Carbonation drops or Sugar

[DavidM]

For Bottling is it better to use Carbonation drops or normal sugar?

I have been told (Son) Carbonation drops are easier but that sugar gives a better finish!

Brand new to brewing, have four finished tasted one and will taste again this weekend.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

27 minutes ago, DavidM said:

For Bottling is it better to use Carbonation drops or normal sugar?

I have been told (Son) Carbonation drops are easier but that sugar gives a better finish!

Brand new to brewing, have four finished tasted one and will taste again this weekend.

Thanks for reading.

 

Hi @DavidM  This is a topic that has many a varied views. There is nothing wrong with Carb Drops, but sugar is cheaper & in my opinion better, I switched to it ages ago.

@MUZZY  has a patent on his method of priming bottles so I won't steal his thunder & let him respond. 

Attached are 2 types of Sugar measures, the top one is for 330ml/375ml/750ml

The bottom one is for 375ml & 750ml, they are both easy to use & take little time if you organise your bottling day, practice will make perfect.

Good Luck & Cheers

Phil

Edited September 24, 2021 by Classic Brewing Co

[ozdevil]

carb drops is easier no measuring

normal  suger    you need to measure out what is needed  

i like to refer to this  website   which you can use to help you find the right amount of sugars for a batch

https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

so eg if you want to find out how much sugar to put into a 700ml  longneck

put in the priming calculator  0.700   
what ever carb you want your beer   say 2.6 of co2    (this is the amount of fizz you will get)
what temp your carbing at    e.g 20 degrees   

it will then pump out the figures for you    and will show yo a list of priming sugars to use with measurements
 

[DavidM]

thanks for the info.

That website above, has a lot of reading, the calculator was very helpful.

I am using the bottom measure and 750ml bottles

I'm going with 3.4g table sugar, see how it comes out in a few weeks.

 

Edited September 24, 2021 by DavidM

[ozdevil]

12 minutes ago, DavidM said:

That website above, has a lot of reading, the calculator was very helpful

yes,  its a very good website  with alot of information and its not just for all grain brewers but for extract as well.

using that website with a 23 litre brew

you could use that to bulk prime by using a spare fermenter or bottling bucket so that each bottle gets the same amount of sugers
this method is called racking  

 

[Malter White]

Hahahaha @Classic Brewing Co. Thanks for respecting the copyrights.

@DavidM I use carb drops and/or CSR sugar cubes because they're less fiddly than using a sugar scoop. I've not noticed any difference in beer flavour using either of them. Carbonation has increased by the amounts used. Drops are approximately 3g, cubes are 4.5g. I use them in different combinations depending on the type of beer I'm making.

[DavidM]

Thanks All.

I'm thinking if there is not much in it, I will go back to Carbonation drops as they are so easy.

But will check the Calculator to work out the best option for different beers as I get better.

[mkinadl]

As 'MUZZY' & 'Classic Brewing Co' pointed out, there are simple ways to work it out but I'll add my 2 cents here (but as I like to say; in countries like Australia, 2c gets 'rounded down' to 'nothing' so here goes my 2c ...) ;

1: Coopers 'Carb Drops' DO require a measurement but most of us go with the 'closest' measurement, whereas some will cut the drop in the best way they can when the 'bottle size'/'beer style' is different to norm & flavour is of the most importance;

2: sugar vs dextrose vs 'carb drops' dissolve at different rates - ie. fermentable(s) speed ---> carbonate speed;

3: 'carb drops' are made from either diluted/ dissolved/ boiled sugar or dextrose & are then measured into 'drops' --->  you can make your own;

4: or just use/buy a stock standard kitchen measuring scoop/spoon like this from woolies...

[mrchino73]

As a newbie, I've tried the drops for simplify things,but the results were very ccarbonated.

Tried the "spoon" with different measures and it was excelent. I used dextrose for carbonation.

It takes more time,but the results are much more than better.

Just my 2 cents....

[Spursman]

Muzzy put me on to his patented method of 2 csr sugar cubes per tallie and I'm very thankful he did.

Excellent, consistent carbonation 

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 hours ago, Spursman said:

Muzzy put me on to his patented method of 2 csr sugar cubes per tallie and I'm very thankful he did.

Excellent, consistent carbonation 

I support @MUZZY's method with the sugar cubes although I haven't tried them.

It works out to  $4.50 for 450gm = $1.00 per kg ( each serving 4.5gm )      White Sugar at Coles/Woolworths is $ 1.50 for 500gm =125 servings at 4.gm ( 1 level metric teaspoon )

Carbonation Drops at Woolworths are $3.25 for 250gm = $13.00 per kg for 80 servings

So I guess really if at the end of the day they are all Sugar it is down to the individual to what ever method they choose & of course whether the cost factor comes into it.

I personally prefer White Sugar as I find the sugar scoops easy to use & if your bottling day is well organised it takes no time to prime your clean sanitised bottles.

Just before bottling I have them all ready to go in a neat line up & fill, cap, box & label the brew. Easy.

Cheers.

[RDT2]

3 hours ago, Spursman said:

Muzzy put me on to his patented method of 2 csr sugar cubes per tallie and I'm very thankful he did.

Excellent, consistent carbonation 

I don’t like carbonation drops, I love them! For this reason I never used them, I think I ate more than I put in the bottlesI used sugar when I bottled with good results and it was always on hand and cheaper!

[Classic Brewing Co]

9 minutes ago, RDT2 said:

I don’t like carbonation drops, I love them! For this reason I never used them, I think I ate more than I put in the bottlesI used sugar when I bottled with good results and it was always on hand and cheaper!

It is always going to come down to whatever he or she chooses to to, that's just another reason why brewing your own is great & allows that sort of freedom.

As I said I am getting faster, better carbonation with white sugar. I probably would get same/similar results with cubes.

[Liambeer]

2 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

I support @MUZZY's method with the sugar cubes although I haven't tried them.

It works out to  $4.50 for 450gm = $1.00 per kg ( each serving 4.5gm )      White Sugar at Coles/Woolworths is $ 1.50 for 500gm =125 servings at 4.gm ( 1 level metric teaspoon )

Carbonation Drops at Woolworths are $3.25 for 250gm = $13.00 per kg for 80 servings

So I guess really if at the end of the day they are all Sugar it is down to the individual to what ever method they choose & of course whether the cost factor comes into it.

I personally prefer White Sugar as I find the sugar scoops easy to use & if your bottling day is well organised it takes no time to prime your clean sanitised bottles.

Just before bottling I have them all ready to go in a neat line up & fill, cap, box & label the brew. Easy.

Cheers.

$4.50 for 450gm isn’t $1 per kg

It’s $10kg

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, Liambeer said:

$4.50 for 450gm isn’t $1 per kg

It’s $10kg

Yes mate I missed a 0 - blame the keyboard.

[Geoff S]

Along the same veins, has anyone put sugar/drops in first? Or does this create more 'fizz' when filling?

[Popo the Reprobate]

5 minutes ago, Geoff S said:

Along the same veins, has anyone put sugar/drops in first? Or does this create more 'fizz' when filling?

Hey Geoff,

I always used to put the drops in first and did not get any fizzing. I do cold crash - so that may have some impact. 

I occasionally used sugar and found the same. I tried putting sugar in after non cold crashed beer many years ago and remember it being pretty messy.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

8 minutes ago, Geoff S said:

Along the same veins, has anyone put sugar/drops in first? Or does this create more 'fizz' when filling?

@Geoff S  I have tried it both ways but putting sugar into the bottles first before the wort always gives me the best result, when you are capping you can almost see carbonation underway.

This method works for me but using drops probably wouldn't matter. Tyr a few ways & see what gives you the best result.

[Geoff S]

Thanks guys, I'm a bit more of a savage, fermenter in cold water, up onto table & decant, usually put drops in after bottle filling & get a bit of fizz, trying to avoid a 'thar she blows!' moment.

[Popo the Reprobate]

9 minutes ago, Geoff S said:

Thanks guys, I'm a bit more of a savage, fermenter in cold water

Hahaha.

I used to do that too. Drops in first. No/minimal fizz.

[BlackSands]

I took to using sugar cubes in my 750ml PETs.  The cubes are not as cheap as just simply buyng a bag of sugar and using a measuring spoon and funnel to prime each bottle, but they are still much cheaper than carb drops with a similar level of convenience.  For a beer fermented in the usual ale temperature range that gives a carbonation level of around 2.5 VolCO2.  That's not enough for some beer styles though but enough for most of the styles I brew.   I have discovered however it's no where near enough when using Kveik yeasts fermented at 35ºC!   At this temperature the amount of dissolved CO2 is very low and, being a very high flocculating yeast subsequently there is often minimal yeast left in suspension.  After a cold crash this has often made carbonating some kveik-fermeted brews very problematic. 

 

On 9/25/2021 at 2:01 PM, Geoff S said:

Along the same veins, has anyone put sugar/drops in first? Or does this create more 'fizz' when filling?

Always put sugar in first.  Dropping the sugar in afterwards triggers the release of the dissolved CO2 that is already dissolved in the beer as a result of fermentation.  

As an aside, I used to bulk prime in a seconday, this seems to be the most reliable method but I did find it a bit of a hassle, extra kit to sanitise and of course extra risk of oxidation. I then I tried bulk priming in the primary FV for while - but had mixed results.  In a cold crashed beer the warm/hot sugar solution, even after a gentle stir and allowing a few hours for dispersal, still seemed to layer and I subsequentlly ended up with over primed bottles at the start of filling and eventually under primed bottles at the end.   

 

 

[DavidM]

Some great tips in here, Thanks.

I bottled on Sunday and used the last of the drops, was going to be half and half but that never happened.

Next week will be sugar first, fill and cap, store and Wait (the hard part)

 

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, DavidM said:

Next week will be sugar first, fill and cap, store and Wait (the hard part)

Way to go.