How much sugar to use when priming a Wheat Beer

[StevenT]

Hi everyone,

 

I have just started a amber wheat beer, and am wondering how much sugar I should use when priming. I am using the coopers PET 740ml bottles.

 

In the past I have used carbonation drops, but have not been able to keep a good head.

 

Any advise on amount of sugar per bottle for priming for the recipe would be appreciated:

 

Thomas Coopers Selection Wheat Beer

1kg Country Brewer Amber Malt (500g Dextrose, 300g Light Malt, 200g Dark Malt).

150g Wheat.

10g WB06 Yeast.

 

Thanks

Steve

[Muddy Waters]

Hi Steven - 2 carb drops should do the trick nicely. Alternatively you could bulk prime with dextrose which tends to give a more tightly packed head. I personally use about 180g for a 23L batch.

 

The lack of head retention could be a result of the beer being young or that your beer glasses are not clean enough or have detergent residue which will noticeably reduce head retention.

[StevenT]

Thanks Muddy for your response.

 

I generally bottle when I have had two consistent FG readings over two days (ie roughly 1010 give or take), then beer is generally in the bottle for 6-8 weeks before drinking.

 

I try and always give the glasses a thorough rinse after cleaning with detergent to make sure there is no remaining residue.

 

This is why im thinking of avoiding the carbonation drops and looking for an alternative and how much.

 

I read on the net that for wheat beer, carbonation is slightly higher than the norm (ie. 6-9g/L). I was wondering what people have done in the past.

 

Cheers

Steve

[Muddy Waters]

You could go to about 9-10g dextrose per litre to get the higher carbonation for wheat (some may go slightly higher). I use dextrose and bulk prime my wheat beers as I "perceive" it to be a better fit for the style but it really doesn't make a big difference. By all experiment with different priming menthods but I don't think the carb drops are the problem. Along with other methods I have used carb drops extensively and find them to give more than adequate carbonation and head retention (and I tend to like my beers well carbonated).

 

I'm not sure what is causing your problems. Do you use much detergent? Only a single small drops is required to clean a glass.

[StevenT]

Thanks for your help Muddy!

 

Will have a go with the Dextrose as you suggested. Also to try something different to what I have done in the past.

 

This will be my third brew so have alot to learn and taste [biggrin]

 

Thanks again.

Steve