Carbonated Drops Vs White Sugar

[hoganknowbest]

Hi all

Only been 2 brews old, what works better?
Carbonated drops (coopers or alt brand)
or plain old white sugar that i sprinle on my cereal?

I have used both already
1st HB i used caronated drops and it had great head retention and tasted great! (actully got tipped out cause i didn't like the recipe being a cooper ale,i had never tasted coopers before so i had no comparision)

2nd HB i use white sugar but think i went wrong through the fermentation period somehow, it has no head retention and tastes ok? it was a carlton draught recipe.

Does carbonated drops work better with certain recipes compared to sugar?

You might know this already but....
Next time your HB had poor head, grab a plain white piece of paper and quick use a up & down motion dabbing it in your HB to quickly brink up a good head! Great party trick!

 

[jimmy01]

Hi Scott

Welcome

I always use Carb Drops now as they are less messy. I haven't noticed a difference in head retention betwen white sugar and drops. I have heard a few complaints on this Forum about Carb drops but I honestly can't fault them.

I tried bulk priming into the secondary a couple of times with corn syrup without success. 2 Flat brews - not sure why.


Best of luck with your brews.


Jimmy :beer:

 

[Adamt]

Head retention has nothing at all to do with what sugar you prime with!

Carbonation drops are just preweighed pellets of a sugar, saves you measuring the amount of sugar to put in each bottle.

Read up on bulk priming, its a much easier way to prime instead of buying carb drops, or by putting sugar in each bottle. Bulk priming is when you mix all the sugar in with the beer before bottling, to assure each bottle is carbonated evenly.

 

[hoganknowbest]

Head retention has nothing at all to do with what sugar you prime with!

Carbonation drops are just preweighed pellets of a sugar, saves you measuring the amount of sugar to put in each bottle.

Read up on bulk priming, its a much easier way to prime instead of buying carb drops, or by putting sugar in each bottle. Bulk priming is when you mix all the sugar in with the beer before bottling, to assure each bottle is carbonated evenly.

thanks for the info!
I look into before i try my next HB

 

[Coodgee]

really can't see how bulk priming can give a more even distribution of sugar in each bottle. surely the beer at the bottom is going to be more carbonated.

 

[devo]

I find the priming drop just easier and cleaner.

 

[Ash in Perth]

100% dextrose for bottling, measured with a little sugar measure thing.

 

[Whistlingjack]

Worried about consistency?

Calculate the amount of sugar/malt/dextrose/honey etc you need, mix to the required volume with boiled water (eg 30 bottles = 300ml, 24 bottles = 240ml), add 10ml to each bottle using a syringe.

Easy, efficient, consistent...

 

[bugwan]

100% dextrose for bottling, measured with a little sugar measure thing.

Ditto.

 

[barfridge]

really can't see how bulk priming can give a more even distribution of sugar in each bottle. surely the beer at the bottom is going to be more carbonated.

If, like me, you use a wide variety of bottles, then individual priming is a pain in the arse. Figuring out the right amounts for 330/375ml stubbies, 473ml grolsch swingtops, 500ml english bottles, 640ml PET and 750/800ml tallies will do your head in.

That why I bulk prime. I generally use malt extract, but with the tiny amounts you're adding, it really doesn't make much of a difference.

To ensure the sugar mix is thoroughly distributed, I lay the racking hose around the bottom of the bottling bucket, so when I transfer the beer you get a nice whirlpool effect, mixing everything in nicely. I've never had a problem with inconsistent carbonation doing things this way.

 

[Mr Bond]

100% dextrose for bottling, measured with a little sugar measure thing.

Ditto.

Double that Ditto

 

[Tyred]

I normally use carbination drops mainly because I'm lazy. Also, I normally bottle beer to 750 or 375 ml bottles.

I have bulk primed and it work perfectly for my lager. The stout that I bulk primed didn't work too well. It would have been better if it had been carefully stirred to make sure mixing was complete. About half a dozen nicely carbonated. Quite a few fountains and quite a few lightly carbonated.

It depends on the brew. For 'thicker' brews like stouts, I would recommend stirring to get consistent carbonation. If it's a lighter brew thn the whirlpool generated might be enough.

 

[TasChris]

The major advantage of bulk priming over other methods is control of carbonation levels in diffent sized bottles. The major prob with carbonation drops is the inability to vary the amount of carb for different types of beers, ie less carbonation for a stout compared to a lager.
Once mastered I find that bulk prime is less hassle than scoups and syringes.
Chris

 

[Stuster]

If, like me, you use a wide variety of bottles, then individual priming is a pain in the arse. Figuring out the right amounts for 330/375ml stubbies, 473ml grolsch swingtops, 500ml english bottles, 640ml PET and 750/800ml tallies will do your head in.

To ensure the sugar mix is thoroughly distributed, I lay the racking hose around the bottom of the bottling bucket, so when I transfer the beer you get a nice whirlpool effect, mixing everything in nicely. I've never had a problem with inconsistent carbonation doing things this way.

Ditto. :super:

 

[Benno-5]

simple solution. Get a couple of kegs and force carbinate. Much quicker, much less work, no sediment (if you rack to secondary) and best of all beer on tap.

Head retention has nothing to do with carbination but rather with the malt itself. If your doing kit brews try adding 150g of wheat malt, this will help with head retention. The other most important thing is a clean glass. That is a glass that had been cvleaned with hot water and no soap. Soap will kill your head.

 

[Bizarre]

Carb drops for me - I tried 'em as an experiment ages ago and its all ever use now - can't be arsed scooping sugar into the bottles. Next step for me is kegs - lol - that might be a while cause I gotta convince SWMBO first. I havent been too keen to try bulk priming for the same reason that coogee mentions - I wondered about sugar solution distribution.

CHeers

:chug:

 

[goatherder]

No carb drops for me I'm afraid.

I do a "psuedo-bulk" priming where i create a dex/water solution and dose it into each bottle with a syringe. It's a bit of dicking around but I think it's the best of both worlds. I can get the dosage very accurate for the style of beer I'm making and I avoid the contamination/oxidation concerns of a bottling bucket.

I've written up my procedure if anyone is interested:

http://goatherder.googlepages.com/bulkpriming

 

[Whistlingjack]

I've tried the lot. Spoons, syringes, drops, etc

Now I force carbonate into kegs. The leftover beer, usually about 4 litres, goes into swing-top bottles with 3/4 spoonful of white sugar.

The most inconsistent method for me was bulk priming. I did rack to the bottling vessel with a hose to the bottom, but never stirred it, being afraid of introducing oxygen. Worked for three out of four brews.

 

[Screwtop]

Head retention has nothing at all to do with what sugar you prime with!

Carbonation drops are just preweighed pellets of a sugar, saves you measuring the amount of sugar to put in each bottle.

Read up on bulk priming, its a much easier way to prime instead of buying carb drops, or by putting sugar in each bottle. Bulk priming is when you mix all the sugar in with the beer before bottling, to assure each bottle is carbonated evenly.

What he says!

WhistlingJack should have stirred not shaken as James Bond said!

 

[Whistlingjack]

LOL, Screwtop.

Your comments stirred me up, but I'm not shaken by them.