Bottling & bottling sugars

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jaquiss2005

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Looking for some advice around bottling.

Did some kit beers a couple of years ago and am currently brewing my first partial mash beer. Using the kit beers previously, they came out very fizzy - was I using too much priming sugar??

In terms of sugars to use when bottling, trying to find out what is the best "sugar" and how to use. Some of the posts recommend dissolving in water first, some don't.

Any advice appreciated
 
Getting the right level of carbonation is something I struggle with, I can't say I have got a brew just right yet. Batch priming seems easier, but I haven't managed to get it right that way, the beer always seems too flat. I have also had more than my fair share of fizzy beers. The last two brews I bottle primed one with half a teaspoon of sugar and one with 5 ml of honey per bottle, they are pretty close. The next brew I have in the fv I have some saved wort, I think I'll try batch priming with that. Trial and error to find what works for you is the key.
 
Maybe I'm being lazy but last few brews I've used the coopers carbonation drops and
had alot more success than batch priming (mind you I do prefer a little bit of sparkle
and a decent looking head on me pint!) Of course it's not the cheapest method but all
me bottles have had the same amount of carbonation - which was not the case when
I tried batch priming. I appreciate that there are many other factors to consider when
making different brews - but I like the peace of mind that I have full control over how
much sugar is going into each bottle!
 
degsie73 said:
but I like the peace of mind that I have full control over how much sugar is going into each bottle!
You could use sugar cubes, same effect, a measured dose but considerably cheaper.
 
Note that degsie said “mind you I do prefer a little bit of sparkle and a decent looking head on me pint!”

That would only work if you were priming heavily, perhaps for lagers, and we don't have any sugar cubes in the house so I can't check if one would fit inside a bottle neck without knocking its corners off.
 
Just tested with some sugar cubes we had from our last French holiday- They were oblong and weigh approximately 6g each. You can just about squeeze them in the top of a bottle if you break them in half.

I'm going to give them a go for my next brew, a Tom Caxton Real Ale, currently bubbling happily awat- What do you think to half a cube (3g) per 500ml bottle.
 
Moley said:
Note that degsie said “mind you I do prefer a little bit of sparkle and a decent looking head on me pint!”

That would only work if you were priming heavily, perhaps for lagers, and we don't have any sugar cubes in the house so I can't check if one would fit inside a bottle neck without knocking its corners off.

Cutting sugar cubes in half, and knocking off corners!!!! Sounds a bit like hard work for me! (might try it though, would be cheaper I guess).
 
Went ahead and put half a sugar cube in each 500ml bottle 10 days ago.

Tested today and pretty flat and really could do with a bit more fizz - but very pleased with my first attempt at a partial mash brew (Crytal honey lager from Charles Papazians Complete Joy of Homebrewing book).

Got the ingredients to try a version of Theakstons OP from Dave Lines book but now feel that AG is calling me.....
 
What about boiling your sugar up and squirting a measured amount (previously figured out) in with a printing ink syringe ?
 
Moley said:
Note that degsie said “mind you I do prefer a little bit of sparkle and a decent looking head on me pint!”

That would only work if you were priming heavily, perhaps for lagers, and we don't have any sugar cubes in the house so I can't check if one would fit inside a bottle neck without knocking its corners off.
Tried my last brew with a mixture of carbonation drops and demerera cubes - must say apart from the mess of ramming the cubes down the bottle neck (yep I used a whole cube per bottle) the result was remarkably successful - think I will stick with the cubes from now on!
Cheers moley!!

 
I always batch prime when bottling as It's what I find most convenient. However, I do remember that our local chemist always had a supply of 5, 10 and 20ml syringes for giving liquid medicines to young children. I should think one of those would be very handy for priming, just mix up the required sugar with 5ml of water for each bottle then distribute using the syringe.
Personally I find 100g of sugar (I use glucose powder) just right for 23 litres which usually gives me 45 bottles. So i'd mix that up in 225ml of water and use the syringe to put 5ml in each bottle. In fact now I think about it I might try that for my next batch.
 
Looking for some advice around bottling.

Did some kit beers a couple of years ago and am currently brewing my first partial mash beer. Using the kit beers previously, they came out very fizzy - was I using too much priming sugar??

In terms of sugars to use when bottling, trying to find out what is the best "sugar" and how to use. Some of the posts recommend dissolving in water first, some don't.

Any advice appreciated
I used DME with a 25 litre brew of American Pale Ale and its REALLY FIZZY, tastes fantastic but is far too lively. I think I may have bottled it too soon, although the SG remained steady for three days (1016) . I think I'll leave the next brew for at least another week before bottling. The DME also imparts a 'malty' taste, not really the best for an APA.
 
I used brewing drops with my first kit, and found they over carbonated my brew (this might have been because I under-filled my bottles as I was paranoid of exploding bottles). Last time I used granulated sugar for some bottles and caster sugar for others.

I preferred the caster sugar, I felt it left a nicer taste in my Wherry.
 
I don't think you can beat a bag of normal sugar, a tea spoon, a funnel and a helping hand to move the funnel from one bottle to the next. My youngest usually does the funnel for me and he also fills the bottles with the wand too.
 
I don't think you can beat a bag of normal sugar, a tea spoon, a funnel and a helping hand to move the funnel from one bottle to the next. My youngest usually does the funnel for me and he also fills the bottles with the wand too.

Thats exactly how I do it!
 
I tried the sugar in the bottle method years ago when I first brewed one of those Wilko kits, needless to say the beer didn't turn out great and I hadn't bothered with it until very recently, where I did a kit then jumped in with AG. The kit that I did first was primed with carbonation drops, which do appear to work well. (One in each of the 300ml bottles that I used at the time).

Anyway, I can't recommend batch priming enough. I mix 100g ordinary sugar with a cup of boiling water and let it cool to pitching temp (Usually about 40 degrees).

While this is going I rack my beer off the yeast cake into another vessel.

I then add the sugar solution and gently stir it in, then let it sit for half an hour to make sure its evenly distributed.

I then bottle.

This method has given me good, even carbonation every time, but I have to say it does take 2 to 3 weeks for carbonation to finish properly regardless of the method used.
 
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