Coopers carbonation drops

[surferosa]

I prime in my bottles, but I believe you can dissolve the sugar effectively (without diluting it!).

You siphon off a small amount the beer, heat it up with the sugar (to dissolve it), add it back into the bottling bucket, and then siphon the rest of the beer/wort into the bucket so that it all mixes together nicely.

 

[Mavroz]

Dissolve required amount of dextrose sugar in jug with boiling water, cool, put in bottling bucket. Syphon brew from fermented onto sugar solution in said bucket. When siphoning is finished, quick stir with mixing paddle or large spoon.
Job done, even distribution of solution, perfectly carbed beer in bottles....no faffing with syringes putting solution in bottles blah blah.
Can it be any easier?

 

[JonBrew]

Recently I've taken to adding the appropriate amount of dextrose to the FV, waiting 20-30 mins then bottling straight from the FV. Carbonation has been spot on/even throughout the batch and it removes the need to rack to another vessel before bottling.

 

[Ben034]

Recently I've taken to adding the appropriate amount of dextrose to the FV, waiting 20-30 mins then bottling straight from the FV. Carbonation has been spot on/even throughout the batch and it removes the need to rack to another vessel before bottling.

So no stir at all and you find that carbonation in each bottle is even? I prime bottles with a syringe which I find easier than using a second bottling bucket but even easier would be great. All of the things I've read before advise to stir the primary which I would just not consider. Do you boil sugar before adding to FV?

 

[JonBrew]

So no stir at all and you find that carbonation in each bottle is even? I prime bottles with a syringe which I find easier than using a second bottling bucket but even easier would be great. All of the things I've read before advise to stir the primary which I would just not consider. Do you boil sugar before adding to FV?

It's probably not necessary but I give it a VERY gentle stir. I then let it rest for a 20-30 mins to ensure the even distribution.

Yes, I've done this for my last four or five brews and carbonation as been even across the batches.

 

[Mavroz]

So you stir your brew in the FV after fermentation has finished, prior to bottling?
I do not understand then how you get clear ale/beer without plenty of sediment in the bottom of the bottles, wasting a good bit of the ale in the bottle. (Unless you pour the sediment into the glass)

 

[JonBrew]

So you stir your brew in the FV after fermentation has finished, prior to bottling?
I do not understand then how you get clear ale/beer without plenty of sediment in the bottom of the bottles, wasting a good bit of the ale in the bottle. (Unless you pour the sediment into the glass)

As I said, I stir very gently. The beer is crystal clear in the bottles with very little sediment at the bottom - in line with most commercial bottle conditioned beers.

 

[johncrobinson]

Really cant see why anyone should use them.
Other than it may make an "overdose" less likely.

 

[DavidDetroit]

no priming sugar be added either to the cask or the bottle and that the beer would eventually carbonate-

Very good to know because my Gale's Prize Old Ale carbonation is terrible so far. I'm trying another today at three weeks in the bottle plus I did add priming sugar.
Since this style is supposed to condition for a long time, anyway, I can wait and have quick beers in the intervening months.

 

[DavidDetroit]

Priming in secondary does not give even distibution of sugar as it does not totally dissolve at that temp.

Putting sugar directly in the bottling bucket has never been advised by any source that I've seen. It's boiled in enough beer or water and then allowed to swirl with the help of the siphon tube. One gets even distribution this way.

 

[Mavroz]

As I said, I stir very gently. The beer is crystal clear in the bottles with very little sediment at the bottom - in line with most commercial bottle conditioned beers.

Oh ok.

 

[ExpatBrewer]

Bulk priming in the primary? With all the goodness of the trub and hop residue and knackkered yeast? Do you stir it in an wait a week for it too settle?
I don't get it at all. sorry.
But then I have been doing a stock check!!!

Yes, bulk priming in the primary. Once you've done your d-rest- a couple of days, prime wait a couple of hours for the sugar solution to disperse and bottle. Hop residue and 'knackered yeast' is of no consequence over that short time.

 

[MrSarge]

Ive always just primed in the bottle, sometimes with drops sometimes with sugar. Personally thought the drops were great but im a lazy git..
ive always thought that racking and batch priming in a secondary, sirring in sugar or sugar syrup etc would just add air into the beer that is unnecessary and may even cause it to degrade faster?

 

[An Ankoù]

Ive always just primed in the bottle, sometimes with drops sometimes with sugar. Personally thought the drops were great but im a lazy git..
ive always thought that racking and batch priming in a secondary, sirring in sugar or sugar syrup etc would just add air into the beer that is unnecessary and may even cause it to degrade faster?

That's my thinking, too.
Although some swear by it.
I don't get it though.

 

[ExpatBrewer]

Ive always just primed in the bottle, sometimes with drops sometimes with sugar. Personally thought the drops were great but im a lazy git..
ive always thought that racking and batch priming in a secondary, sirring in sugar or sugar syrup etc would just add air into the beer that is unnecessary and may even cause it to degrade faster?

There's certainly nothing wrong with bottle priming, the only issue really being that you have limited control over the carbonation levels. Bulk-priming allows for more precise control. This may not be of much concern to many but there are those that do like to carbonate at levels applicable to the style of beer. E.g. a beer like a saison might be primed at a level of 3.0 volCO2 whereas a traditional English ale you may only want to carbonate up to say 2.0 volCO2. You can't get that level of control using carb drops and it would be extremely difficult measuring out sugar on a per bottle basis to the nearest 0.1 gram!

There are some slight concerns about bulk-priming in a secondary however. There's extra equipment that needs to be sanitised with a small additional contamination risk, and as mentioned *maybe* additional risk of oxidation, though if things are done carefully I don't think it's such a big deal. However, simply because of the hassle alone I have taken to priming directly in the primary. My brews are cold crashed, and that along with high-flocculating yeasts there's no disturbance to the sediment when GENTLY stirring in the sugar solution. I've done this for the last 6 or 7 brews and so far so good. It's by far the quickest method that's for sure. And, sometimes I will still prime with sugar in the bottle when 1 sugar cube is the right amount to achieve level of carbonation desired - around 2.5 volsCO2.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I think there's too much emphasis being placed on employing a bottling bucket as being extra work or a risk of some sort. That's not factual. Once it is empty, it takes about two or three minutes to clean--maybe--but probably less. It's an insignificant amount of time and effort and using one doesn't increase the risk of contamination as long as it's sanitized just like everything else is. If it does increase the risk, you're doing it incorrectly. Any activity requires some effort to do things correctly.
Since this thread leans toward basic bottling, there's no need to discuss the very slight amount of oxygen--which no one would be able to detect flavor-wise--incurred by using a bottling bucket.
I've read claims of crystal-clear beer when batch priming from the FV. That may be true; however, my experience is that one jiggle of my FV and the yeast kicks up and it doesn't settle anytime soon. Relying on yeast with high flocculation would be limiting.

Basically, I'm speaking up here because some of the info in this thread could give an inaccurate impression to new brewers on the subject.

Of course, if someone wishes to stir the primary after adding priming solution and they get great results that's fine, but it won't work 100% of the time for all beers and all yeasts. Using a bottling bucket and batch priming (or bottle priming) will.

 

[Arcs]

Stupid overpriced product that overcarbonates beer - unless you like it that way (certainly not for stouts) I hate this stuff the way it is thrown at yer when you don't know any better grrr

 

[druid1966]

I tried one sugar cube per bottle and it worked fine...( only did that when I had a few bottles worth left after filling my corny. They hold 5 US gallons and I brew Imperial gallons. Gives me a few to travel as it were.)

 

[ExpatBrewer]

Of course, if someone wishes to stir the primary after adding priming solution and they get great results that's fine, but it won't work 100% of the time for all beers and all yeasts.

I'm not so sure about that if the beer is cold crashed. I've used a med-low flocc yeast and CC'd to 0.5ºC even they form a pretty compact cake. The amount of stirring can be minimal, and instead rely more on time to allow even dispersal of the priming sugar. I usually wait a couple of hours just to be sure.

 

[An Ankoù]

it would be extremely difficult measuring out sugar on a per bottle basis to the nearest 0.1 gram!

I'm not sure we can get that level of control anyway. Carbonation calculators suppose a certain amount of carbon dioxide is already dissolved in the beer according to the temperature, when in fact that part of the calculation is very rough and ready. Contribution from the beer depends on temperature fluctuations immediately prior to bottling, the kind of yeast and its ability to slowly gnaw its way through residual polysaccharides, atmospheric pressure, and probably other factors, too. All a bottling bucket will ensure is that every bottle gets the SAME dose.
I get sugar cubes in 3, 4 and 6 gram sizes (Daddy's brand) and I can cut the 3s and 4s quite deftly into 1.5 and 2 gram sizes, which I do. I also have a set of measuring spoons of a quarter, a half and one teaspoonful which give consistent result.
On the other hand, if you're filling a lot of different sized bottles, then bulk priming might be the way forward.