carbonation drops, brewing sugar or both?

cifta

Hi
i was wondering if someone could offer some assistance. I will soon have my first ever batch of homebrew through its initial fermentation stage. As i want to then go on to my second ever produce rather quickly(as i was gifted a "St Peter's" kit..which is my fave beer) i have decided to bottle the first batch so that i can use my only Co2 barrel for the St Peter's. Should i add the brewing sugar to the bottles? Or should i add my recently purchased Carbonation tablets to each 500ml bottle? Or Both? ..I believe i am right in saying my second batch that i will use the pressure barrel with, i simply add the required amount of brewing sugar to it. Is that also correct?
Id appreciate some tips on this one as a little confused. First go and all that. want to make it a worth while experience:)
All the best

HBO_Staff

Hi Cifta. I would save your carbonation drops for your bottles. We usually put 2 drops per 500ml bottle for lagers and ciders, and 1 drop per bottle for ales and heavier brews. You are right about putting the sugar in your barrel, its usually about 90 grams to prime your barrel for the secondary fermentation. Hope this helps, if you have anymore questions please just ask.

rickparfitt

Hi,
While on the subject, why do ciders get 2 drops and ales just one?
Ta!

HBO_Staff

Its what we would recommend, simply because drinks like cider and lager tend to be fizzier then your average ale. 2 drops will make your cider nice and lively and 1 drop well give that little bit of fizz for your ale.

scalloway52

hi, carbonating drops. my bottles is a mixture of grolsch bottles, of450ml and 1500ml i also have 500ml bottles too, i kinda stick to making lagers. but the drops says 1drop for 375ml and2 drops for750ml, do i just cut up drops to suit HELP!

HBO_Staff

Hi scalloway. I would put 2 drops into the 500ml bottles and 450ml bottles and 4 in your 1500ml, thats what I would do personaly. You might want to experiment a bit yourself, maybe put one drop in some and 2 drops in others to see what you prefer. No need to cut them up.

mickyg51

When we prime our barrels with sugar and not carbonation drops, why oh why would you want to use them when priming anything over 500ml. You are only carbonating your brew, surely it will not cause any major change to the quality of your brew? I might be wrong, but one thing I do know it would be cheaper to use sugar and experiment. If your using PET bottles, it would be easy to release any excess pressure. Come on, we are home brewers, don't conform to the status quo, experiment, it's what makes us who we are. Look for cheap and effective alternatives, always. Wash and recycle a bottle.

dj_trouble1982

Seems most people use normal standard sugar during first ferment and priming, most people say it doesn't make much difference really. Do you agree that standard sugar is nearly as good as home brew sugar?

HBO_Staff

Home brewers have divided opinion on this, we believe that one of the main reasons is due to price, brewing sugar is more expensive than ordinary sugar you would buy in a supermarket etc. Our description states the difference on the listing which is here;

What is the difference between Brewing Sugar and normal household sugar?
Brewing sugar is Dextrose Monohydrate. The main difference in the use is that it is a Mono Saccharide (one molecule of glucose) as opposed to household sugar which is a Di-saccahide (2 molecules). This means that fermentation using brewing sugar will start quicker and ferment cleaner. Normal household sugar has to be 'split' by the yeast which produces bi-products and impurities. These bi-products can have a taste which may slightly affect the taste of home brewed drinks. We recommend using brewing sugar for optimum results.

Is it worth it? Some people swear by brewing sugar, others say they notice little or no difference, we believe if you want the best results from your beer kits you should use the best ingredients available so upgrading to brewing sugar is a good idea. If you have a cheaper beer kit then using brewing sugar will add to the cost and be relatively more. The best way to make your mind up is to brew a batch with ordinary sugar, and then make the same beer with brewing sugar and then compare times and flavours.

Do we recommend using brewing sugar? For best results brewing sugar is a good option, but we actually recommend something else - Brew Enhancer or Spraymalts. The beer kit manufacturers sometimes recommend them on their packaging, and they can much improve a brew for the following reasons;

Why use Beer Kit Enhancer instead of normal sugar?
There are several benefits:
Speeds start of fermentation
Adds body
Improves flavour
Aids head retention and formation

If people could improve one thing with their home brewed beers and lagers, based on questions and comments we think it would probably be the body of the brew and the head on it. The taste is already there as the quality of kits is undeniable, genuinely better than what can often be found in pubs, especially in the 3kg premium kits, Brew Enhancers and Spraymalts give the finished brew improved body and flavour, so a simple and easy way to improve a 1 tin kit is to use an enhancer or spraymalt, as a direct replacement for sugar

HBO_Staff

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Sparky2045

Hello New to Home brewing myself. I have tried a few different kits so far. The first was a Indian pale ale kit purchased from THE RANGE. I used dextrose sugar in the primary fermenter and Coopers cardonating drops in glass 500ml bottles. This batch came out well. I am sure these kits are Simple kits....? I also tried the Range stout using the same method. This came out quiet good too. The third is a Nog which I used the cooper drops again. We found that when opened. The bottle were very lively when pouring. The nog took a long time to clear. But it's well worth the price. I am now trying the Werry with a tea spoon of normal sugar per 500ml bottle. Will this take longer to condition ?. My next batch will be a Simple yorkshire bitter. Has any body got any tips for this one..

HBO_Staff

It sounds to be going well which is great, the Woodfordes kits you have now are similar in the way they are made, but you get more malt extract to begin with so you don't need to add any more sugar to ferment. They will clear and carbonate in much the same way too, but as with all beers the longer you leave them the better they generally taste as the full flavours develop. Around a level teaspoon of sugar per 500ml bottle is usually used, this will carbonate it but not make it too fizzy. For a Yorkshire bitter you might consider the Simply Yorkshire Bitter, it can be made with a kg of sugar, or a kg of enhancer for best results;

http://www.home-brew-online.com/beer-kits-c1/simply-c13/yorkshire-bitter-kit-p194