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Author Topic: Bottling: calculating priming sugar amounts and yeast trub cake  (Read 2527 times)

Offline 2brew559

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Bottling: calculating priming sugar amounts and yeast trub cake
« on: September 10, 2015, 11:49:46 am »
Hello everyone 

Good morning west coast time!

How do you guys calculate  the amount of priming sugar?
Example: I had 2 batches of beer to bottle last weekend 
Batch #1 4.75 gallons was inside Speidel Fermenter, I can clearly  the levels right through the plastic
Batch #2  4.50 Inside a 7 gallon white plastic Bucket, cant see through it

Well I had appox. .25 of yeast cake in my speidel and subtracted that out of the  amount and then input that into a primig sugar calculator.

The bucket i guessed it was .25  so subtracted that amount for my sugar amounts.

But what about if you brew in a  10 gallon steel vessel or larger and you cant se through it..LOL.. how do you do that??

is their just a standard  educated guess.. like lets say  between 5 and 10%  of yeast cake and the subtract that from your 10 or more gallons example

OR do you just  see the  10 gallons of beer and prime based on that, disregarding the yeast cake???
L

JUST A REGULAR GUY WHO BREWS!
Aplaudir Amigos Y Amigas  :)

Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Bottling: calculating priming sugar amounts and yeast trub cake
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2015, 11:56:37 am »
I've always used 2 tablespoons cane sugar per gallon, ignoring the yeast cake, with pretty dang consistently good results.  If there's also a huge amount of hops like in an IPA, then I account for that.  As for measuring it, you can mark your fermentation vessel in advance by pouring exact amounts in and marking it off, or if not see through you can "stick the tank" by making your marks on a dowel or other reference tool that you can sanitize and stick into the vessel at the end of fermentation to measure.
Dave

The world will become a much more pleasant place to live when each and every one of us realizes that we are all idiots.

Offline 2brew559

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Re: Bottling: calculating priming sugar amounts and yeast trub cake
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2015, 12:08:20 pm »
I've always used 2 tablespoons cane sugar per gallon, ignoring the yeast cake, with pretty dang consistently good results.  If there's also a huge amount of hops like in an IPA, then I account for that.  As for measuring it, you can mark your fermentation vessel in advance by pouring exact amounts in and marking it off, or if not see through you can "stick the tank" by making your marks on a dowel or other reference tool that you can sanitize and stick into the vessel at the end of fermentation to measure.

Thanks dmtaylor


I need to get my  kegging system going tired of bottling beer.. hassle to heat and sanitize, etc... 50+ bottles..

rather than  a keg or 3....
JUST A REGULAR GUY WHO BREWS!
Aplaudir Amigos Y Amigas  :)

Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Bottling: calculating priming sugar amounts and yeast trub cake
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2015, 12:15:31 pm »
I bottle exclusively, have for 16 years.  It gets tiring, but it's a hell of a lot easier with smaller batches.  Currently I only brew 1.7 gallons at a time typically, with the occasional bigger batch but I too hate bottling the bigger batches.  Smaller batches have a zillion advantages.  Think about it.
Dave

The world will become a much more pleasant place to live when each and every one of us realizes that we are all idiots.

Offline Stevie

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Re: Bottling: calculating priming sugar amounts and yeast trub cake
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2015, 12:50:04 pm »
I eyeball it. I'd say I can get within a quart. I also use transparent fermenters, so that haleps

Offline 2brew559

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Re: Bottling: calculating priming sugar amounts and yeast trub cake
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2015, 03:47:28 pm »

yea,  I think  transparent fermenters are the way to go or the stick idea if you have a NON transparent

steel conical or  something like that..

as far s the drudge of bottling you are correct small batches probably best to bottle and  Id still bottle ..


but wait  is it more or deos  beer tatse different from draft keg ssytem



maybe its me convincing myself I need a  keg draft system..LOL    ;D



JUST A REGULAR GUY WHO BREWS!
Aplaudir Amigos Y Amigas  :)