Carbing A Saison

[Mr.Moonshine]

Howdy folks,
Recently finished fermenting a saison, FG 1.011 (included coopers lager kit, so higher fg is expected, also been constant over 1 week). I was wondering as to how much carbonation is required to give the beer a slightly drier edge? I'm bottling in champagne bottles which I've saved up over the festive season and have been sterilised using the bottle baking method. I'd like the brew to have a fair bit of carbonation/spritzyness, but I don't want it to get overcarbed to the point of gushing, or causing bottle bombs. I'm also unsure if sterilising the bottles via baking will weaken them and make them more likely to go kaboom all over the cupboard.
can't bulk prime at the moment (no spare container), but can use coopers carbo drops or measure out sugar using teaspoon measures.

Cheers in advance for the help,

Mr.Moonshine

 

[kabooby]

Personally I would keep to 5 grams a 750ml bottle. Maybe go as high as 5.5.

Adding extra sugar now will not make it drier. It will make it over carbed and higher in alc.

Kabooby

 

[drtomc]

FWIW, I've just been finishing off a batch of Saison which I bottled partly in Champagne bottles and partly in my "standard" 500ml Sanpellgrino bottles. Because the latter are originally for sparkling mineral water, I tend to go slightly easy on the carbonation, which is fine for most beers, but since I bulk prime, overall, the batch was a bit under carbonated.

OTOH, I just had three bottles - of something else - explode a couple of days ago, showering glass and beer over a wide area. Sure, it's because the beer had an infection, but having to haul everything out to clean and remove shards of glass is a timely reminder to be careful about carbonation.

My next Saison will be all in Champagne bottles I think, precisely so I can safely go to a higher carbonation level.

cheers,
T.

 

[pmolou]

i always use champagne bottles, (do you use one of the hand bottling measures ie. it says 33cl .5cl .75cl) if so I always just put 2 loads of .5cl in a 750ml cahnpagne bottle and it gives it a high carb without making it fizz out of the bottle when i open it

cheers phil

 

[Mr.Moonshine]

Cheers for the advice guys, much appreciated.
Ordinarily I'd bulk prime, but after a mishap with a partial bo-pils, I've been just bottle priming/kegging for ease.
Not wanting to risk the brew and the cleanliness of my cupboard, I just used 2 coopers carbo drops per 750ml bottle, which I think will have it carbed up just within the guidelines. Next saison I bottle though, I'll probably go with Pmolou's advice.

Cheers,

Mr.Moonshine