carbination

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hamstringsally

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Ive just recently upped my volume with my all grain ales and on 330ml bottles use the coopers sugar drops for bottle conditioning.

Since ive upped the volume gradually im noticing more and more beers toffee over so to speak or like someone has shaken the beer when i open them. The flavor is fine and tastes good but trying to work out the cause.

could it be bigger volume equals more oxygen in wort and acting differently with sugar drops

or could it be that not every sugar drop is exact? i weighed them and some were 2.5g and others more around 3grams?

any tips what i should do?

cheers

Hammo
 
get rid of the lollies and move to bulk priming.the coopers lollies aim at the high side of carbonation and dont take things like beer temp like a bulk priming calc will.with bulk priming its also possible to use different size bottles while still keeping the correct carb leel across them all.
 
I use the drops on some brews, mainly because I'm pushed for time to bottle...anywho,
I use abut 2/3 a drop per 330ml bottle and find this is generally on the high side.
If you are using a full drop per bottle I would imagine they would be pretty fizzed and verging on gushers.
+1 on bulk priming if you can.
 
thanks for the heads up!

I was thinking along the same lines re over carbonated with drops

cheers
 
I had the same problem with carbonation drops and 330ml stubbies. I bulk prime to avoid it.

There are threads here that cover it in more detail. There is also a method of pseudo bulk priming whereby a sugar solution can be injected / dosed into each bottle quite accurately. I have never done it but a syringe would probably help with that.


To derail the thread slightly...

I'm bulk priming with malt extract today for the first time and my usual bulk priming calculator is weirding me out and saying that I need .33 grams to carb 24.5 litres. Could 331 grams be close? Is it an error in the calculator or am I on crack?

Volume of CO2 2.9.

Max temp during ferment 14 c

24.5 litres to carb.

Dry light malt as the priming sugar.

Thoughts?

Edit :

I am on crack. Set calculator to mls not litres.

It is 331 g for anyone who was curious.
 
ok i bottled another batch of beer 10 days ago and instead of using sugar carbonation drops i used normal white sugar with one of the measuring cups you buy from the home brew shop which has 330ml. 750ml and i think 500ml on it as a 3 cup type plastic holder. I used the 330ml flat to the top no more and no less and yesterday opening up the bottle i find it still overflowing out of the top slowly?
definatly not infected because the beer flavor tastes good, But where am i going wrong?

thanks in advance
 
Can you tell us what the beer is? Recipe in brief.

I think the bog standard scoops and lollies are made with kit beer in mind where the malt component is balanced with sugar and head isn't as long lasting. Just a guess that you are using better ingredients with more head retention in your beer and 'seeing' a problem. Try pouring into a jug slowly and see if the carbonation itself feels high in the taste or lack of, not the amount of foam.

Obviously, you could just use less than a scoop next time :)
 
hamstringsally said:
I used the 330ml flat to the top no more and no less and yesterday opening up the bottle i find it still overflowing out of the top slowly?
Those sugar scoops from the HB shop give you about the same dose as the carbonation drops, which for most styles is too much.

Do a search on here, and google for bulk priming and there are some really good instructions on how to go about it. Youtube is also a place to have a look. Bulk priming isn't hard, it just takes a little longer to set up than the drops, but takes about the same time in the long run. The bonus is you get even carbonation across all bottle sizes. Your first attempt at bulk priming will be the hardest, gets easier after that.

I still use drops for some beers, and I'll often bottle heavier english style ales in 700mL bottles with only one drop, but that isn't suitable for every beer.

Good luck with it.

JD
 
Have you recently introduced temperature control for fermentation?

I found that when I went from fermenting at room temp, to fermenting at a controlled 18-ish degrees, that the sugar drops became too big a dose and I got some gushers. Same would apply for the measuring scoop from the LHBS.

Basically beer fermented cooler retains more CO2, so you don't need as much sugar to carb it up.

There are calculators like this one, but basically it just sounds like you need to reduce the sugar a bit and see how it goes.
For the next batch, put different amounts in a few bottles (mark them) and see which one comes out best.

Disclaimer: obviously don't put any MORE in than what you have been, unless you like bottle bombs for fun.
 
Opened some of the bottles I carbed with Dried Malt Extract and they are way over-carbed. I was in a hurry to bottle this one so I can't rule out some other mishap. Perhaps I am the victim of a stuck ferment? Maybe I just screwed up the amount?
 
Hamstring, bulk priming seems to be the way I find it to be easiest and a lot more control over your carb rates.

Thanks Mikec.
You answered a riddle of mine.
I brew mostly ales with temp control, mainly use us05 @ 18.
My mate brews the same styles at room temps.
We prime the same, I usually get very slightly overcarbed and he is usually under.
I have since started to drop my priming amounts and am much happier.
ta.

UB
 
I had the same problem with the drops, now I just use an online bulk priming calculator, put in the size of bottle I am filling, temp, volume etc, grab a small set of scales and add the exact amount of sugar that it says to. Mind you I am not filling 60+ stubbies, just a few over flows from a kegging. Works great. :beerbang:
 
Dividing the carbonation drops to only use two thirds per bottle seems like a bit of a pain in the ass and a bit defeatist of the purpose of the drops (simplicity).

I have been thinking about bulk priming to cut down on time (I currently use the brigalow little plastic spoon/scoop), but it seems like kegging is even better an option :)
 
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