What are you doing with homebrew today?

Ward Chillington said:
Bottled brown then off to conditioner-land for a quick meal and carbonation. Thank you yeast!
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This outa be interesting since it's the first time using plain old table sugar to condition instead of powered corn sugar.
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I've only ever used table sugar.
That's cane here and beet in NW Europe.

I use 6-8 gr per litre and dose per bottle.
Bad experience with uneven carbonation when I put it in the fermenter...
 
RoadRoach said:
Isn’t corn sugar fructose versus cane sugar sucrose? Not a huge difference in how much to use for priming.
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There is a difference in the amount used. I would normally use 5oz of corn sugar for 5 gallons. According to the Brewer's Friend calculator, that = 4.5 oz table sugar. That would be enough to make a difference.
 
You guys have got me thinking. I have always bottled from a bottling bucket. So I have two steps where I introduce oxygen post-fermentation. I like the idea of bottling from the fermenter but, never wanted to mess with measuring and adding sugar to each bottle (I brew 7 gal batches). But, I think I found a way. I'll make my normal priming solution but adjust the volume so I will be adding exactly 5 ml per bottle. I have a child medicine syringe with stops at 2.5 ml increments. The only way I could screw this up would be to double-dose a bottle.

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BarbarianBrewer said:
You guys have got me thinking. I have always bottled from a bottling bucket. So I have two steps where I introduce oxygen post-fermentation. I like the idea of bottling from the fermenter but, never wanted to mess with measuring and adding sugar to each bottle (I brew 7 gal batches). But, I think I found a way. I'll make my normal priming solution but adjust the volume so I will be adding exactly 5 ml per bottle. I have a child medicine syringe with stops at 2.5 ml increments. The only way I could screw this up would be to double-dose a bottle.

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Have you tried using the carbonation drops? I'll acknowledge they don't allow for flexibility if you are trying to target a particular level of carbonation, but they are soooo easy and they work well.

Carbonation Tablets - 80 Pieces | MoreBeer
 
Megary said:
Have you tried using the carbonation drops? I'll acknowledge they don't allow for flexibility if you are trying to target a particular level of carbonation, but they are soooo easy and they work well.

Carbonation Tablets - 80 Pieces | MoreBeer
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I haven't tried carbonation drops for the very reason you mentioned. I mainly brew English and American brown ales. English bitters are in the 1.5-1.7 volumes of CO2 and American browns are around 2.4 volumes.
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
I haven't tried carbonation drops for the very reason you mentioned. I mainly brew English and American brown ales. English bitters are in the 1.5-1.7 volumes of CO2 and American browns are around 2.4 volumes.
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Got it. Though I think they would work just fine for that 2.4v Brown.
 
Megary said:
Got it. Though I think they would work just fine for that 2.4v Brown.
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What about using something like a pill splitter to adjust them? Seems that would work, obviously depending on the size, density, and hardness of the tablet. Then, if you want 1/2 the bubbles, use half a tablet?

The missus' brother in South Australia used them when he was brewing. Don't think he brews anymore, though. I kinda like the idea of bottling straight from the fermenter, if for no other reason than having one less bucket to clean. Would have to adapt the 1/2" hose barb down to 3/8", though, if I plan on using the same bottling wand.
 
I used carb drops and found my beers to be over-carbed. After weighing a few I found out why. When I did a slurry using the BF calculator, I averaged 2.4g./bottle. The drops average 3.4g., which is too high for my beers, especially my NEIPAs. However, after experimenting I did find that a half a drop is perfect for my NEIPAs. How do you get half a drop - hammer and chisel. As weird as it sounds, align a small chisel in the middle and a very light tap with a hammer splits them almost perfectly without shattering. I bought five bags for the volume discount, so I have to use them. For my dark beers I dose with a rounded 1/2 tspn. of table sugar, which is approximately 2.4g.
 
RoadRoach said:
What about using something like a pill splitter to adjust them? Seems that would work, obviously depending on the size, density, and hardness of the tablet. Then, if you want 1/2 the bubbles, use half a tablet?

The missus' brother in South Australia used them when he was brewing. Don't think he brews anymore, though. I kinda like the idea of bottling straight from the fermenter, if for no other reason than having one less bucket to clean. Would have to adapt the 1/2" hose barb down to 3/8", though, if I plan on using the same bottling wand.
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Yeah, that would sure work. But….for me, the beauty of the tablets are the consistency of carbonation and the simplicity of dropping one tablet in the bottle and chugging along. Getting into splitting and weighing each addition kind of defeats the benefit. Is that any easier then using a dropper with a sugar solution? Probably not. You’d have to find an easy and consistent way to split the tablets just so.

I doubt I could really taste the difference between 2.3v and 2.7v, which is about the range I think these drops will get you in a typical 12oz bottle. That’s based on what I’ve observed and not on a calculator. YMMV. But I agree with @BarbarianBrewer that these tablets are not an ideal nor an easier solution for a 1.5v Bitter. Just my opinion.
 
I use a small measuring spoon 1/8 teaspoon size.
I've checked a number of times and I'm pretty consistent in the amount I add as it's easy to level.
2 of these for my 375 ml bottles/3 for the 450 Grolsch/4 for my 750's and 6 for my cider (1 litre bottle), sometimes 7 as I like lots of bubbles in my cider.
 
Semper Sitientem said:
How do you get half a drop - hammer and chisel. As weird as it sounds, align a small chisel in the middle and a very light tap with a hammer splits them almost perfectly without shattering.
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That is good to know. I always assumed it wouldn't split cleanly. I use a pill splitter for cambden tablets and Whirlfloc tablets and those don't usually split evenly or cleanly.
 
The carb drops at the LHBS look like gumdrops, so a scissor will cut them smaller.

How about sugar cubes? Uniform weight, inexpensive.
 
Donoroto said:
The carb drops at the LHBS look like gumdrops, so a scissor will cut them smaller.

How about sugar cubes? Uniform weight, inexpensive.
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I tried cubes as well and guess what? They don’t fit into the bottle neck. I had to shave down the edges with a grater. Also, they average 3.5g-3.6g each, which is too much for my beers. So, If you’re going to use table sugar, I think granular and measuring spoon is the way to go

Also, the Coopers drops are like hard candy, so I don’t think scissors will work.
 
Nosybear said:
I'm trying to get a Kolsch to clear so I can burst-carb it and bottle it for a competition - has to be turned in Friday!
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Good luck with that Nosey lol!
If it's K-97? That stuff takes easy a month I've found...
 
Mashing in Frankenbrew II. Another slight spin-off of Bulin's 3-Day Weekend. Set the little woodstove outside the shed so I could keep warm while I brew today. Need to get rid of some of the wood scraps piling up. One day I'll get the chimney parts and install it in the shed. Then I can keep it cozy warm out here while I brew. Temps in the low 50's today, a little cooler than expected after the 'storm' blew through last night. Got some MUCH needed rain, but no significant storm (which is OK by me).
 
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