Bulk Priming Quantities

[mayzi]

I've had a look at a few bulk priming articles but haven't found one that mentions a dextrose weight per litre. I was hoping to bottle a batch tommorrow that is ready to go. Its 21.5 litres.

Does anyone have a simple answer here. Trust me I can only handle simple answers.

 

[bconnery]

You can get complex answers involving CO2 volumes etc etc but I use a much simpler almost rule of thumb which I do adjust heavily on brew day.

6-7 grams per litre for an ale 7-9 for a lager.

For my normal 21-22L batches that means I go with around 130-150g for an ale and 160-180 for a lager or more carbonated ale.

I have gone under there too as I sometimes have smaller batches etc but those ranges will give you a good starting point...

You don't mention a beer type there but that should answer your question.

 

[mayzi]

Yep it certainly does. Thanks for that. As for the beer its a lager. I was pretty suprised at how much variance there is in priming the bottles one by one. The first beer I cracked tonight was near perfect for carbonation and held the head well. The next one nearly had to be dropped into the glass from 4 feet and then sculled to get any bubbles.

On another track the beer I'm drinking now is certainly miles ahead of my last batch though. I had never racked and done a secondary fermentation. Also hadn't rehydrated the yeast before. Not sure which one it is but the flavour is miles ahead, and its only five weeks old.

I have the people who share their knowledge on this site to thank for that.

Cheers all.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

I have a spreadsheet that someone passed on to me.

Takes into account the temperature that the beer to bottled is, and the batch size. Seemed to work out ok when I used it last.

In general I tend to avoid bulk priming ( mostly because I am lazy ), but has work out ok with some of the ones that I tried to get lower carbonation levels ( stout and a mild ).

Cheers

Chris

View attachment Priming_Sugar_Calculator.xls

 

[mayzi]

Nice thats handy. Using that table for my brew it comes up at 168g of dextrose which is right in the middle of bconnery's 160-180g mark. So I think 170 will do me!

Thanks guys

 

[jupiter]

i just use 6 g/L for dark beers , 7 g/L for ales and 8g/L for light beers.

so long as the beer isn't flat or exploding i'm happy. when i drink beer anyways (regardless of what sort, homebrew or commercial) the carbonation between the moment it is cracked and when i sip the last drop varies so much i don't really care if i get the carbonation spot on. close enough is good enough i say.

 

[reveler]

i just use 6 g/L for dark beers , 7 g/L for ales and 8g/L for light beers.

so long as the beer isn't flat or exploding i'm happy. when i drink beer anyways (regardless of what sort, homebrew or commercial) the carbonation between the moment it is cracked and when i sip the last drop varies so much i don't really care if i get the carbonation spot on. close enough is good enough i say.

http://www.geocities.com/lesjudith/Alcohol...Calculator.html

that's what I use, not sure how good it is..

 

[Wortgames]

In general I tend to avoid bulk priming ( mostly because I am lazy )

Bulk priming is actually lazier than individual priming if you ask me - especially if you attach your bottle filler to a hose from the bottling bucket. Line up the empties and move the filler from one to the other. If you get your timing down pat there's actually enough time to cap a bottle while the next one is filling.

:beer:

 

[ironxmortlock]

So if I was to bulk prime I would just stir in the sugar that would normally go into the bottles dissolved in boiled water once fermentation is finished?

Doesn't this stir up all the crud in the fermenter and increase the risk of contamination?

Thanks,

M

 

[bear09]

What about dried malt extract... Whats the range on that??

I am going german style - I refuse to use any white / plain sugars in my brew. Even in small quanaties it ruins it I think.

Cheers!!

 

[wildschwein]

What about dried malt extract... Whats the range on that??

I am going german style - I refuse to use any white / plain sugars in my brew. Even in small quanaties it ruins it I think.

Cheers!!

Generally with dried malt extract you need a little more than if you're using dex, or (shudder) table sugar. I usually use 180g (or 3/4 cup) of dex for a 23L brew. If I'm doing a full German style beer I'll use approx 280-290g (or 1 and 1/4 cups) of dried malt extract to prime with. Off the top of my head thats slightly greater than 12g per litre (correct me if I'm wrong). Malt takes a lot longer to gas up the beer than dex though and I'm not sure if anyone could tell the difference between a dex carbed beer and a malt carbed one if they weren't told about it first. I agree about the table sugar though.

 

[0M39A]

Grab beersmith,

it tells you exactly how much sugar to prime with (either normal sugar or malt extract).

has each styles recommended co2 volume range, and then you just plug in how carbonated you want it, and it comes up with a nice estimation.

for a lager @ 2.6 volumes of co2 @ 16C (if the temperature is lower, there will be more co2 in suspension in the beer) it says 150g of sugar or 210g of dried malt extract.

@ 20C it says 160.5g of sugar or 224.7g of dried malt extract.

thats for a 23L batch btw.

 

[lokpikn]

So if I was to bulk prime I would just stir in the sugar that would normally go into the bottles dissolved in boiled water once fermentation is finished?

Doesn't this stir up all the crud in the fermenter and increase the risk of contamination?

Thanks,

M

Normally what i do to prevent this from happening i do as you say with the boiling water and priming sugar into a clean and steralized bucket and than rack into it with a clean hose. The sprilling motion of the wort going into the bucket will stir it for you and just to be on the safe side give it a stir with a clean spoon to mix it better.

It a bit of a pain to clean another buct but it get it off the trub before primming.

 

[RobboMC]

Generally with dried malt extract you need a little more than if you're using dex, or (shudder) table sugar. I usually use 180g (or 3/4 cup) of dex for a 23L brew. If I'm doing a full German style beer I'll use approx 280-290g (or 1 and 1/4 cups) of dried malt extract to prime with. Off the top of my head thats slightly greater than 12g per litre (correct me if I'm wrong). Malt takes a lot longer to gas up the beer than dex though and I'm not sure if anyone could tell the difference between a dex carbed beer and a malt carbed one if they weren't told about it first. I agree about the table sugar though.

280-290 g of DME seems a bit high for a 23 litre batch, I would have thought 210-220 g would be closer to the mark.

 

[wildschwein]

280-290 g of DME seems a bit high for a 23 litre batch, I would have thought 210-220 g would be closer to the mark.

Yeah, well I don't know if that's the exact weight. I usually just stick to using measuring cups. If I'm using malt extract I use 1 and 1/4 cups for a 23L batch. I always boil the priming sugar in an equal measurement of water and allow it to cool before adding it to the brew. This amount doesn't seem to produce an overcarbonated brew. I actually took the measurements from an American home brew book called "The Home Brewer's Companion" by Charlie Papazian, New York: Avon Books (1994) which recommends 178mls of Dex or 296mls of dried malt extract for a 19L batch. Chefs, like me, usually convert 1ml to 1g and vice versa. So I think I'm well within safety limits as long as primary fermentation has actually finished.

 

[DarkFaerytale]

If you get your timing down pat there's actually enough time to cap a bottle while the next one is filling.

:beer:

reminds me of that arnie movie total recal

"makes me wish i had three hands"

-Phill

 

[vchead]

Hi,

Another link for your question on quantities. Click on link in paragraph,

Rodders

http://www.brewhaus.com.au/html/Instructio...ulkPriming.html