maximum prime

[cwrw]

I've been reviewing past brews and with some of the belgium ales I've made I've primed with 10gm sugar per litre and likewise with cider - am I pushing my luck with continuing this considering my use of recycled 500ml glass bottles? Ps I like plenty of fizz!

 

[Wez]

I have always worked to 1/2 tsp per 500ml for 'life' in an ale and 1tsp per 500ml for 'fizz'.

 

[Tony]

I usually work on about 100 - 130g per 25ltrs depending on the style of the ale. Does seem a little high to me.

 

My doseage is 1/2 tsp per litre, I think this is about 2.5 gms!
Mind you, I'm quite happy with a fairly light bead.

 

[cwrw]

Thanks for the replies. The only problem is that I like belgians at about 2.7 psi, otherwise it doesn't give that authentic edge ....I think I'm doomed to a limit of 8mg/litre (according to Aussie brewers) as a safety limit. ?

 

[rabbie]

I keep a stock of belgian bottles for this reason :thumb:
Leffe bottles are probably the cheapest to get your hands on, and I've had no problems with 3.5 volumes in these.
Orval, Leffe, Duvel and Chimay type are all pretty solid. I think you can buy these new from brouwland but that might work out expensive with delivery.

 

[cwrw]

I think I'll go with a mix of Wez and Rabbie's take on this one - I'll carry on with 1tsp sugar per 500ml and try and use the more solid bottles and some smaller budweiser bottles (that seem to be stronger because of dimensions).Cheers guys :

 

[Brewmarc]

Thanks for the replies. The only problem is that I like belgians at about 2.7 psi, otherwise it doesn't give that authentic edge ....I think I'm doomed to a limit of 8mg/litre (according to Aussie brewers) as a safety limit. ?

I used to prime with a set amount of sugar similar to Wez, I love Belgian ales too & have brewed several to date latest being my own "St Freullets abbey" (on Brewdays) & I know what you mean about the right amount of carbonation for Belgian ales (Belgian Lace :pray: :thumb: ) :grin: . What I tend to do now is cheat , rightly or wrongly & reserch the Co2 Volumes for a particular style of beer & use a brewing software such as Promash or Brewsmith to work out what sugar (I use brewing sugar or dme) to use, you need to monitor the fermentation tempereture to get an accurate ammount to use. Now, I understand there may be homebrewers out there who dont have brewing software, & what 1 x Co2 volume is & what sugar to use god only knows So is there anybody out there who can let us know how to work it all out. It would open up a whole new world to many im sure :party: :grin:

 

[cwrw]

An interesting note is that Brewferm recommend 10g sugar per litre with their 8% alcohol kits (strong pale ales and Abbey styles) and they're in the market for success :thumb:

 

[Baz Chaz]

Looks like I've been underpriming was a bit cautious as I have had some very lively bottles in the past

 

[cwrw]

Looks like I've been underpriming was a bit cautious as I have had some very lively bottles in the past

Hi,
I've looked into this a bit more and it turns out that the standard 500ml glass beer bottle will hold 50psi which means that 2.5 atm (equivelent to 37.5 psi, with 6.05g of sugar/litre in 20c temperature) would be a reasonable break-off point for safety. Wheras, I presume that a smaller budweiser bottle will be more resiliant and probably tollorate 3atm (45 psi) along with the proper belgian bottles.
Please comment if this is not the case :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

I have tested a bud mini (207ml) to 4 Vols of CO2 . . . and it's been that way for 18 months . . .of course that could well be an exception not the norm.

If I was bottling at Belgian levels then I would use Belgian Bottles . . . it's the only way to be sure

 

[cwrw]

I must admit AM, the only time I've had exploders is when I brewed some Ginger beer that stuck at the base of the fermenter (an old plastic barrel), which I'd not racked for bottling - hence I ended up with a very lively bunch of bottles......never again!
The other times I've managed up to 4mg sugar per 500ml fine in standard bottles, which have also survived the mini heatwave this summer in the garden shed. :thumb:

 

[Baz Chaz]

When I say lively I meant when they were opened, got one or two gushers :shock: never had any blow tops off etc

 

[cwrw]

When I say lively I meant when they were opened, got one or two gushers :shock: never had any blow tops off etc

I've gone up to 10g sugar per 5ooml in the beginning.....what were your gushers primed on?

 

[Baz Chaz]

When I say lively I meant when they were opened, got one or two gushers :shock: never had any blow tops off etc

I've gone up to 10g sugar per 5ooml in the beginning.....what were your gushers primed on?

My memories not that good :wha: it was approximately 35 years ago :lol: but I do remember opening a couple of big pop bottles and they were like fire extinguishers going off :whistle:

 

[cwrw]

[quote="Baz Chaz":1s2wba8b]When I say lively I meant when they were opened, got one or two gushers :shock: never had any blow tops off etc

I've gone up to 10g sugar per 5ooml in the beginning.....what were your gushers primed on?

My memories not that good :wha: it was approximately 35 years ago :lol: but I do remember opening a couple of big pop bottles and they were like fire extinguishers going off :whistle:[/quote:1s2wba8b]

Do you think we can patent the idea and use it for fire prevention? :rofl:

 

[Aleman]

These sort of remind me of the first time I brewed with extract in Hall . . . and one of my mates tried to swig it from the bottle like 'real' beer . . . . foam was shooting out of his nose . . . I was just ROFLMAO

 

[Baz Chaz]

These sort of remind me of the first time I brewed with extract in Hall . . . and one of my mates tried to swig it from the bottle like 'real' beer . . . . foam was shooting out of his nose . . . I was just ROFLMAO

Yup same sort of thing here, in Halls my mates room was on the ground floor, right over the main pipes from boiler house, we knocked off brews in no time :lol: The first 'overprimed' bottle we opened sent a gusher all round his room :rofl: when it finally stopped there must have only been a couple of inches of beer in the bottle We opened the rest outside :whistle: