Coopers Carb Drops..

[jbowers]

Hey,

I was just wondering what the hell is going on with the coopers carbonation drops. I did the math, and it works out that they would carbonate to a really excessive level given the dosage they recommend.

They say 1 drop per 375 ml. Ok, and there are 60 drops in a pack. That's 22.5 litres worth of carbonating. The packet apparently contains 250 grams. That would create around 3.6 volumes of CO2, way above any of the recommended maximums for any style.

What's the deal!?

 

[BrenosBrews]

Hey,

I was just wondering what the hell is going on with the coopers carbonation drops. I did the math, and it works out that they would carbonate to a really excessive level given the dosage they recommend.

They say 1 drop per 375 ml. Ok, and there are 60 drops in a pack. That's 22.5 litres worth of carbonating. The packet apparently contains 250 grams. That would create around 3.6 volumes of CO2, way above any of the recommended maximums for any style.

What's the deal!?

I don't know what their theory is but I've found that 1 in a 500ml bottle is about right for APA/IPA. What are you brewing?

 

[jbowers]

An APA/IPA hahaha...

I'll be using their longneck PET bottles though. I can always bulk prime but I have these sitting around and it seems a shame not to use em.

 

[jbowers]

An APA/IPA hahaha...

I'll be using their longneck PET bottles though. I can always bulk prime but I have these sitting around and it seems a shame not to use em.

 

[Pollux]

Do as I did last time I was bottling, bulk prime anyway and then eat the carb drops.......

 

[Rodolphe01]

I've found carb drops overcarbonate, but i've never bothered to do the maths.

If you don't want to waste them just dissolve them and use to bulk prime.

 

[bum]

What's the deal!?

Yeah, because all the instructions on all their products usually conform to style guidelines. :huh:

 

[jbowers]

Yeah, because all the instructions on all their products usually conform to style guidelines. :huh:

I would have thought that they'd atleast be content with sitting on the upper end of normal. That would be crazy fizzy!

 

[phinnsfotos]

Used coopers carb drops for most of my beers. Never seem to have had a problem. Beer's fizzy and no bottle bombs, ticks a lot of boxes in my book.

 

[Slightly]

Used coopers carb drops for most of my beers. Never seem to have had a problem. Beer's fizzy and no bottle bombs, ticks a lot of boxes in my book.

Same here, I wont be changing anytime soon.

 

[glaab]

Used coopers carb drops for most of my beers. Never seem to have had a problem. Beer's fizzy and no bottle bombs, ticks a lot of boxes in my book.

same here

 

[The Mad Hopper]

I guess it just comes down to personal preference. If you're fine with highly carbonated beer then you won't have a problem.

I also found that the drops were a little inconsistent. Ever third drop seemed to have a bubble or chunk taken out of it. In the end I figured it's easier to bulk prime, and that way you get it off the trub in the secondary before bottling as well.

 

[Nick JD]

I've found that the rocket-science method of a teaspoon and a funnel gets my bottles exactly as fizzy as I want them.

They're called "measuring spoons". Accurate to half a gram and pretty much foolproof unless you have Parkinsons.

Bulk priming is a bigger hassle to me than filling 12, 2L bottles with some sugar. I like my bottle conditioning to be done with as little oxygen as possible. YMMV.

 

[bum]

Some people (like me) bottle with an assortment of different bottle sizes. Bulk priming makes bottling day for me much simpler.

Also very handy if you're not always brewing the same style too.

 

[jbowers]

Yeah imma just go ahead and bottle prime. Can't be arsed ruining my first really awesome-tasting-from-the-fermenter beer with poor carbonation rates. Just need to be super careful racking as I'm paranoid about oxidation.

 

[bum]

Your options aren't carb drops or bulk priming. You can work out how much priming sugar you want and find an appropriate measure if you don't want the extra hassle/worry of racking.

 

[jbowers]

I think I will just bulk prime. I'm using a tap, and just running the tube in to the bottling bucket, resting on the base of the bucket in a circle kind of shape so it gets a swirl going to mix in the sugar. Start off with a half open tap and then open it up fully once the bucket is a bit more full. Does that sound safe enough?

 

[phinnsfotos]

One thing I've thought of is using sugar sachets. They're about 1/4 the price of the coopers drops and you don't need to worry about any greeblies from an open bag of sugar. I've never worried about greeblies, but it seems that some people do, boiling sugar in water before bulk priming etc.

 

[phinnsfotos]

Probably the one fact missing in all of this discussion is that you don't get 60 carb drops in a bag of coopers drops. It's more like 75. So dividing 250gm by 60 isn't correct. I know the web site says 60, but every bag I've used has always had a good handful left over, it means any I don't like the size/shape of, I don't have to use them.

But to re-iterate, I've never had a problem with over (or under) carbonation using the Coopers Drop.

 

[Bribie G]

Warning: BribieG recycled photo :lol:


One cube fits exactly through the neck of any PET. God moves in mysterious ways. 1/4 of the price of droppies.

For some styles such as UK milds and bitters they do end up a bit over carbed, but I pour into a chilled pub jug anyway to get it off any sediment so that usually sorts out any overfizz. Of course for glass you would need to use a sugar measure and plain sugar or bulk prime.