bitter priming

[bigscotty]

I have started my first brew which is a bitter kit, after spending a while watching numerous tutorials and reading posts on here I'm left wondering how much and which type of sugar to prime my bitter with before bottling and which method is best? Any help would be appreciated, I know a lot of these things end up being down to taste but I have no reference.

Scotty.

 

[GHW]

I've just bottled an ale with wilko brewing sugar (which I think is a dextrose specially for the job). I primed each bottle individually (using a sterilised funnel it's dead easy, quick and clean).

In terms of volume of sugar I weighed out 85grams and then dished that pretty evenly into the 40 odd bottles, so about 2g per bottle. If you have kids, use the 2.5ml end of a medicine spoon and that's about right.

If you're using granulated sugar (some seem to, others avoid) then about the same is probably right. General opinion is that brewing sugar gives a cleaner taste.

However, I'm not the most experienced brewer, but the above is what I've gathered as general rules of I'm sure others will have more experienced views!

I considered batch priming (dissolve the sugar in boiling water and cool, add to second fv and rack wort onto it before bottling) but as the beer looked pretty clear in the fv I didn't think it was worth the risk of infection.

 

[clibit]

That's how I see it, about 4g per litre. I batch prime though. Pros and cons of batch and bottle priming. I like boiling the sugar in a bit of water to sterilize and mix it in before bottling. I use various bottle sizes, which would be difficult to prime accurately. Mixing it in before bottling gives even priming, provided it is mixed in well. I use dextrose too (brewing sugar).

 

[bigscotty]

I bought some dextrose today just because it was cheap, that's brilliant though guys, how was the carbonation with the batch brew?

 

[clibit]

If you use either priming method correctly you will get the same result. It's just a case of spreading the right amount of sugar between the bottles you use so that there's the same ratio of sugar to beer in each one. You also need to be sure that fermentation is complete before you prime and bottle. Or you will get too much carbonation, and bottles can explode. They actually do.

 

[GHW]

Good point, clibit, I was only using 500ml bottles.

 

[bigscotty]

Well I sure as bell don't want exploding bottles lol, if I hadn't have come across this forum I'd never have known about this because the instructions mention nothing about it.

 

[BruinTuns]

Ah, the wonderfully thorough instructions!
I'm still pretty new to all this but one of the first things I learned was not to rely on them.
Usually inadequate at best, misleading at worst. Really can't understand why manufacturers don't seem to realize it.

 

[MyQul]

Ah, the wonderfully thorough instructions!
I'm still pretty new to all this but one of the first things I learned was not to rely on them.
Usually inadequate at best, misleading at worst. Really can't understand why manufacturers don't seem to realize it.

Looking at it from the manufacturers point of view it would probably cost quite a bit of money to put full and proper instructions in a kit. But why dont that put on the small crappy booklet something like 'you'll be able to make beer with these basic instructions but to get the best out of the kit see our website for more detailed instructions'.
All the kit manufacturers have websites in order to flog you more kits so it wouldn't cost them any more to put detailed instructions on there sites

 

[bigscotty]

I would have to agree, I've learnt so much through this forum and watching brewing tutorials.
I think if I had relied purely on the instructions I wouldn't have found out how to correctly clean my equipment, how to syphon correctly or how to bottle the brews, it would be a disaster.

 

[GHW]

The standard argument I hear for poor instructions (specifically the length of time initial fermentation is likely to take) is that if producers actually told you it could be >2 weeks, no one would do it. But that's surely guff; surely it be more detrimental to sales of a kit if the first time you brewed it, it went wrong?

Nothing puts people off a product/brand more than a bad personal experience.

I don't have an alternative theory though. They must be aware of the issue. What I find odd is that they could just say 'watch your hydrometer til the reading doesn't change for a few days' which would avoid being specific about the length of time needed, but still be sound guidance.

But to second you Scotty, this forum is amazing for learning stuff quickly. Love it!