priming sugar calculators vs "how to brew" suggestion

[Voyager]

Hi all,

I've only been brewing a couple months. The first batch I bottled (a porter -- OG 1.070 (overshot the intended 1.065 because I didn't know my efficiency)) I used the NB calculator to determine the amount of table sugar to use for priming. It suggested using 0.43 cups of table sugar (2.1 vols).

I bottled in 1 liter swing top bottles, and by my calculations, this is about 1.25 teaspoons per bottle of the granulated table sugar I had on hand (about 5 g). After 2 weeks, the beer is still pretty much completely flat.

I looked back at John Palmer's book, and he suggests (for presumably a "general beer") 2/3 cups (0.67 cups) of table sugar which works out to nearly 2 teaspoons for a liter sized bottle... about 50% more than the calculators.

Question: Should I add more sugar to my beers or will waiting a couple more weeks carbonate the beer?

Thanks!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Give it time and keep it warm (low 70s) and it will get there. If it's in a cool place it will take longer to carb. You also may find it easier, more accurate and more consistent to batch prime (i.e. bottling bucket) instead of bottle by bottle. Or you could use carb tabs from your LHBS.

 

[JLeuck64]

Yes, start batch priming! I've found it to be consistent overall with bottling. Start with 4oz or 4.5oz per 5 Gal batch. You may figure out that 4.5oz works better during the winter months and 4oz is probably better during the summer months. That all depends on your storage room temps ( ; AND the type of beer you are making! Stronger beers like the one you're currently having trouble with will require more time to carbonate so be patient with them. Typically a high O.G. should sit for at least a couple of months or more in bottles. Open one at room temp once in a while and when you think the sound of the pressure release sounds right it's time to put one in the fridge to lock in the carbonation. Bottle conditioning is not an exact science but more of a dark art and requires constant monitoring LOL. Once you get a feel for it it will become second nature.

I've personally had high gravity beers takes months to fully carbonate. Sometimes it is necessary to tip those bottles upside down to resuspend the yeast during that time also.

Just recently... tonight for example I had a Hefeweizen show very strong carbonation after sitting in bottles for only 4 days! Just goes to show you that it requires constant monitoring and adjustment along the way.

Bottle conditioning is done when it's done... not necessarily when you want it to be done!

 

[estricklin]

Here is a similar thread that I posted something that may help you in. I have a link to yet another threat in that post that you might find helpful too. We've had quite a few carbonation questions here lately, and I hate seeing guys with flat beer because I had many batches that way starting out, tis a sad thing and thus this subject is very near and dear to my heart.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/priming-sugar-first-batch-noob-question-511788/

Weigh your priming sugar, never use volume. If you can't find the answers your looking for in that link, don't hesitate to ask. Also welcome to the forum, and congrats on your first batch. Give it some more time and it may carbonate more, but it sounds like you may have inadvertently underprimmed.

 

[Voyager]

Hi all,

Thanks for the info. I'm going to leave the remaining bottles for several more weeks and see how they do.

In the meantime, I bottled an oatmeal stout today so I did a little experiment. I bottled 1 liter of beer each in four 1.25 liter PET bottles, and 1 liter each in four 1 liter swing top bottles. Two of each were bottled with 2 tsp of table sugar (similar to JP's suggestion in HTB for a presumably "general" beer), and the other two of each were bottled with 1.25 tsp of table sugar (as calculated by the NB calculator)... so the PET bottles have a lot more headspace than the swing top bottles. In other more specific words, I now have 2 one liter bottles primed with 1.25 tsp, 2 one liter bottles primed with 2 tsp, and two 1.25 liter bottles primed with 1.25 tsp, two 1.25 liter bottles primed with 2 tsp, all of which contain 1 liter of beer.

I plan to open one 1 liter bottle primed with 2 tsp, and one 1.25 liter bottle primed with 2 tsp, both in one week... hypotheses?

Was that as hard to read as it was to type?