sugar to a new vessel before bottling? I though sugar first, that way the addition of the beer helps to mix the two. Or am I misunderstanding you?

 

[homebrewer_99]

I guess there is some misunderstanding going on or else you wouldn't have asked.

Cereel's question asked if he primed in the carboy. Your reply was to rack to a bottling bucket then prime. My answer missed the question and should have been the same as yours - to transfer to a bottling bucket and prime.

Cereel: The intent here is to use another container (bottling bucket) then prime. This way you get your cleared beer off of any yeast in the secondary. You don't want to mix it back in prior to bottling.

 

[cereel]

I guess there is some misunderstanding going on or else you wouldn't have asked.

Cereel's question asked if he primed in the carboy. Your reply was to rack to a bottling bucket then prime. My answer missed the question and should have been the same as yours - to transfer to a bottling bucket and prime.

Cereel: The intent here is to use another container (bottling bucket) then prime. This way you get your cleared beer off of any yeast in the secondary. You don't want to mix it back in prior to bottling.

Thanks alot. Your suggestion really helped. I will let you know how it turned out in a few weeks.