How much sugar needed for carbonation...

[Damian]

Apologies if this has been posted previously - did search and couldn’t see that it had.

I am fairly new to the brewing game (currently on second brew) and will be bottling this kit later.

It didn’t come with any ingredients/instructions for bottle conditioning. Pretty simple question really - how much sugar will I need to use? Have been googling around and found the various calculators but being new they mean nothing to me (yet)

All help gratefully received!

 

[terrym]

I use this
https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/
The easy bit is to define the volume of beer to be primed.
Then decide the level of carbonation by beer style.
Temperature is usually easy if you have fermented an ale, even though you may have crash cooled at completion. So in that case use 20*C or thereabouts.
I use table sugar for priming.
If you batch prime I suggest you make up a syrup and then add that to the bottling bucket.
If you intend to prime each bottle I suggest you work on the basis of one level teaspoon being equivalent to 4.5 g, and go from there. So for example if 20 litres of beer require 90g sugar thats 1 tsp per litre or half tsp per 500ml bottle. Some peolpe just use half tsp of sugar irrespective of what beer they are priming. And if you want to calibarate a preferred teaspoon just weigh out 20 tsp sugar then divide gross weight by 20.

 

[ExpatBrewer]

Sugar cubes a pretty convenient way to bottle prime. If you're not too particular about carbonation levels I find the ones I use, which weigh 4.5g provide a good level of carbonation in 750ml bottles which generally suits me reasonably well for the ales I brew. It's roughly equivalent to 140g sugar / 23 litres (6g/litre). If you're after something more specific i.e. less or more, with your carbonation then bulk priming is probably your best option.

 

[MyQul]

The calc Terry posted is good and what I use. However I use brewing sugar (corn sugar) as you dont need to bother making a syrup out of it if you batch prime. You can (carefully, so you dont oxidise your beer) just stir it straight in

 

[ExpatBrewer]

The calc Terry posted is good and what I use. However I use brewing sugar (corn sugar) as you dont need to bother making a syrup out of it if you batch prime. You can (carefully, so you dont oxidise your beer) just stir it straight in

I assume you mean stirring it straight into the primary FV rather then using a secondary/priming bucket?

I'd be interested to know if this method works OK? I'd be worried about stirring up the yeast cake and ending up with an uneven distribution of the priming sugar...

 

[MyQul]

I assume you mean stirring it straight into the primary FV rather then using a secondary/priming bucket?

I'd be interested to know if this method works OK? I'd be worried about stirring up the yeast cake and ending up with an uneven distribution of the priming sugar...

Yes, I very carefully stir the priming sugar in the primary FV. I only ever use a secondary/bottling bucket if I have a specific purpose to do so (I used a secondary on my last beer as I need to add some Amylase Enzyme)

 

[joe 90]

halve a teaspoon of ordinary sugar in a 500ml bottle works for me, use a small funnel saves the mess

 

[ExpatBrewer]

halve a teaspoon of ordinary sugar in a 500ml bottle works for me, use a small funnel saves the mess

It's common method and one I've used often, though I carbonate to a higher level than many here and would probably want to use closer to 3/4 teaspoon in 500ml. If I can prime in the primary without issue then that's time saved and I can have greater control over carbonation levels as I do with bul priming in a secondary.

 

[user 23602]

I usually go with 120g of brewing sugar straight into the FV about 30 minutes before bottling, give it a gentle stir and leave it whilst I'm cleaning bottles and setting up. It's worked perfectly so far.

 

[Cwrw666]

Half a teaspoon per 500ml bottle via a funnel.
A bit more if you want an IPA, say, to be a bit more lively.

I use nearly a full teaspoon for turbo cider but when you pop the cap off you'd better be ready to pour or you'll have a fountain!!!!

TBH 330ml bottles are a bit more gueswork. Maybe I should batch-prime.

 

[Billy No Mates]

Half a teaspoon is one full eggspoon. Much easier to judge.

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

I use a bottling bucket and batch prime. Ca 6g sugar per liter of beer. No stress

 

[Racinsnake]

I used to always bottle prime until I tried batch priming with a bottling bucket, that coupled with a little bottler is so easy.
Also the only time Iv had variable carbonation levels was in a bottle primed brew.

 

[The Furnace Green Brewer]

I have done mixed 150g in a bottling bucket, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar/ 0.5l bottle using a funnel carbonation drops and using a sugar solution with a syringe and still have no success

 

[dad_of_jon]

I've batch primed approx 160g in 350ml of cooled boiled water for a 23litre brew and bottled primed. There are pros and cons for both. when bottle priming I make up the same amount of boiled water/sugar solution that I batch prime with but I inject with a syringe 5ml of the solution into a 330 bottle or proportionately more for a 500ml bottle. Whilst injecting each bottle seems more fuss, it's one bucket less to clean and I can vary the priming ratedepending on how long it will take to drink the batch.

e.g if I keep a third of the batch for aging I'll reduce the priming solution per bottle a little.

 

[Birdsnestbrewery]

I prefer not to rack into another vessel for bottling, in order to avoid oxygen and any chance of contamination, so I add 10ml sugar solution to each bottle using a medicine spoon! I have just invested in a set of pipettes in order to be a bit more accurate but it's worked fine so far.
For calculating the quantity of sugar I use a standard priming calculator for say 30l then divide up to get the amount per bottle. I make more solution than I really need because I feel measuring is more accurate for larger quantities.

 

[GhostShip]

I found when batch priming that the levels of carbonation were not always consistent from bottle-to-bottle. I now use sugar sticks (the type you get in hotels or cafes). They're cheap as chips on ebay and I find one stick into each bottle gives me perfect carbonation. I've just bought another box of 1,000!

 

[Birdsnestbrewery]

I found when batch priming that the levels of carbonation were not always consistent from bottle-to-bottle. I now use sugar sticks (the type you get in hotels or cafes). They're cheap as chips on ebay and I find one stick into each bottle gives me perfect carbonation. I've just bought another box of 1,000!

Interesting idea. What type of beer are you brewing?
Do you have any issues with the sugar dissolving fully?

 

[damienair]

I usually mix between 100g-120g of brewing sugar with 400ml of hot water. I pour it into a bottling bucket and transfer the beer in from the primary FV. When transferred over I give it a very gentle stir and start filling the bottles. I always get consistent carbonation. I use 180g of brewing sugar for wheat beers.

 

[GhostShip]

Interesting idea. What type of beer are you brewing?
Do you have any issues with the sugar dissolving fully?

I only do extract kits at the moment. I’ve done a number of the Mangrove Jacks kits, Dark Rock, Festival, St Peter’s etc. I moved to sugar sticks because I sometimes noticed inconsistent carbonation when batch priming. One sugar stick per bottle is perfect for me - never had an issue with sugar not dissolving - 2 weeks at 20C for secondary fermentation and then a month in the shed and they’re good to go.