I just completed my first batch. Taking you peoples advice, I decided to add my priming sugar (boiled and liquefied) to the whole batch rather then the more time consuming method of adding sugar to individual bottles.
I did the batch with a Barons kit. It gives you 3 choices for carbonation levels. Low, med, and high which I believe is 1/4 cup of corn sugar, 1/2, and 1. I went for a high amount of carbonation. Whatever the case may be after 2 weeks the beer came out with only a small amount of carbonation and an almost non-existent head. The alcohol content seems really low as well. I struggle to get a buzz off it even when drinking excessively. (every mans gotta test out his beer) The beer itself tastes amazing. It far exceeded my expectations of whats possible with home brewing.
So with my second batch on the go, my questions are:
-Is it safe to add say 2cups of corn sugar instead of 1 in a 6 us gal batch? I'm a little paranoid about caps blowing off. (assuming that can even happen)
-Is there a point in which you can mess up the batch by adding to much sugar when bottling?
-does the air gap in the bottle effect carbonation in any way? I left approximately 2-2.5" of air in every bottle.
-how do you measure the alcohol content of your beer?
I did the batch with a Barons kit. It gives you 3 choices for carbonation levels. Low, med, and high which I believe is 1/4 cup of corn sugar, 1/2, and 1. I went for a high amount of carbonation. Whatever the case may be after 2 weeks the beer came out with only a small amount of carbonation and an almost non-existent head. The alcohol content seems really low as well. I struggle to get a buzz off it even when drinking excessively. (every mans gotta test out his beer) The beer itself tastes amazing. It far exceeded my expectations of whats possible with home brewing.
So with my second batch on the go, my questions are:
-Is it safe to add say 2cups of corn sugar instead of 1 in a 6 us gal batch? I'm a little paranoid about caps blowing off. (assuming that can even happen)
-Is there a point in which you can mess up the batch by adding to much sugar when bottling?
-does the air gap in the bottle effect carbonation in any way? I left approximately 2-2.5" of air in every bottle.
-how do you measure the alcohol content of your beer?