Bottle priming

[Renton]

Hi guys, new to this and looking everywhere for this answer. I’m using a pressurised fermenter and looking at going straight into bottles as no kegging option available. After fermentation, would you use a counter pressure gun or similar to fill (using co2 to push out of pressurised fermenter), but would carbonation drops be ok in the bottles. Trying to do this without opening fermenter to start, so no bulk priming.

 

[Cloud Surfer]

I used carbonation drops on my first bottling because I had them with a kit. But I bulk prime now. I think you can get closer to the carbonation level for the style of beer that way than using drops. Plus you get more consistency in carbonation.

Most people seem to rack to a seperate bottling bucket out of their fermenter, which has the priming sugar in there already dissolved in boiled water. The gentle swirling of the beer going into the bottling bucket mixes everything in, and then you fill your bottles with a bottling wand out of the bucket’s tap. That’s the way I’ve been bottling now.

But then I got thinking about no oxygen transfers. So I’ve got some kegs coming now so I can do a pressure transfer into a keg that has been purged with CO2 and has the priming sugar in the keg. Transfer the beer into the keg and then use a bottling gun with the CO2 line and fill from that. I’m new to this too so I’m finding my feet and developing processes that work for me.

 

[kadmium]

Hi guys, new to this and looking everywhere for this answer. I’m using a pressurised fermenter and looking at going straight into bottles as no kegging option available. After fermentation, would you use a counter pressure gun or similar to fill (using co2 to push out of pressurised fermenter), but would carbonation drops be ok in the bottles. Trying to do this without opening fermenter to start, so no bulk priming.

If you ferment under pressure you will need to work out the carbonation level of the beer prior to calculating your priming sugar, as it will be partially carbonated from pressure ferment.

 

[Renton]

That’s what I thought, not looking to over carbonate. Next question is the Initial level of carbonation the same to use the normal priming charts or will it vary as fermented under pressure?

 

[kadmium]

You will need to work out what the pressure of the fermenter is at the END of fermentation as well as the temp. Then you can use that to figure out the VOL carbonation of the beer prior to working out the priming sugar.

10PSI at 20c is not the same as 10PSI at 4c if that makes sense?