[noonancm]

Been brewing for a number of years and just recently noticed that many recipes on the internet do not indicate any carbonation level. Knowing that not all brewers prefer their beer be carbonated to a particular level, still knowing a particular level, I believe, could be helpful. I'm just curious as to why brewers do not include this info when posting a recipe.

[Bob357]

Carbonation ranges by style are readily available and can be found in the BJCP guidelines.

[dmtaylor]

My rule of thumb: Carbonate to about 2.3-2.4 volumes CO2 unless directed otherwise or you know you prefer something different based on style.

Personally I never go above 2.4 volumes no matter what because I usually bottle, and I *HATE* gushers and other unpleasant surprises.  So even for hefeweizens, Belgians, etc., I still don't go any higher than an "average" carbonation level.

For UK styles, I carbonate a little less.  Maybe 1.9 volumes, something around there.

And that's pretty much it.

With respect to bottling, I know from experience that 2.3-2.4 volumes equates to about 2 tablespoons priming sugar per gallon.  The key here is that, if bottling, you need to know EXACTLY how many gallons you are bottling.  If you don't know the volume, then your carbonation will be a crapshoot.  But as long as you know the exact volume... if I didn't care to do any math at all, I could always just double the number of gallons and use that much priming sugar in tablespoons.  For example, 3 gallons, 6 tablespoons.  Or 4 gallons would be nice because it would be a perfect 1/2 cup.  5 gallons is a little less than 2/3 cup (5/8 cup to be exact).  Pretty easy math.  With me being a small batch brewer, it’s only slightly more complicated than that, because inevitably I usually end up with weird amounts such as 1.6 gallons or 2.1 gallons -- decimal points! oh no! -- so I need 3.2 tablespoons, or 4.2 tablespoons, or whatever.  Pretty easy math, doubling the gallons.  And effective.  I rarely have any gushers, and if I do then it’s like I should have known better than to bottle that diastaticus brew or to age it for 18 months and not drink it all up within 2-3 months.

If you keg… you can pretty much ignore everything I just said and just wing it.  Works for me, for the most part.  As of the last couple Christmases, I now own three 128-oz uKeg Go’s and I’m enjoying using them.  I don’t have kegging down to a science yet but it’s pretty easy.  Turn up the carbonation, turn it down, first few pints the carbonation will never be exactly right but close enough after that.

[noonancm]

I, too, have been fewer gallons of beer at any one time but been brewing some new styles that I am not as familiar with. In particular, some lagers. And so, I would look at various recipes from sources that I respect and noticed that more often, there would no mention of desired carbonation levels. As carbonation is important to taste and body, I would have thought there would be some mention.

[reverseapachemaster]

I don't think a lot of brewers think about it as a significant detail in a recipe. Also, unless it's a beer typically carbonated at a higher rate, it's almost always carbed to typical American craft beer standards around 2.2-2.4 vols. Many homebrewers who keg keep all their beers at the same carbonation so it's a non-issue for any recipe.

[noonancm]

Generally that is what I did. Also I relied on beersmith which is set at 2.3 volumes. But then I started brewing scottish and ordinary bitters which are low carbonated and belgian dark strong which is highly carbonated. As one who bottles his beer I would like to know how much sugar to use.

Bjcp description of carbonation include terms like low medium, low to medium, etc. It would be helpful to have volume number to plug into a carbonation tool such as found in beersmith.

[Bob357]

A simple search would have found this:
https://homebrewanswers.com/document/carbonation-levels-for-different-beer-styles/

[noonancm]

I have found the website and used it. It just struck me that a site like AHA has so many recipes that do not indicate the carbonation level.

[fredthecat]

i think experimenting with carbonation styles can be really good as a way of understanding what different co2 levels can do to your perception of a beer (or drink).

i go pretty low nowadays and i enjoy it a lot in the right style.

[neuse]

My rule of thumb: Carbonate to about 2.3-2.4 volumes CO2 unless directed otherwise or you know you prefer something different based on style.

Personally I never go above 2.4 volumes no matter what because I usually bottle, and I *HATE* gushers and other unpleasant surprises.  So even for hefeweizens, Belgians, etc., I still don't go any higher than an "average" carbonation level.

For UK styles, I carbonate a little less.  Maybe 1.9 volumes, something around there.

And that's pretty much it.

With respect to bottling, I know from experience that 2.3-2.4 volumes equates to about 2 tablespoons priming sugar per gallon.  The key here is that, if bottling, you need to know EXACTLY how many gallons you are bottling.  If you don't know the volume, then your carbonation will be a crapshoot.  But as long as you know the exact volume... if I didn't care to do any math at all, I could always just double the number of gallons and use that much priming sugar in tablespoons.  For example, 3 gallons, 6 tablespoons.  Or 4 gallons would be nice because it would be a perfect 1/2 cup.  5 gallons is a little less than 2/3 cup (5/8 cup to be exact).  Pretty easy math.  With me being a small batch brewer, it’s only slightly more complicated than that, because inevitably I usually end up with weird amounts such as 1.6 gallons or 2.1 gallons -- decimal points! oh no! -- so I need 3.2 tablespoons, or 4.2 tablespoons, or whatever.  Pretty easy math, doubling the gallons.  And effective.  I rarely have any gushers, and if I do then it’s like I should have known better than to bottle that diastaticus brew or to age it for 18 months and not drink it all up within 2-3 months.

If you keg… you can pretty much ignore everything I just said and just wing it.  Works for me, for the most part.  As of the last couple Christmases, I now own three 128-oz uKeg Go’s and I’m enjoying using them.  I don’t have kegging down to a science yet but it’s pretty easy.  Turn up the carbonation, turn it down, first few pints the carbonation will never be exactly right but close enough after that.

When I bottle, I put the priming solution into the bottling bucket first, and then rack the beer onto it from the fermenter - that helps it mix well. I don't know the exact amount of beer that will go to the bottling bucket, so I make an estimate from previous batches. How to you do figure your exact volume before adding the priming solution?

[noonancm]

Much like you, I put the priming solution into the bottling bucket first.
Knowing the amount of beer to be primed (eg 3 1/2 gallons or 6) and the recommended carbonation level, I use the carbonation tool in beersmith to determine the amount of corn sugar to use.

[neuse]

Much like you, I put the priming solution into the bottling bucket first.
Knowing the amount of beer to be primed (eg 3 1/2 gallons or 6) and the recommended carbonation level, I use the carbonation tool in beersmith to determine the amount of corn sugar to use.

If you add the priming solution first, how do you know the trub loss in advance? (Note that I use previous batches to estimate.)

[denny]

Don't forget to compensate for fermentation temp when calculating your priming

[ynotbrusum]

I now remember why I went to kegging...I can set it and forget it (typical approach 10-12 psi); bleed off excess for a style, if desired (for example an Ordinary Bitter reduced to cask level lower carbonation), or allow for a sliding carbonation level - by disconnecting the CO2 from the serving keg and pulling drafts from that keg over the course of an evening (then re-connecting at low psi to simply dispense a particular achieved carbonation level for that style beer).

Cheers to the bottlers, though!  You set the bar on patience and persistence.

[noonancm]

On the one hand I don't. But usually it's about a quarter to a half inch of trub. I try to leave as much of the boil trub as possible in the boil kettle when I transfer into the fermentor and using a strainer over the bucket to catch the trub.

Also the carbonation tool in beersmith allows me to determine the amount of beer I have in the fermentor, is it only 3 1/2 or 4 gallons.