Amount Of Bulk Priming Sugar For A Regular 23l Run

[michael_aussie]

I've search here for the past hour or so, and haven't got a clear answer.
One poster in a thread talked about using 100 gm.
Another poster said they used 120 gm.
A third gave a link to an external site that wanted to know all sorts of information that i didn't know.

I am intending to have my first go at bulk priming.

How much sugar should I use?

In hind sight, should I have only filled the drum to 22 litres?
Now that I already have 23 litres, whatever I dissolve the suger in will mean I now have too much water.

Michael

 

[kelbygreen]

best method is to use this calculator. LINK

down the bottom has beer styles and will tell you the C02 for that style, so pick your style or just leave it as general. Beer temp is the the highest temp while fermenting. Beer volume is the volume you will be priming. and just pick the sugar you are using and hit calculate.

 

[RdeVjun]

OK, what's the style, i.e. is it an ESB, an APA or a Dortmunder Export etc.? That will guide you in the level of carbonation for the style you're bottling, and what's the maximum temperature during fermentation? That plus the volume and type of sugar you're using will tell you how much sugar to add.

Here's one, all the defaults are imperial though, but easy enough to change everything to metric. Handy article.

Don't panic if you're off by a litre or two, the calculators are volume- based and it is only a guide anyway. I do hate bottling but I love bulk priming.

 

[barls]

best method is to use this calculator. LINK

down the bottom has beer styles and will tell you the C02 for that style, so pick your style or just leave it as general. Beer temp is the the highest temp while fermenting. Beer volume is the volume you will be priming. and just pick the sugar you are using and hit calculate.

hate to burst your bubble but the temp would be the current temp of the beer being bottled so to figure out how much residual co2 is in solution.
good calculator i use to have this one but lost the link over time

 

[michael_aussie]

Thankyou for your prompt replies.
Based on that link I need to add around 190 grams.
I was happy to see that the amount only varied by about 5 gm if I used 20 degrees instead of 22 degrees.

 

[boobiedazzler]

I always worked on the theory that priming calculations were worked out using the fermentation temperature.

 

[boobiedazzler]

190 grams sounds like a hell of a lot for your batch size

 

[themonkeysback]

hate to burst your bubble but the temp would be the current temp of the beer being bottled so to figure out how much residual co2 is in solution.
good calculator i use to have this one but lost the link over time

I would have thought that highest temp was right. If your bottling temp is higher than your ferment temp, then what you are saying makes since, but if you cool you beer after fermenting it will not increase the amount of CO2 within the beer.

Adam.

 

[clarkey7]

Thankyou for your prompt replies.
Based on that link I need to add around 190 grams.
I was happy to see that the amount only varied by about 5 gm if I used 20 degrees instead of 22 degrees.

Make sure it has completely fermented out ....3 volumes is a lot so you don't want any extra fizz......It'll be spritzy.....
PB

 

[themonkeysback]

Thankyou for your prompt replies.
Based on that link I need to add around 190 grams.
I was happy to see that the amount only varied by about 5 gm if I used 20 degrees instead of 22 degrees.

For your first crack at bulk priming I would err on the side of slightly less priming sugar rather than more. Instead of 3 volumes of CO2 I would go for somewhere between 2 and 2.5 volumes CO2. Better to have slightly less carbonated beer than bottle bombs.

Adam.

 

[manticle]

hate to burst your bubble but the temp would be the current temp of the beer being bottled so to figure out how much residual co2 is in solution.
good calculator i use to have this one but lost the link over time

My understanding is highest temp after primary fermentation. If that is when it is being bottled then the temp at bottling is correct. If you cold condition and bottle while it's cold but it reached 22 for a day or so in secondary then 22 is the temp.

I have scratched my head over this many times so if someone could clear it up once and for all it would be superb

 

[themonkeysback]

My understanding is highest temp after primary fermentation. If that is when it is being bottled then the temp at bottling is correct. If you cold condition and bottle while it's cold but it reached 22 for a day or so in secondary then 22 is the temp.

Don't think I can clear it up "once and for all", but unless there is some sort of positive pressure involved after you cool the beer - hence forcing CO2 back into the beer, I would think this ^ is correct.

Adam.

 

[barls]

ok if you ferment at 18 degrees and then cold condition, the beer will absorb co2 while cold conditioning. The dissolved co2 will stay in solution till its warmed up.
Where as if you ferment at 18 then bottle it will have less dissolved co2 as it hasnt had the opportunity to absorb as much co2.
hence why its the current temp of the beer to be bottled and not the highest temp reached.
its the same principle as force carbing. the colder the liquid, the more that will be absorbed and stay in solution.

 

[kelbygreen]

hmm ok. I was always unsure of it as well but read a thread few weeks back where all agreed that it was the highest temp not current temp. Now I am confused again lol but I currently havnt bulk primed yet but you it to work out roughly how much to put in each bottle. anyone else can shed some light on this (seems to be varied) discussion

 

[Florian]

My understanding is highest temp after primary fermentation. If that is when it is being bottled then the temp at bottling is correct. If you cold condition and bottle while it's cold but it reached 22 for a day or so in secondary then 22 is the temp.

I have scratched my head over this many times so if someone could clear it up once and for all it would be superb

I used to scratch my head too and therefore never bulk primed. But it seems that CO2 disappears when the beer gets warm, the warmer it gets, the more CO2 disappears. Therefore it needs to be the highest temp the beer has been since primary fermentation has significantly stopped. If you would raise the temp to 25 degrees while fermentation is still going like crazy and you then lower the temp to lets say 18 while ferment is till crazy than the 25 degrees would not count, as still plenty of CO2 is produced after it has been lost at 25.

So usually the temp to put into the calculator would be the one of your diacetyl rest if you're having one, or the ferment temp if you're brewing ales. I say usually, because obviously when you are fermenting an ale at 18, and then forget it on the bench for a few days in 35 degrees, then 35 will be your number (if the beer was out long enough to get to that temp).

Hope that makes sene.

Florian

 

[themonkeysback]

ok if you ferment at 18 degrees and then cold condition, the beer will absorb co2 while cold conditioning. The dissolved co2 will stay in solution till its warmed up.
Where as if you ferment at 18 then bottle it will have less dissolved co2 as it hasnt had the opportunity to absorb as much co2.
hence why its the current temp of the beer to be bottled and not the highest temp reached.
its the same principle as force carbing. the colder the liquid, the more that will be absorbed and stay in solution.

But during fermentation you will lose some CO2 from the fermenter, so even if you drop the temp to say 7 degrees, you will not end up with the same amount of CO2 within the beer as if you fermented at 7 degrees.

Adam.

 

[manticle]

ok if you ferment at 18 degrees and then cold condition, the beer will absorb co2 while cold conditioning. The dissolved co2 will stay in solution till its warmed up.
Where as if you ferment at 18 then bottle it will have less dissolved co2 as it hasnt had the opportunity to absorb as much co2.
hence why its the current temp of the beer to be bottled and not the highest temp reached.
its the same principle as force carbing. the colder the liquid, the more that will be absorbed and stay in solution.

And when it warms up it comes out of solution yes?

So therefore if the brew hits 22 after primary ferment has done its thing, that CO2 will be lost, even if you cold condition down to 2 degrees and bottle between 2 and 4.

 

[Florian]

ok if you ferment at 18 degrees and then cold condition, the beer will absorb co2 while cold conditioning. The dissolved co2 will stay in solution till its warmed up.
Where as if you ferment at 18 then bottle it will have less dissolved co2 as it hasnt had the opportunity to absorb as much co2.
hence why its the current temp of the beer to be bottled and not the highest temp reached.
its the same principle as force carbing. the colder the liquid, the more that will be absorbed and stay in solution.

Sorry Barls, but this is not correct.
The beer does not absorb any C02 while cold conditioning (after fermentation is finished). In fact, cold conditioning does not affect your residual C02 levels at all. Only warming the beer will make it loose C02. The beer can only absorb C02 during fermentation (or through pressure of course).

Here is a passage from an AHB article about bulk priming:

So in an example of fermenting for 5 days at a constant 18C (with FG being stable for the last 48hrs), then being crash chilled;

The level of CO2 remaining at 18C is now stable, because you've given it enough time to confirm that fermentation has finished, which allows enough time to desaturate to the level it would normally be at for 18C. The chilling then does nothing in regard to the CO2. If you bottle at this point, then you would use 18C for your saturation level.

If you warm the beer before bottling.......if it is warmed to any point under 18C, then 18C is still used. If it is warmed to a temperature over 18C, then the new temperature would be used....

Hope that clears things up now. As said earlier, always use the warmest temperature the beer has ever been from a few days into fermentation til bottling. Obviously, if you expose a full fermenter to 35 degrees ambient temperature for an hour only, this will not affect the beer temperature as it needs more time to warm up completely.

Florian

 

[theredone]

from my personal experience of late, i have been adding too much. dont get me wrong i do like a bit of fiz but i will be cutting down from 180 to maybe 150 for 23lt batches from now on

 

[kelbygreen]

I use about 180g in 30 bottles. this is 23lts but I brew 25lts and get 30 bottles sometimes 31 at most and dont leave much liquid behind last bottle usually carbs in a week as so much yeast