Level of CO2 Produced by Carbonation Drops

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David Woods

David Woods

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Been searching for an answer to this but getting varied answers so thought I would now ask the experts!

Getting ready to bottle using the bulk priming method with sugar. What I am trying to find out is how much co2 the carbs tabs produce. I did a Coopers kit and bottled at the rate of 2 drops per 750ml bottle but for me the carbonation is a bit low. If I could find out how much co2 these drops are expected to produce in the same way you can calculate the carb level using the online priming calculators, I can then adjust accordingly for the bulk prime.

So for example If I know 2 drops in that size bottle produce say 2.0 levels of co2 and as I think the drops hold about 4 grams of sugar (not sure) I could then set my level based on the amount produced by the drops - if that makes any sense :tinhat:
 
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What you could do is weigh the amount of drops you plan on using (or weigh 1 and times it by the amount) and see how many you need to reach the correct co2 levels using the calculator in this link below:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

Personally i prefer to batch prime by weighing out the correct priming sugar, mixing with enough boiled water to dissolve then add to the bottling bucket before adding the beer a few minutes later
 
If you want to know the average weight of one carbonation drop weigh out 20 then divide that weight by 20. So if 20 drops weigh 80g the average weight of a drop is 4 g.
Personally I think drops are a waste of money. Table sugar is significantly cheaper does the same job and importantly you can easily adjust the amount of sugar you add, especially if you batch prime, whereas with drops the addition is stepwise governed by the size of a drop.
 
Personally I use 2-3 per 500ml bottle (for the excess which doesn’t go into a keg) and it’s pretty spot on. So you may well need 3 for a 750ml bottle.
 
terrym said:
If you want to know the average weight of one carbonation drop weigh out 20 then divide that weight by 20. So if 20 drops weigh 80g the average weight of a drop is 4 g.
Personally I think drops are a waste of money. Table sugar is significantly cheaper does the same job and importantly you can easily adjust the amount of sugar you add, especially if you batch prime, whereas with drops the addition is stepwise governed by the size of a drop.
Click to expand...
Totally agree, started out with the drops just for trust, and then the cost became silly, when you are brewing 100 litres a month.
 
David Woods said:
Been searching for an answer to this but getting varied answers so thought I would now ask the experts!

Getting ready to bottle using the bulk priming method with sugar. What I am trying to find out is how much co2 the carbs tabs produce. I did a Coopers kit and bottled at the rate of 2 drops per 750ml bottle but for me the carbonation is a bit low. If I could find out how much co2 these drops are expected to produce in the same way you can calculate the carb level using the online priming calculators, I can then adjust accordingly for the bulk prime.

So for example If I know 2 drops in that size bottle produce say 2.0 levels of co2 and as I think the drops hold about 4 grams of sugar (not sure) I could then set my level based on the amount produced by the drops - if that makes any sense :tinhat:
Click to expand...

Too low? That's very interesting because I've generally found them to carb too high generally except for styles of beer that are typically high-carbed, like a saison for example. But for my bitters though - way too fizzy. Perhaps not all carb drops are created equal?

More recently I too have been using sugar cubes. The cubes I have are 4.5g which I use with 750ml bottles. Other times where I want to have greater control over carb levels I bulk prime.
 
OK so I bought some "drug dealers" scales and I find that the Coopers carbonation drops come in at 3.42 grams and as ExPatBrewer says the Tate & Lyle sugar cubes are 4.05 grams if this helps any others.

So I plan on trying 1 sugar cube per 500ml bottle which should give around 2.6 vols of co2 - I decided to go this route as I am not sure on the quantity of beer I will end up with when racked to the 2nd FV due to copious amounts of debris and trub in the main FV. I suppose I could make up the solution after racking but I think I will save that for the next brew.
 
David Woods said:
So I plan on trying 1 sugar cube per 500ml bottle which should give around 2.6 vols of co2 - I decided to go this route as I am not sure on the quantity of beer I will end up with when racked to the 2nd FV due to copious amounts of debris and trub in the main FV. I suppose I could make up the solution after racking but I think I will save that for the next brew.
Click to expand...
If you intend to rack off then bottle straight after, its an ideal time to try batch priming. Rack off, establish what volume of beer you have left, use the calculator to determine the priming sugar quantity you need to give the CO2 vols for the style, make up the syrup, the pour gently into the racked off beer, and give it a gentle stir. Then go ahead and bottle. Perfick.
 
Ok thanks may try that after all - was a bit worried about introducing oxygen if stirring but as this is an experiment will give it a go.
 
Don't forget - carb drops are made from glucose, sugar cubes are sucrose. Weight for weight they will give a different levels of carbonation.
 

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