Priming Sugar Question

[S2005]

So I have two fermenters that are at 3 weeks today and I need to get them bottled.

My first question is: Is 3 weeks fermenting good? I know a lot of people do 2 weeks. They stayed between 62-65F the entire time and in a dark place. I plan on bottle carbing for 3 weeks, and then 1 week in the fridge.

My second question is how much priming sugar should I use for each batch. (I'm using a bottling bucket).

The First Batch is a MRB Czech Republic Pilsner.
The Second Batch is a 5 gallon American Wheat that I added honey to, and plan on adding blueberry flavoring into the bottling bucket. I ordered it as a kit, and it came with 4oz of corn sugar. Does adding the honey (about 1lb) and the blueberry flavoring effect the amount of priming sugar I should add?

I've tried to use these calculators that people link, but I can't seem to understand them...

I don't know what CO2 Volume to go with on these two types of beer, and also, when it says the amount of sugar in ounces, does that mean volume or weight?

 

[phuff7129]

Fermentation is done when the beer reaches its final gravity. Usually its a safe bet that fermentation is done in two weeks but the only way to tell is to take a gravity reading a couple of days in a row and if it is the same each day fermentation is done. Going longer than 2 weeks hurts nothing. Many will say that the extra time allows the yeast to clean up after themselves.

Unless you want something that has very low or very high carbonation the 4 oz of priming sugar will carbonate 5 gallons of beer to around 2.3 volumes which is a pretty nice level of carbonation for most beers. You can't go wrong using 4oz of priming sugar per 5 gallons. That is 4oz by weight not volume.

 

[S2005]

Thank you phuff!

The calculator was telling me to add like 7oz of corn sugar! I don't want to make any bombs!

Does the honey/blueberry flavoring have any bearing on the priming sugar?

Also for the MRB, would 2oz of corn sugar be about perfect for a Bohemian Pilsner?

 

[kontrol]

So I have two fermenters that are at 3 weeks today and I need to get them bottled.

My first question is: Is 3 weeks fermenting good? I know a lot of people do 2 weeks. They stayed between 62-65F the entire time and in a dark place. I plan on bottle carbing for 3 weeks, and then 1 week in the fridge.

My second question is how much priming sugar should I use for each batch. (I'm using a bottling bucket).

The First Batch is a MRB Czech Republic Pilsner.
The Second Batch is a 5 gallon American Wheat that I added honey to, and plan on adding blueberry flavoring into the bottling bucket. I ordered it as a kit, and it came with 4oz of corn sugar. Does adding the honey (about 1lb) and the blueberry flavoring effect the amount of priming sugar I should add?

I've tried to use these calculators that people link, but I can't seem to understand them...

I don't know what CO2 Volume to go with on these two types of beer, and also, when it says the amount of sugar in ounces, does that mean volume or weight?

The time in your primary sounds fine, but what is more important is to take a gravity reading and see if you're on the estimated gravity OR take a gravity reading and take another 2-3 days later and if the gravity didn't change then your beer is ready.

What is important is not the time it remains in primary/secondary but that the beer fermentation is done. Some beer style/yeast are slower to ferment.

About the priming sugar 4oz in a 5GAL batch sounds good if this is what came with your kit. I put 4.1 in my 5.5GAL batch last time. Honey is a tricky one as not every honey are the same. They are much slower to ferment and hard to ferment. I'm not sure how it would behave if you add it to your priming. What is the quantity you would add?

For carbonation level anything between 2 and 3 is fine (One of the calculator you used should help you calculate a CO2 volume. As for the "right" carbonation is style dependent. I use beersmith and it help me figure what is the recommended carbonation level.

 

[GrogNerd]

always done ¾cup corn sugar in 5 gallons and have never had a bottle bomb

only time it was under carbed was when I used pre-soaked 20-year old oxygen barrier caps and that batch was fixed easily enough by rousing the yeast (3 days upside down, 3 days right side up)

 

[unionrdr]

Ok,taking the tasty brew calculator for example,You look up the beer style on the list. The numbers it gives on the right are minimum & maximum amounts of carbonation for the style in " volumes of co2". Think of it as atmospheres of pressure if that's easier. You input the highest temp the beer reached during fermentation & the number of gallons brewed.
When it is calculated,the number in the little volumes of co2 box is what it recommends from amount of sugar by weight compounded by the amount of dissolved co2 the beer should have. If the number in the box is a little low for you,then you can change it. Sometimes I think the beers current temp works better.

 

[S2005]

The honey was added at the end of my boil after I turned the stove off.

It is about 1lb of raw honey and has been in the fermentor for the full 3 weeks.

I don't have a hydrometer to test the gravities...

 

[unionrdr]

Get one,it's the only way to know for sure.

 

[homebrewdad]

OP, I have a link in my sig to a priming sugar calculator I have made.

Mine gives you a dropdown for the style of beer your are making. It'll tell you the recommended range (say, 2.2 - 2.6 volumes), then it picks a number in the middle of the range. You can specify the exact number of volumes you want, if you like. More volumes = more carbonation in your beer.

Give it the total amount of beer you have (in US gallons or in liters), and the maximum temperature the beer has reached once fermentation was complete (65 degrees F for you). click calculate, and it'll tell you exactly how much priming sugar to use - either by weight (ounces/grams) or by volume (cups... which is admittedly a little less precise).

It provides numbers for pretty much every typical sugar you might use for priming - corn sugar, table sugar, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, etc.

The honey, the flavoring do not affect how much priming sugar to add. Do be certain that fermentation is done before you bottle, however.

 

[phuff7129]

Get 2 hydrometers because one will break! Never fails. I would say if you dont have a hydrometer and you had good signs of a fermentation such as krausen and air lock activity, as long as the krausen is gone you are probably safe, but you never know. Got to get that hydrometer thing.

The honey will have no effect on carbonation as it was fermented. I have never added a fruit flavoring. Can you measure the sugar content on it? How much flavoring are you using? If the flavoring has sugar in it, and it is being added post fermentation then yes, it could have an effect on carbonation.

As for the Pils, I would just do 4oz. I think that would be a good carb level for a pils.

 

[S2005]

I had some solid krausen back a few weeks ago a good 2.5 inches, but now there are just a few yeast rafts on top. Barely anything.

I never remember hearing the airlock, but I only checked it once or twice a day.

I'm not sure if the blueberry has sugar content in it... I bought it from morebeer.com THIS is the item.

The pils is a MRB kit, so its only 2.5 gallons.

 

[phuff7129]

I had some solid krausen back a few weeks ago a good 2.5 inches, but now there are just a few yeast rafts on top. Barely anything.

I never remember hearing the airlock, but I only checked it once or twice a day.

I'm not sure if the blueberry has sugar content in it... I bought it from morebeer.com THIS is the item.

The pils is a MRB kit, so its only 2.5 gallons.

Here is your answer on the flavoring. The website states: Contains no sugar or haze-causing pectins. So no worries about that affecting the carbonation. If the volume is 2.5 gallons then use 2oz of priming sugar. If you had a good krausen then most likely you have had a good fermentation. Because you do not know for sure, there is a possibility that if you bottle it, and it is not done fermeting, you could have some bottle bombs. But I would say it is a small chance. Line your bottle boxes with plastic bags to be safe.

 

[S2005]

Roger that.

Thanks phuff and everyone else for the info!

Gonna be hard to wait 4 more weeks... haha!