Fizzy Beer

Hopperty · Jun 17, 2019

Firstly, hello all - this is my first post. And I'm very very new to home brew and just at the 'kit' stage.

I really don't like gassy beer, and for quite some time when buying commercial bottle beer (usually guinness) I will pour it into 2 litre pop bottle give it a little shake and when the froth dies down I then drink it. I like it nearly flat.

My understanding is than when I bottle my home brew I add a teaspoon of sugar and that gives it its fizz ? which I then need to try and de-gas (with the pop bottle) before drinking.

What would happen if I didn't put in any sugar at bottling time ? (I am brewing stout)

Ray1314 · Jun 18, 2019

Maybe someone more experienced will contradict me, but I don't see any reason why you'd need to add any sugar? If you like flat beer there's no need to carbonate.

An Ankoù · Jun 18, 2019

Good morning Hopperty, and welcome to Valhalla.
If you read Graham Wheeler's books, he, too claims there's no need to put priming sugar in bottled beer and it's true that unless the beer is "lagered" for a long time before bottling, the beer will eventually carbonate. There's a massive difference between beer with low carbonation and flat beer so give it time.
If you want to consider draught beer at some stage, look at "Draught beer." b y Coffin Dodger. His "Noddy" system is certainly worth considering and I think you'll find a kindred spirit there.

Ben034 · Jun 18, 2019

I would use a priming calculator online and use this to calculate the amount of sugar to add. As others have said, you could just not add any. This may work for some but I would be concerned about possible oxidisation from the bottling process. Personally, I calculate English style beers to be carbonated to approximately 1-1.5vols. This ensures you get some head and lacing but is not "fizzy."

IainM · Jun 18, 2019

I agree with Ben. Try carbonating to a 1 volume Co2, or even lower. A quarter of a teaspoon per 500ml bottle will make it 'nearly flat', but you do want to have some CO2 dissolved in there because the carbonic acid is part of the flavour, just not enough to have it fizzing out.

simon12 · Jun 18, 2019

I agree with the last few posts that unless you really want it totally flat it's best to add a small amount of sugar. Do you find cask beer has the level you want?

Sandimas · Jun 18, 2019

Ray1314 said:
Maybe someone more experienced will contradict me, but I don't see any reason why you'd need to add any sugar? If you like flat beer there's no need to carbonate.

If you have no CO2 the beer will go off very quickly.

I only ever use half a teaspoon of sugar in my bottles and sometime that is too much, so would recommend a quarter like others have.

Nicks90 · Jun 18, 2019

Like you I don't enjoy fizzy bitter or ales, so I purposefully under carb using the calculator mentioned above.
I do mine with roughly half a teaspoon per bottle and it pours virtually flat. To get that hand pull cask head and lacing down the glass, I use a little 5ml syringe and suck/squirt just once and I end up with this....

Colin Macdonald · Jun 24, 2019

If you don't like gassy beer then I would keg it

CD · Jun 26, 2019

Hopperty said:
Firstly, hello all - this is my first post. And I'm very very new to home brew and just at the 'kit' stage.

I really don't like gassy beer, and for quite some time when buying commercial bottle beer (usually guinness) I will pour it into 2 litre pop bottle give it a little shake and when the froth dies down I then drink it. I like it nearly flat.

My understanding is than when I bottle my home brew I add a teaspoon of sugar and that gives it its fizz ? which I then need to try and de-gas (with the pop bottle) before drinking.

What would happen if I didn't put in any sugar at bottling time ? (I am brewing stout)

There is a big difference between a pint of flat beer (containing no carbon dioxide dissolved in it), and a typical pint of British draught beer with between 1 and 1½ pints of CO2 dissolved in it. The first is undrinkable, the other delightful.

If following the customary practice of bottling when primary fermentation has ceased, you must add priming sugar to each bottle or the result will be flat undrinkable beer. If I remember (it was a long time ago) about half a teaspoon per pint bottle seemed about right. Too much, you will get a gusher and wind up with a glass of froth.

A simpler method of de-gassing tins and bottles of filtered and pasteurised beer (than shaking it up in a pop bottle) is to just tip the contents into a really large jug from about a foot high, leave for 4 or 5 minutes, pour into your glass and enjoy. For home-brewed and bottled conditioned beers – Marstons Pedigree, St Austell Proper Job etc – pour carefully into your glass to leave the yeast sediment in the bottle, then pour your glass into the jug and proceed as before.

Fizzy Beer

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