Priming 500ml flip top bottles

[joiner_8]

I have recently brewed aa bulldog evil dog double ipa and bottled it on the 17th of January adding 1 carbonation drop to each botttle.
I then put them back into the brew fridge at 20 Degs, I put one on the fridge yesterday and opened it last night it is still cloudy and very slightly carbonated, i have now removed them from the brew fridge and placed them in my cool garage ill leave them a week and try again.

Mmy question is, is 1 carbonation drop enough for a 500ml bottle the drops are from brew 2 bottle.

 

[Scrattajack]

If they're the Coopers ones then no, one is enough for 375 ml, so you'd want one and a half for 500 ml.

 

[Scrattajack]

There are some here that are aimed at the 500 ml bottles preferred by UK brewers rather than those for the US market where they go for 355 and 650 ml.

 

[joiner_8]

If they're the Coopers ones then no, one is enough for 375 ml, so you'd want one and a half for 500 ml.

So the beer has been in my brewfridge at fermentation temperature for 28 days, I put one in the fridge on Saturday and opened it last night it was still a bit cloudy and only slightly carbonated, is there anything I can do with it. I have now taken them out the fridge and put them in my cool garage thinking that cold crashing would help, what are your views

 

[Ben034]

So the beer has been in my brewfridge at fermentation temperature for 28 days, I put one in the fridge on Saturday and opened it last night it was still a bit cloudy and only slightly carbonated, is there anything I can do with it. I have now taken them out the fridge and put them in my cool garage thinking that cold crashing would help, what are your views

Storing it cold will help it clear but won't help with any carbonation issues. Do you know how much each drop weighs? I use 3g per 500ml bottle for 2.5 vols carbonation (this is APA / lager levels of fizz).

You could open bottles, add more priming sugar, seal and store warm again. However, I wouldn't want to guess the amount of sugar to use to get the carbonation you want.

 

[moto748]

I've never heard of carbonation drops.

What are they; dextrose?

 

[joiner_8]

I've just weighed the carbonation drop and 1 drop weighs 3 grams and a put 1 in each of the 500ml flip top bottles

 

[damienair]

I'm new and have only done 3 brews so far. I used carbonation drops for my first beer and batch primed my 2nd and 3rd brew. With my first I used 2 x Coopers Carbonation drops per 500 ml bottle and the carbonation was spot on. I left them at 20 degrees C for 2 weeks and down in my garage for 2-3 weeks to clear.

 

[damienair]

I've never heard of carbonation drops.

What are they; dextrose?

Yeah. They look like boiled sweets. You pop them into the bottle before filling. Over a few days they dissolve and carbonate the beer.

 

[joiner_8]

I'm thinking now that I should have maybe put two drops in each bottle, the reason I only used one was I phoned brew 2 bottle and they said one drop should do

 

[moto748]

Yeah. They look like boiled sweets. You pop them into the bottle before filling. Over a few days they dissolve and carbonate the beer.

Thanks. I might give them ago. I can seethe benefit of standardising your priming. 'Half a teaspoonful' is not a precise measurement by any means, and teaspoons vary in size! Weighing out 3g or 5g of sugar would be possible, but a right faff!

 

[Scottyburto]

I'm thinking now that I should have maybe put two drops in each bottle, the reason I only used one was I phoned brew 2 bottle and they said one drop should do

Put your beer somewhere warmer for a week or so should do it. Could be you didn't leave them long enough the first time or it's not as warm as you think it is 24hrs a day particularly this time of year.

 

[Scottyburto]

Thanks. I might give them ago. I can seethe benefit of standardising your priming. 'Half a teaspoonful' is not a precise measurement by any means, and teaspoons vary in size! Weighing out 3g or 5g of sugar would be possible, but a right faff!

Weigh 6-10g per litre (eg 6g-10g x 23l =138g-230g)

Put the sugar in a jug and top up 230ml. It's important to top up to 230ml and not add 230ml!

Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved and leave to cool. (Doesn't need to be completely cold.)

Using a Calpol/medicine syringe put 5ml in each 500ml bottle before filling. You should have some syrup mixture left over.

Leave for 2 weeks somewhere warm. A good practice is to use one plastic bottle and when that feels firm you know your beers are carbed.

 

[moto748]

Thanks for the useful tips! I have no PET bottles, but can see that getting a few would be handy at least. Also the syringe idea.

 

[johncrobinson]

The advice to do a test bottle is worth its weight in gold.

 

[joiner_8]

Put your beer somewhere warmer for a week or so should do it. Could be you didn't leave them long enough the first time or it's not as warm as you think it is 24hrs a day particularly this time of year.

I have a temperature controlled brew fridge set at 20 degs

 

[Ben034]

Thanks. I might give them ago. I can seethe benefit of standardising your priming. 'Half a teaspoonful' is not a precise measurement by any means, and teaspoons vary in size! Weighing out 3g or 5g of sugar would be possible, but a right faff!

You can get 2/3g sugar satchets online for very cheap (bought a box of hundreds from eBay). Cheaper to buy a pack of sugar obviously but saves me time on bottling days (I prefer not to batch prime). 2g is perfect for 330mls, 3g for 500mls (assuming temp after fermentation is complete is room temperature or near).

 

[Ben034]

I have a temperature controlled brew fridge set at 20 degs

Strange. How strong is the DIPA? Only other thing I can think of is if it were very strong, the yeast may have given up. Unlikely unless it's really strong though.

3g (table sugar) should be plenty for a 500ml bottle. If the carb drop is also "brewing sugar" I think you need slightly more but should still be well carbed

 

[joiner_8]

It is a strong beer turned out 8.4 abv, any suggestions what to do next im going to put the beer back in the brew fridge for a week or so and see what happens

 

[Scottyburto]

Maybe try a few degrees higher, some higher abv beers do take longer to fully carb.