Carbing sugar amount

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Pazza

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Was wondering how much people use for bottling stout? I am going to use dark brown sugar but don't have any fancy scales or spoons etc so will a rounded teaspoon suffice?
 
dont waste expensive sugars on the priming charge the proportion of sugar compared to the bulk expended in primary is negligible and will have NO/ZERO flavour impact.

depends on your teaspoons.. however i generally prime with a teaspoon, and fwiw i picked up a set of jewlers/drugdealers scales for a fiver and have weighed my teaspoons capacity @ circa 3.5g.
 
dont waste expensive sugars on the priming charge the proportion of sugar compared to the bulk expended in primary is negligible and will have NO/ZERO flavour impact.

depends on your teaspoons.. however i generally prime with a teaspoon, and fwiw i picked up a set of jewlers/drugdealers scales for a fiver and have weighed my teaspoons capacity @ circa 3.5g.

Is the 3.5g a level or rounded spoon? Cheers
 
I tend to like beers on the less fizzy side, some of my early kit ales were over carbed and more like a lager kind of fizz. I just bottled an IPA this morning (Mr Simcoe) and batch primed 20 litres with 85g of sugar (just normal caster sugar). So should have a light carb level to it. It is hard to predict exactly though as there is often some residual CO2 in the wort so not an exact science.

I do the following for batch priming:
Weigh caster sugar, add about 50ml of water (maybe a touch more), boil on the hob for 5mins or so. Put the saucepan in a sink of cold water (careful not to splash in to the sugar syrup) wait for it to hit the same temp as your brew. Pour it in, stir gently and wait 20 mins. Then bottle. I've done that maybe 10-12 times and never had a problem.
 
I tend to like beers on the less fizzy side, some of my early kit ales were over carbed and more like a lager kind of fizz.

Me too. I find fizzy beer undrinkable, as well as all the other undesirables that over-priming brings. I batch-prime and keep the sugar to the absolute minimum I feel I'll get away with (something that comes with experience and never get wrong, these days). I get smooth carbonation which lends itself to a tight, long-lasting head, not tongue-tingling, nose-burning effervescence with comedy sized bubbles forming and breaking away from the glass to contribute to a rapidly diminishing head a la el cheapo supermarket lager. And you don't need wheat or any of the other cheats for head formation/retention.
 
Was wondering how much people use for bottling stout? I am going to use dark brown sugar but don't have any fancy scales or spoons etc so will a rounded teaspoon suffice?

I'd go for a quarter of that, max, unless you want something more like dandelion and burdock.
 
I wasnt planning on batch priming but think it may be worth it for the stout, so do you think about 160g of sugar dissolved in about 100ml of water for 21 litres? Thanks for the advice gents
 
Haha good job I asked! Was just working on the assumption of around 4g per bottle, do you need less when batch priming?
 
Pazza, it's something that comes with experience and I judge how much to use depending on fermentation time/ how long in the FV / sugar in original recipe / yeast used and other things. Personally I very, very rarely use more than a tablespoon of sugar for a full 23l. All I can say is err on the side of under, rather than overpriming. The worst that can happen ( and it's very unlikely ) is that you'll get flat beer, which is far preferable to the host of problems that over-priming will undoubtedly produce. See what results and adjust accordingly in future, if necessary.
 
Pazza, it's something that comes with experience and I judge how much to use depending on fermentation time/ how long in the FV / sugar in original recipe / yeast used and other things. Personally I very, very rarely use more than a tablespoon of sugar for a full 23l. All I can say is err on the side of under, rather than overpriming. The worst that can happen ( and it's very unlikely ) is that you'll get flat beer, which is far preferable to the host of problems that over-priming will undoubtedly produce. See what results and adjust accordingly in future, if necessary.

Cheers Gunge, going to have a pop at 60g dissolved in 50ml (ish) of water. I like my beer to be smooth (I'm a Guiness drinker) but I don't want it to be flat as a pancake so will start at this and work up or down depending on results
 
Cheers Gunge, going to have a pop at 60g dissolved in 50ml (ish) of water. I like my beer to be smooth (I'm a Guiness drinker) but I don't want it to be flat as a pancake so will start at this and work up or down depending on results

This table is nicked from homebrewmanual.com and adapted ever so slightly, but it's what I use, I would say maybe a touch over the 60g you're proposing, but not much more.
(Hope the formatting works ok)

Vol. Low Med Hig (fizz!)
2 litres 7 g 10 g 16 g
4 litres 14 g 21 g 32 g
6 litres 20 g 31 g 48 g
8 litres 27 g 42 g 64 g
10 litres 34 g 52 g 80 g
12 litres 41 g 63 g 96 g
14 litres 48 g 73 g 112 g
16 litres 54 g 84 g 127 g
18 litres 61 g 94 g 144 g
20 litres 68 g 104g 159 g
 
This table is nicked from homebrewmanual.com and adapted ever so slightly, but it's what I use, I would say maybe a touch over the 60g you're proposing, but not much more.
(Hope the formatting works ok)

Vol. Low Med Hig
2 litres 7 g 10 g 16 g
4 litres 14 g 21 g 32 g
6 litres 20 g 31 g 48 g
8 litres 27 g 42 g 64 g
10 litres 34 g 52 g 80 g
12 litres 41 g 63 g 96 g
14 litres 48 g 73 g 112 g
16 litres 54 g 84 g 127 g
18 litres 61 g 94 g 144 g
20 litres 68 g 104g 159 g

:thumb::thumb: Brilliant, will go with 75-80g based on that, nice one fuggled
 
Have decided to give this one another week in the FV, was going to bottle this morning but the lid of the FV is bulging again so dont want to risk putting into glass bottles. Think moving the FV into "bottling position" last night has woke it up again
 
For those interested in keeping to style here is the full list of BJCP carbonation ranges for every style. This was copied from a 9 year old post on another site and cleaned up for readability. The numbers are in volumes of CO2 and can be converted to quantities of priming sugar using the Brewer's Friend Priming Calculator.

Bear in mind that the BJCP's idea of a style, while generally very good, does appear to deviate from reality in some places.

Code:
American Lager                   Light/Standard/Premium               2.57 - 2.73
American Lager                   Dark                                 2.5 - 2.7
American Lager                   Classic American Pilsner             2.3 - 2.5
European Pale Lager              Bohemian Pilsner                     2.3 - 2.5
European Pale Lager              Northern German Pilsner              2.52
European Pale Lager              Dortmunder Export                    2.57
European Pale Lager              Muenchner Helles                     2.26 - 2.68
Light Ale                        Blond Ale                            2.3 - 2.6
Light Ale                        American Wheat                       2.3 - 2.6
Light Ale                        Cream Ale                            2.6 - 2.7
Bitter And English Pale Ale      Ordinary Bitter                      0.75 - 1.3
Bitter And English Pale Ale      Special or Best Bitter               0.75 - 1.3
Bitter And English Pale Ale      Strong Bitter / English Pale Ale     0.75 - 1.3
Scottish Ales                    Light 60/-                           0.75 - 1.3
Scottish Ales                    Heavy 70/-                           0.75 - 1.3
Scottish Ales                    Export 80/-                          0.75 - 1.3
American Pale Ales               American Pale Ale                    2.26 - 2.78
American Pale Ales               American Amber Ale                   2.26 - 2.78
American Pale Ales               California Common Beer               2.4 - 2.8
India Pale Ale                   India Pale Ale                       1.5 - 2.3
Koelsch And Altbier              Koelsch - Style Ale                  2.42 - 2.73
Koelsch And Altbier              Duesseldorf Altbier                  2.16 - 3.09
Koelsch And Altbier              Northern German Altbier              2.16 - 3.09
German Amber Lager               Oktoberfest/Maerzen                  2.57 - 2.73
German Amber Lager               Vienna Lager                         2.4 - 2.6
Brown Ale                        Mild                                 1.3 - 2.0
Brown Ale                        Northern English Brown Ale           1.5 - 2.3
Brown Ale                        Southern English Brown               1.5 - 2.3
Brown Ale                        American Brown Ale                   1.5 - 2.5
English And Scottish Strong Ale  Old Ale                              1.5 - 2.3
English And Scottish Strong Ale  Strong Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy)        1.5 - 2.3
Barleywine And Imperial Stout    English - style Barleywine           1.3 - 2.3
Barleywine And Imperial Stout    American - Style Barleywine          1.3 - 2.3
Barleywine And Imperial Stout    Russian Imperial Stout               1.5 - 2.3
European Dark Lager              Munich Dunkel                        2.21 - 2.66
European Dark Lager              Schwarzbier                          2.2 - 2.6
Bock                             Traditional Bock                     2.2 - 2.7
Bock                             Helles Bock/Maibock                  2.16 - 2.73
Bock                             Doppelbock                           2.26 - 2.62
Bock                             Eisbock                              2.37
Porter                           Robust Porter                        1.8 - 2.5
Porter                           Brown Porter                         1.7 - 2.5
Stout                            Dry Stout                            1.6 - 2.0
Stout                            Sweet Stout                          2.0 - 2.4
Stout                            Oatmeal Stout                        2.0 - 2.4
Stout                            Foreign Extra Stout                  2.3 - 2.6
Wheat Beer                       Bavarian Weizen                      3.6 - 4.48
Wheat Beer                       Bavarian Dunkelweizen                3.6 - 4.48
Wheat Beer                       Berliner Weisse                      3.45
Wheat Beer                       Weizenbock                           3.71 - 4.74
Strong Belgian Ale               Dubbel                               1.9 - 2.4
Strong Belgian Ale               Tripel                               1.9 - 2.4
Strong Belgian Ale               Belgian Strong Golden Ale            1.9 - 2.4
Strong Belgian Ale               Belgian Strong Dark Ale              1.9 - 2.5
Belgian And French Ale           Belgian Pale Ale                     1.9 - 2.5
Belgian And French Ale           Witbier                              2.1 - 2.6
Belgian And French Ale           Biere de Garde                       1.9 - 2.5
Belgian And French Ale           Saison                               1.9 - 2.4
Belgian And French Ale           Belgian Specialty Ale                1.9 - 2.4
Lambic And Belgian Sour Ale      Straight (Unblended) Lambic - Style  3.0 - 4.5
Lambic And Belgian Sour Ale      Gueuze/Geuze - Style Ale             3.0 - 4.5
Lambic And Belgian Sour Ale      Fruit Lambic - Style Ale             2.6 - 4.5
Lambic And Belgian Sour Ale      Oud Bruin                            1.9 - 2.5
Lambic And Belgian Sour Ale      Flanders Red Ale                     1.9 - 2.5
Fruit Beer                       Fruit Beer                           2.0 - 3.0
Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer        Spice/Herb/Vegetable                 2.0 - 3.0
Smoke - flavored Beer            Classic Rauchbier                    2.16 - 2.57
Smoke - flavored Beer            Other Smoked Beer                    2.16 - 2.57
Specialty/Experimental/Historic  Specialty/Experimental/Historic      2.2 - 2.5
Mead                             Traditional Mead                     1.0 - 3.5
Mead                             Varietal Honey Traditional Mead      1.0 - 3.5
Mead                             Cyser (Apple Melomel)                1.0 - 3.5
Mead                             Pyment (Grape Melomel)               1.0 - 3.5
Mead                             Other Fruit Melomel                  1.0 - 3.5
Mead                             Metheglin                            1.0 - 3.5
Mead                             Braggot                              1.0 - 3.5
Mead                             Mixed Category Mead                  1.0 - 3.5
Cider                            Standard Cider and Perry             1.0 - 3.5
Cider                            New England - Style Cider            1.0 - 3.5
 
My suggestion to anyone regularly using teaspoons to prime bottles as opposed to bulk priming, is to select a teaspoon measure which you then keep for brewing (e.g. I use a breadmaker measure which stays in my brewing store ), then weigh out 20 tsp of sugar and then divide that weight by 20 to give a reasonably accurate weight of your spoon measures of sugar. If you use heaped tsp, repeat.
 
Was wondering how much people use for bottling stout? I am going to use dark brown sugar but don't have any fancy scales or spoons etc so will a rounded teaspoon suffice?

You can pick up a set of proper measuring spoons for under a fiver for a 1/4 teaspoon up to a tablespoon in the set, that will allow you to measure exactly the amount you need for whatever size bottles you have.
 
Have decided to give this one another week in the FV, was going to bottle this morning but the lid of the FV is bulging again so dont want to risk putting into glass bottles. Think moving the FV into "bottling position" last night has woke it up again

160g sugar for 21 litres will give quite a fizz (I tend to carbonate on the high size) it's on the low side for wheat beers but would be on the high side for a typical stout.
 

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