Another Priming Question

[pondlife]

I'm sure this has been answered elsewhere, but I can't find any definitive guidance on how much priming sugar to add for a good secondary fermentation. Following the recent exchange of views elsewhere about whether or not brewing is a science or a craft, I know there's unlikely to be a "definitive" answer, but some consistency of guidance would be really helpful.

Here's my problem. I've brewed 5 beer kits so far (still wearing the 'L' Plates!) and all give different instructions on the amount of priming sugar to add. I've weighed out a level teaspoon of granulated sugar and it weighs in at 5g.

Brewmaker Scottish Heavy 80/- = 10.0g/litre (max of 1 tsp or 5g/500ml)
Brewferm Pilsner = 8.3g/litre (100g/12 litres)
Brewferm Amber Ale = 8.3g/litre (100g/12 litres)
Woodforde's Wherry = 5.0g/litre (1/2 tsp or 2.5g/500ml)
Muntons Connoisseur IPA = 3.7g/litre (85g/23 litres)

1. Does the amount of priming sugar depend on the type of beer being brewed?
2. Why would the 80/- allow almost 3 times the amount of priming sugar compared with the IPA?
3. Am I just thinking about this too much and not drinking enough? :whistle:

 

[jamesb]

1. Does the amount of priming sugar depend on the type of beer being brewed?
2. Why would the 80/- allow almost 3 times the amount of priming sugar compared with the IPA?
3. Am I just thinking about this too much and not drinking enough? :whistle:

SImply, the amount of priming sugar depends on the amount of fizz you want in your beer. Pilsners will want more than a barley wine for instance. Even within the same style, people have different preferences.

There are calculators for working out the exact amount of sugar for a certain volume of CO2 in the beer, although this also depends on temperature.

For a 5g barrel, I don't like much fizz but I don't want it flat. I'd use 50g for a normal ale. Or half a tsp or one carbonation drop per pint bottle. Some people use 80g. For a pilsner, you're not likely to get the required amount of carbonating in a pressure barrel, you're better off using cornies where you can force carbonate to a higher pressure. In bottles, I'd probably use 1 tsp of sugar for priming.

Experiment for your own personal preference.

 

[evanvine]

JB's reply is spot on :thumb:
It's all down to personal taste, so take his advice and experiment.
With the one brew try bottling with some at 1/4 tsp, some at 1/2 tsp and some at 1 tsp.
I personally use 500ml PET bottles, that way I can monitor the degree of conditioning by merely squeezing the bottle.

Best of luck

 

[Good Ed]

Pond, you might find this useful from Palmer's book; he give a list of volumes of CO2 for various styles

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-4.html

I used his nomograph (all of this is an education innit) when recently priming a Belgian Blonde (Design a Brew from Hamstead Brew Centre) and I used it to work out 2.5 volumes of CO2 = 6g/L of glucose (corn sugar in US); it came out very well carbonated.

You would also need to adjust dependant on your FG, as you could prime a drier beer more than you could one at say 1015, although I stand to be corrected on this.

There is a bit more from Yobrew and PET bottles I also found useful

http://www.yobrew.co.uk/beer.php#Priming

Good luck :drink:

 

[pondlife]

Thanks for the quality replies, lads.

You're spot-on with your suggestion to experiment, jamesb. Having re-read my list of beers it's clear now that each different style would probably benefit from a different amount of priming.

I use glass bottles exclusively for storing my beer, but I like the idea of trying different amounts of priming sugar within the same brew. Thanks for the tip, evanvine.

...all of this is an education innit...

And thanks, Good Ed, for the info and those links. Very instructive - an education is dead right! :thumb: