Adam1525228690 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Gday all, new brewer here from Whyalla, please be gentle [biggrin] I hope im posting this in the right spot. Just purchased a Coopers kit, that includes 30 pet bottles and carb drops. Instructions say two drops for 750ml, or one for 375ml bottles. As the pet bottles are only 700ml, is it safe to still use two drops ? Ive put down a Coopers Dark Ale first up, not the Lager supplied. Thanks all for any help Cheers, Adam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Hi Adam - Welcome [biggrin] The coopers PET bottles are actually 740ml and are perfectly suited to carb drops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam1525228690 Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 Hi Adam - Welcome [biggrin] The coopers PET bottles are actually 740ml and are perfectly suited to carb drops. Ok, thanks Muddy Waters, for some reason i thought they were 700 [pinched] My Mrs says i'm due for reading glasses, so that might be a contributing factor. Already looking forward to bottling, be nice if i could speed the process up, but being my first i'll nuture it like a baby. Smells good already. Thanks for the welcome. Looks like a good place to learn the craft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Welcome Adam, Its a great place to learn the great addiction of homebrewing. 2 carb drops per those PET bottles will do nicely. If you plan on doing some odd size bottles in the future (like my roughly 500ml swing top bottles) have a little read on Bulk Priming. As for speeding the process up, be patient it will make it taste alot better. I have beer in the bottles that I will be trying to age over 6 months before tasting it again. If possible keep the temp around 18C to 20C as this is where the yeast ferments at its best Have Fun [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Loving Trent Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Welcome Adam, I have a Dark Ale maturing at the moment it's been in the bottles for two weeks using the carb drops tried it at the two week mark and it already tastes awesome and now i have to stop myself from drinking it for another 3 months luck I have other brews 2 lagers and a draught to keep me busy. Good luck and keep brewing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I would like to know.. about carb drops.. exactly what the added carbonation levels are calculated at per drop.. er.. its hard to describe the question but I'll have a stab.. if my brew was at top temp at 20'c, by my CALCULATIONS, it has a residual level of C02 of 0.86 volumes. (25lt x 20'c = 0.86 [desired 2.4]) soooo I know that in a total volume of 25L I need 155g of dex to get to a desired 2.4 volumes. + or - for taste. how many carb drops is this? (question 1) and my real question is... and I really want to know! What are the C02 levels of commercial Coopers Pale ale meant to be? We all know it varies from pub to pub and I notice that the levels in my recent purchaces (750 longnecks as always[bandit] ) seem to be quite lightly carbed.. which is to my liking.. thats the level I would like to know.. How many volumes? Im assuming around the 2.4 ATM and going to, if need be work my way up. any help here PB2? I can provide a batch number if that would help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Even though this won't answer your question, and I am sure you already know, but I'm certain the carb drops were not made with bulk priming as an objective but purposely made for ease of use when bottling. Unless you actually weigh the drops then I can't see how you could accurately measure what would be required for bulk priming. One thing that could be tried though.... if you get 30 bottles from 23L then to bulk prime 23L maybe 60 lollies???. [pinched] imo though bulk priming with carb drops defeat their purpose. PS Welcome Adam. [roll] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Im not trying to bulk prime with them. I want to know what volumes of C02 they will create? (average) surely they are based on some sort of calculation as to what they will do? 2.6 - 2.8 volumes? who bloody knows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I would hazard to guess that the expected Co2 ouput of carb drops would be similar to the equivalent expected from Coopers suggested priming rate of 8g per litre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Im not trying to bulk prime with them. I want to know what volumes of C02 they will create? (average) surely they are based on some sort of calculation as to what they will do? 2.6 - 2.8 volumes? who bloody knows... When you said.... I know that in a total volume of 25L I need 155g of dex to get to a desired 2.4 volumes. + or - for taste. how many carb drops is this? (question 1) I thought as a part of your question you wanted to know how many carb drops to prime 25L so then assumed you were talking bulk priming. Well that's how I read your first question so that is how I answered. [pinched] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I would hazard to guess that the expected Co2 ouput of carb drops would be similar to the equivalent expected from Coopers suggested priming rate of 8g per litre. so calculating backwards, based on 8g per litre x 25 Litre, volumes of C02 will be 2.85 Volumes ...seems quite high... Seems a bit odd to be given ratio per litre but drops are "suited" to 375 - 750ml Bottles[whistling] or are they ratio'd down? Damn I threw out the last of mine last night... can somebody who has some weigh 10 of them and average them out? Still... there must be a level that they are designed to achieve. 2.85 Volumes seems (to me) to be in the ballpark of quite "fizzy" beer (from my tastes) it is the Official Rates I am after. What are they designed to do? Question 1: What is the designed level of carbonation that drops are meant to achieve? Question 2: What is the Carbonation Level of Commercial Coopers Pale Ale? I think the 2 figures will be quite different. I know they are more aimed at the beginners but if people using them dont know what they will do to a beer it can be dangerous. Especially if they have a Lager which will have more C02 than an ale brewed at 18. (residual for a 12'c brew is 1.12 volumes V's 0.86 for an ale at 20) I think this needs clarification. If I had a lager brewed at 12'c and just added 2 drops it would be a MUCH more heavily carbonated brew than an ale brewed at 18'c.. by as much as 30g (these figures based on the 2.85 volumes quoted above) and jsut to put this in context, until quite recently I have always used drops (19 Brews) so im not just poo poo'ing I REALLY want to know.. Ive recently gone over to the Bulk Priming way of life so I can have control over the outcome. (1 Brew) Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I thought a carb drop was roughly 4grams of dextrose (not sure) which would then equate to around 3g of normal sugar (I could be wrong). I find it to carb beers fine (depending on style of coarse). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 wouldnt that then mean the we are putting 8g per 750ml and not 8g per litre? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Yep but depending on carbonation levels on this site other then coopers they say Low Carbonation = 0-3 g/L Medium Carbonation = 4-6 g/L (My regular) High Carbonation + 7-10 g/L + or - a few grams using 1 carb drop per stubby or 2 carb drops per longneck most definately falls into the high carb category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Cheers Matty, I guess in my round about way this is what I was getting at... still no word on the official levels though...[annoyed] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 It must be busy times at the brewery as we don't see PB2 around here much lately [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Hellooooooooo....yes, busy busy.[innocent] Carbo drops are around the 3.0g to 3.3g mark. You may find that some of the 80'ish drops in a pack are obviously under or over sized. However, there should be at least 60 sized drops in a pack, as per Servings per package- 60 on the back of the pack. Assuming the brew has finished fermenting, the priming rate should yield about 2.8 vol of CO2. The target for our commercial ale is 2.6 vol. Naturally conditioned beer will have variation in CO2 levels - we are relying on a living organism to behave exactly the same every time. Carbo drops are intended for convenience in the bottling process - not for bulk priming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Nice one, Thanks PB.. thats the info I was after. Many Thanks [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam1525228690 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Thanks for all the replys guys. Just got back from a fishing trip and the dark ale is going along nicely, big fat krausen on top and sitting on 20 deg. Next plan.......a nice winter stout [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Next plan.......a nice winter stout [ninja] A good stout for the winter is (thanks to PB2): - Can of OS Dark Ale - Can of OS Stout - 1Kg of Dextrose -Pitch both sachets and brew at around 20C. You won't know what krausen is until you do this one. The first time I done this was when I used airlocks and the foam was out of it all over the floor. It is a winner and my favourite brew I make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam1525228690 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Next plan.......a nice winter stout [ninja] A good stout for the winter is (thanks to PB2): - Can of OS Dark Ale - Can of OS Stout - 1Kg of Dextrose -Pitch both sachets and brew at around 20C. You won't know what krausen is until you do this one. The first time I done this was when I used airlocks and the foam was out of it all over the floor. It is a winner and my favourite brew I make. That sounds like nectar Matty, will give this a go. Saves me from opening a new thread on asking for ideas. I will say that im not exactly a new brewer, i just havnt brewed for quite some years now and will consider myself a beginner again. But i do know some of the traps involved ( hopefully [biggrin] ) I consider myself a stout connoisseur, i love anything from guinness to southwark old. But coopers is definately my favourite. I loved the coopers old stout, a special version of the best extra that was aged. Anyway, ive prattled a bit, your recipe their is pencilled in for my next crack, cheers [happy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 That stout listed when I have brewed it tastes as close to (as I can get anyway) to the Coopers Best Extra Stout. Beautiful drop, just remember it foams up alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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