Shock carb vs 2nd ferment

[dancingfetus]

Hey guys. I'm not very knowledgable when it comes to brewing. Me and a buddy have done around 20 kits and I'm debating using a corny keg for some batches.

My questions are
1) how much additional ABV do you get when bottling 6 gallons with roughly 3/4 to 1 cup dextrose?

2) with shock carb, I've read it is ready to drink much sooner, however I have noticed with past batches of second ferment that the flavor really evolves over the month. Does shock carb enhance flavor quicker? Will the change in flavor still happen without active fermentation in bottle/keg?

3) I have also read you can do a mix of some priming sugar and shock carb. Will this help with enhancing flavor?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ColoHox]

1) There will be a very small increase in ABV, usually in the range of 0.2-0.5% from the addition of bottling sugar, depending on your batch size. You can confirm with the online calculators.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/priming-sugar-increasing-abv-435037/

2) After a fast force carbonation, you beer is certainly ready to drink sooner. But, that doesn't really make the beer ready to drink, if you catch my drift. True, you wont have to wait the 2-4 weeks for bottle conditioning, but that doesn't mean you can't let your beer age after force carbing. The flavors in the beer will continue to develop over time. You can add sugar and condition in a keg without force carbonating as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/force-carbonation-vs-bottle-conditioning-273258/

3) This sounds like a recipe for over-carbonation. You should just pick one method, sugar or force carb. There will be little to no impact on the flavor of the beer regardless of the method you choose.

All this "flavor enhancing" you speak of should really come from your recipe, brewing parameters, yeast choice, etc, not your carbonation method.

 

[MattyIce]

I agree with ColoHox. I force carb at serving pressure, and it is done in about 1.5 weeks. The higher gravity beers will be carbed but benefit with a few more weeks of conditioning.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you plan to carb with sugar in the keg, you will end up with more yeast and sediment at the bottom of the keg. The bulk of it would come out in the first pull or so, but it can still mean more work to clean after the keg is done.

 

[dancingfetus]

Awesome. Thanks a ton for the info. I'm eager to give force carbing a shot!