Bottling with or without drops?

[nooie]

Hello, I've not posted here before really, just been reading stuff. I searched for a topic on bottling with carbonation drops, but didn't find what i was looking for. My question is do I use the drops or not when bottling. I've used them before when making beer kits from a tin, but I've recently started brewing with all grain using a Grainfather and the conical G30 fermenter. Should I use the drops or better without when bottling?

I'm doing my second brew of a clone of Beavertown's Gamma Ray. My first was a clone of Brewdog's Punk IPA which didn't go so well. The pump got clogged up or I think it was the ball valve which meant it wouldn't circulate through the pump or pump to the conical meaning I had to syphon it and lost half the brew in all. I've removed the ball and spring so my Gamma Ray brew was no problem.

TIA

Nooie

 

[starseeker]

Drops are fine ,but sugar is much cheaper

 

[RichardM]

Drops are fine ,but sugar is much cheaper

And you can add the amount you want, not what is in the drop

 

[stubrewworx]

They're handy.

I don't batch prime as I don't like to transfer to another vessel, or add a sugar solution and stir.

 

[MashBag]

Cane caster sugar.

 

[nooie]

Thanks for the replies. So how much caster sugar would I use for a 400ml bottle?

 

[Agentgonzo]

Thanks for the replies. So how much caster sugar would I use for a 400ml bottle?

For an ale, a quarter teaspoon. For something fizzy like a lager, a half teaspoon. For something fizzy like weissbier, half to a full teaspoon.

There are calculators online that'll give you more detailed calculations, but that's a good rule of thumb

 

[MashBag]

Thanks for the replies. So how much caster sugar would I use for a 400ml bottle?

Get a " zevro sugar dispenser " brilliant tool. Put the ½ tsp measure in it.

 

[stripeyjoe]

If you have drops left over then use them up! There's two sizes, the Coopers ones are around 4g (usually 60 in a pack) and the Wilkos and Muntons ones are around 2.5-3g (80 to a pack).
Coopers specify 1 drop for small bottles and 2 for larger ones, the 3g ones are generally 2 for a 500ml bottle.