Carbonation Drops

[ojbryant]

I'm new to brewing and have just made my second brew using brewcraft carbonation drops (1 drop per 330ml bottle). After tasting my beer after being in the bottle for 1 month, it doesnt taste very alcoholic and is extremely fizzy. Does anyone else use these drops? The only reason i dont carbonate with cane sugar is because i heard it makes a bad beer?

 

[zoidbergmerc]

I used to use carbonation drops and got varied results, some over carbed, some under, but once I saw the light that is bluk priming I never looked back.

 

[ojbryant]

So do you bulk prime with ordinary cane sugar? If so at what quantities? Im having trouble finding any information on this at all...
cheers!

I used to use carbonation drops and got varied results, some over carbed, some under, but once I saw the light that is bluk priming I never looked back.

 

[kelbygreen]

I never heard of that before I use cane sugar and found no problems. If someone says it makes bad beer then they may be doing something else wrong. You can always use dextrose if your worried not sure whats in carb drops but cant see any reason not to use cane sugar there is the smallest amount you put in (6g per longneck).

I read a few weeks ago people makes "cheap" beers using just a kit and 1kg of sugar and said it makes a very drinkable beer but that would be fermenting it at the right temps and maybe using better yeast.

 

[Siborg]

I'm new to brewing and have just made my second brew using brewcraft carbonation drops (1 drop per 330ml bottle). After tasting my beer after being in the bottle for 1 month, it doesnt taste very alcoholic and is extremely fizzy. Does anyone else use these drops? The only reason i dont carbonate with cane sugar is because i heard it makes a bad beer?

I used to use the carbonation drops, but I switched to cane sugar (table sugar) to try something different. I found it left too much sweetness in the beer and found that dextrose is a much better option as it is 100% fermentable. Just go to your local big w or kmart and buy a packet of dextrose (also called glucose - check the packaging for contents) for around $2-4.

Also, try bulk priming. There is a great article in the articles section on this site that provides you the info you need. Use the website below to work out how much dextrose to add, and you're away. If you don't like your beer too fizzy, aim for 2.5-2.9 volumes of CO2 as per the website's calculator. In the beer temperature field, just enter your average fermentation temperature - this is important because depending on the temperature of the beer, there will be varying amounts of CO2 already in the beer.

Bulk Priming Calculator

 

[zoidbergmerc]

I bulk primed with dextrose too, I just used the calulator on the iPhone app I got. I use ~150g of dex for a 23L batch.

 

[kelbygreen]

siborg I never have used a calculator but am looking to soon. What if you CC your beer and bottle at like 3-4 deg do you enter that temp or still the temp you brewed the beer at??? I am always a bit confused on priming so usually just do the 6g per 750ml

 

[ojbryant]

thanks all!

 

[ojbryant]

according to the packet, carbonation drops contain 'modified starch'.... not real helpful...

 

[Jamieman]

Used to use the drops, then the scoop of dex & now bulk priming.
Bulk prime depends of the fermentation temp, & the calc listed above is a good starting point.
Dont second guess FG of a 12 deg ferment though. Let is sit a couple of days more than you normally would.
You need the batch to be fully fermented out, otherwise you will end up with over carbed bottles.
I was doing 200g for a 23L batch @ 23 deg. Turned out about perfect for me.
My 4 batches of 12deg with W34/70 ended up over carbed with 150g bulk prime. Even with 2 week ferments.

Kegging will help manage this.

 

[manticle]

Dont second guess FG of a 12 deg ferment though. Let is sit a couple of days more than you normally would.
You need the batch to be fully fermented out, otherwise you will end up with over carbed bottles.
I was doing 200g for a 23L batch @ 23 deg. Turned out about perfect for me.
My 4 batches of 12deg with W34/70 ended up over carbed with 150g bulk prime. Even with 2 week ferments.

Kegging will help manage this.

Or measure it with a hydrometer? 2 weeks at 12 deg is nothing and I'm not sure 'a couple of extra days' is much better.

I'm scratching my head at this one.

 

[Siborg]

siborg I never have used a calculator but am looking to soon. What if you CC your beer and bottle at like 3-4 deg do you enter that temp or still the temp you brewed the beer at??? I am always a bit confused on priming so usually just do the 6g per 750ml

I've CC'd my last few bulk primed beers, using the average ferment temp, and its been fine... maybe a little under carbed, but I haven't got anything to benchmark CO2 voumes against. I'm doing a coopers clone that says to carbonate to 3.5 volumes, so I'll CC that and compare carbonation to the real thing.

I *think* the CC decreases the amount of residual CO2, which may be a reason why my last few bulk primed beers have been a little under carbed. Can anyone comment on this?

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah was on my mind as I CC a beer for 2 weeks and bottled at cc temps. have done the same recipe before with 2 days cc plus I warmed the brew back to around 18deg before bottling. latest one seems to be flat, Although only been in the bottle just over a week so that plays a big part lol I just thought there would be a little more carb then that but will leave another 2 weeks just to see if it carbs up fully

 

[Siborg]

yeah was on my mind as I CC a beer for 2 weeks and bottled at cc temps. have done the same recipe before with 2 days cc plus I warmed the brew back to around 18deg before bottling. latest one seems to be flat, Although only been in the bottle just over a week so that plays a big part lol I just thought there would be a little more carb then that but will leave another 2 weeks just to see if it carbs up fully

yeah, I've found it takes a little longer to carb up and the bubbles are finer. Just need to het. The carb level right. My last one is good after 2 weeks, but I would like it a tad more carbed.

 

[themonkeysback]

I've CC'd my last few bulk primed beers, using the average ferment temp, and its been fine... maybe a little under carbed, but I haven't got anything to benchmark CO2 voumes against. I'm doing a coopers clone that says to carbonate to 3.5 volumes, so I'll CC that and compare carbonation to the real thing.

I *think* the CC decreases the amount of residual CO2, which may be a reason why my last few bulk primed beers have been a little under carbed. Can anyone comment on this?

My understanding is that colder liquids will actually hold more CO2, so I would have thought that you CC'd beers would have more CO2 before you prime them and as a result would have expected more carbonation rather than less. Happy for someone to correct me on this.

Adam.

 

[Siborg]

My understanding is that colder liquids will actually hold more CO2, so I would have thought that you CC'd beers would have more CO2 before you prime them and as a result would have expected more carbonation rather than less. Happy for someone to correct me on this.

Adam.

actually now that you mention it, I did put the lower temps into the calculator and it did say to add less due to more residual co2. But the proof is in the pudding, and my last few brews have been under.

 

[WarmBeer]

My understanding is that colder liquids will actually hold more CO2, so I would have thought that you CC'd beers would have more CO2 before you prime them and as a result would have expected more carbonation rather than less. Happy for someone to correct me on this.

Adam.

Partly correct, yes, colder liquids will hold more CO2 in solution. This is the reason warm cola bottles will fizz much more than the same bottle cold when opened.

The amount of sugar used in the online calculators is based on the coldest temperature during fermentation. As the yeast ferment out, they will excrete CO2 into solution, and any excess gas that cannot be held will rise to the surface and vented.

When you cold condition after fermentation has finished, the yeast are no longer producing CO2 (well, not in perceptible quantities), so the drop in temperature, and corresponding ability to store more gas in solution, does not have an impact. There is nothing "forcing" any more CO2 back into solution.

So, the summary is, the amount of sugar to add should be based on the coldest temperature of your wort during fermentation.

 

[Jamieman]

Or measure it with a hydrometer? 2 weeks at 12 deg is nothing and I'm not sure 'a couple of extra days' is much better.

I'm scratching my head at this one.

Sorry man, forgot to metion that as a given.
1 point over 2 days, then 2 days of no movement.
And yeah, i am scratching my head.

 

[themonkeysback]

Partly correct, yes, colder liquids will hold more CO2 in solution. This is the reason warm cola bottles will fizz much more than the same bottle cold when opened.

The amount of sugar used in the online calculators is based on the coldest temperature during fermentation. As the yeast ferment out, they will excrete CO2 into solution, and any excess gas that cannot be held will rise to the surface and vented.

When you cold condition after fermentation has finished, the yeast are no longer producing CO2 (well, not in perceptible quantities), so the drop in temperature, and corresponding ability to store more gas in solution, does not have an impact. There is nothing "forcing" any more CO2 back into solution.

So, the summary is, the amount of sugar to add should be based on the coldest temperature of your wort during fermentation.

I am a little confused. The above would appear to make sense if you have a fermentation fridge and have a consistent temperature so at no point does your beer heat up during fermentation. If you weren't using a fermentation fridge and and your beer varied between say 18 and 22 degrees during fermentation, I would have thought the amount of C02 would correspond to the highest, not the lowest temperature - for the same reason that you cannot "force" C02 into solution by cooling your beer as you described.

Adam.

 

[WarmBeer]

I am a little confused. The above would appear to make sense if you have a fermentation fridge and have a consistent temperature so at no point does your beer heat up during fermentation. If you weren't using a fermentation fridge and and your beer varied between say 18 and 22 degrees during fermentation, I would have thought the amount of C02 would correspond to the highest, not the lowest temperature - for the same reason that you cannot "force" C02 into solution by cooling your beer as you described.

Adam.

Yep, you're right about the maximum temperature, not the minimum (that'll teach me to try and post something knowledgable whilst drinkin'). So in your example, you would base your calculation on the 22 degrees temp point.

Butters (oh, how we miss that dwarf) wrote up a very concise post on it in the articles section : linky