Belcher Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 A friend told me to use just one carbonation drop per 740ml bottle (I’ve already dropped the brew enhancer to 500gm) if I want 3.5% alcohol content. Is this correct? Also, what can I use instead of the carbonation drop to save money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 One carbonation drop in that size bottle will result in a pretty under carbonated beer. Priming sugar in the usual dosage adds about 0.4% to the ABV. Alternatives to carb drops are table sugar, raw sugar, dextrose etc. Table sugar or raw sugar would be the cheapest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 Probably a better way to get lower Alc is to brew 26l or more, someone here could work out the exact litrage. Dropping your brewing sugars too low may provide fermenting problems, and make thin watery beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerNuts81 Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 I am only a newbie, so take my words carefully. I did a TC Amber Ale last brew, whilst bottling ran out of drops (What a D1CK hay). Since I had been drinking a few coldies, my wisdom said use sugar. We only have brown sugar. So I put approx 1.5 slightly heaped teaspoons in each 740ml bottle. They seemed to prime about a week quicker, and give more carbonation. Taste was IMO more malty as well. So yes can use sugar for priming, how much, no idea. I have read also white sugar will not change characteristics of the beer. Them drops taste like sugar cubes, just extra refined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 10 hours ago, Belcher said: Also, what can I use instead of the carbonation drop to save money? I've been trialing sugar cubes lately. Unlike carb drops where you usually add two per 750ml bottle, one sugar cube usually does the trick for me. The 4.5g cubes I use generally give a decent amount of carbonation but some styles and/or personal preferences may prefer a little more fizz. 100 cubes per box so that's 100 x 750ml bottles primed for around $4.50. They're much cheaper than carb drops: for me it costs $5.90 for 60 drops (1 batch - 30 x 750ml bottles). Cubes are however more expensive than just a bag of plain table sugar which is by far the cheapest option but if you use ordinary sugar you'll need to use a suitable measuring spoon and a small funnel. In contrast, simply dropping a sugar cube into each bottle is much simpler and quicker! Also worth noting is carb drops are only good for 330ml (1 drop) or approx multiples thereof: e.g. 740ml (2 drops) and 1.25litre (3 drops). Sugar cubes are only suitable for 750ml bottles and multiples e.g. I recently used two in a few 1.5litre PET bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belcher Posted March 18, 2019 Author Share Posted March 18, 2019 Thanks peeps! Im really after a 3.5% alcohol content. The brew enhancer says to get this you add 500gm instead of the usual 1000gm. Anyone tried this? It seems that the carbonation drops only affect the alcohol content slightly, unlike me friend’s advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 The ABV depends on the OG and FG of the beer, plus the 0.4% or so from the priming sugar in the bottles. A kit plus 500g of enhancer or malt or whatever mixed to 23 litres will be around the low 1.030s for the OG and likely finish around 1.008-1.010 depending on what the 500g addition is. This would give an ABV around 3.4-3.6% in the bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belcher Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 Thank you Otto. Fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 On 3/18/2019 at 6:48 AM, GingerNuts81 said: ....Since I had been drinking a few coldies, my wisdom said use sugar. We only have brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses but I suppose the small amount in a teaspoon would not affect beer taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty Corner Brewing Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 18 minutes ago, Worthog said: Brown sugar contains molasses I thought it was golden syrup, not molasses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 19 minutes ago, NewBrews said: I thought it was golden syrup, not molasses? Nope, it contains molasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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