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Bottling...any good calculators?
Hey all. Tonight's bottlin' night, and I'm stuck. I've got 5 gallons of beer that I need to bottle, but I can't get a consistent calculation of how much sugar(cane) I need to add. One calculator comes out with 3.0oz, and another will come out with 0.34oz. That's a huge disparity between the two, so...
I guess I'm looking to carb it like an ESB...I've seen that was btwn 0.75-2.2 volumes of CO2(?). If that's correct, what should I add? Because these calculators are driving my nuts!
/ Alex
This is by far my faorite website for calculations http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/ I use it for full recipes or just as quick reference- set it in your favorites, you will be glad you did!
Looks like for 5 gallons at 70 degrees, you will need 3.0 ounces to get 2.0 vols.
Sweet deal, Thirsty. Is this @70F in the bottle, for however long it takes to carb up? Or is this what the beer is going into the bottles at.
Clarification... do I just slap the bottle into the fridge when I'm done, and let them chill down and wait? Or do I let them rest at the temperature that the beer's been fermenting at for the past 2 weeks? (66-70F)
Alex
You want to make sure your green beer is at a good room temp, maybe even slightly warmer 70-72 deg is perfect. Boil your sugar in a cup or 2 of water for 5 minutes to sterilize, then cool to a relatively cool temp, 80-100 is fine, because it will be mixing with so much beer, but do not add it right after boiling. It is best to add the sugar to your bottling bucket first, so that it dissolves as you rack your beer on top of it. You want the racking action to do most of your mixing, however a slow stir at the end is OK, just do not do it violently- te idea is to keep as little oxygen as possible mixing with the beer.
After you fill your bottles you want to keep them somewhere out of light and at 70-72 ideally for a couple weeks. They may be close to carbed in a week, but sometimes 2-3 weeks for best results. Once you achieve a level you are satisfied with, then fridge whatever you want to drink for at least 24 hours before opening. You want all of the CO2 in the bottle to be dissolved, and cold beer dissolves more CO2, let it work, otherwise you may get a gusher, or a well carbed beer that goes flat fast. And remember the longer you wait- the better the flavor will be, even just a couple weeks! Be patient.
http://www.clubhomebrew.com/index.php?p … tion=sugar
Here's one you can pick what type priming sugar you want to use.
DC
Here's a link to an old thread we had here on brewing calculators. Its a mix of recipe , carbonation and all grain related calculators.
thirsty wrote:
You want to make sure your green beer is at a good room temp, maybe even slightly warmer 70-72 deg is perfect. Boil your sugar in a cup or 2 of water for 5 minutes to sterilize, then cool to a relatively cool temp, 80-100 is fine, because it will be mixing with so much beer, but do not add it right after boiling.
Well, for a change I don't completely agree with Thirsty. No need to cool your priming solution at all before racking your beer on top of it. As soon as it's done boiling I add it right to the bottling bucket and rack on top. I never cool it at all and have absolutely no problems with getting my beer to carb in what would be considered a normal amount of time. 2-4 weeks usually. I'm pretty sure that there are others in this forum who do it the same way.
At most you're only adding a pint of boiling hot liquid to 5 gallons of beer. Yes you will kill off some yeast when you first start your siphon, but the priming solution will quickly come down to ambient temp as it mixes with your beer and you'll be left with more than enough yeast to carb the beer.
I'll agree with Thirsty in that you don't need to, and probably shouldn't, stir after you finish with the siphon. The priming solution will mix in well enough as the siphoning is going on. Stirring after just leads to the possibility of oxidizing your beer.
Mortician607 wrote:
[Well, for a change I don't completely agree with Thirsty. No need to cool your priming solution at all before racking your beer on top of it. .
Good call. I havent bottled beer in a couple years, so in that arena I am still a nOOb, and practice the basics without any little tricks. I would think that by mixing hot the sugar will be less viscous and mix easier, so that would be an advantage.
+1 on not cooling the priming sugar. I used to when I was a neurotic noob but I don't anymore and it hasn't negatively affected carbonation. However its not bad advice and you can do it if you want but its not necessary.
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