I’m starting my second brew this weekend. My first was the Block Party Amber Ale included with the Brew Share Enjoy kit. Lo and behold it was successful. My second batch will be a 1 gallon batch of Caribou Slobber. I want to use pony bottles for this batch - if I can find them. The Caribou Slobber extract kit comes with Fizzdrops for conditioning. Can I use them as is in the smaller pony bottles? Thanks for any advice.
Haven’t seen the pony/split for many years. There are beers still packaged in the small bottle but they may all be for the twist off cap now-a-days. A quick search did not bring up any suppliers.
A fizz drop wouldn’t be appropriate for these small bottles. One fizz drop in a 7 ounce bottle would increase the CO2 volume by more than 40%. The bottle may not be able to withstand this amount of pressure.
Sam’s Club carries Coke in 8 ounce bottles. Clear glass though.
Thanks Flars. My local brew shop carries 7 oz. champagne bottles but they are clear. I bottle condition in the carton the bottles came in and my refrigerator in the garage does not have a light. I think I’ll give them a try. I think I’ll be OK but of course that is ignorance and inexperience talking. Thanks again.
As long as the beer is protected from UV light sources all is well. When I was short of bottles I used green Pilsner Urquell bottles. Worked just fine except a stout looked kind of ugly dressed in green.
I have four cases of green bottles to give away since my amber supply has gown greatly.
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If you use the full fizzdrop - intended for a 12 oz bottle - and the 7 oz bottles are strong enough to hold that level of carbonation, you may end up with a seriously over-carbonated American Brown Ale. Other, less ideal, outcomes appear to me to be more likely.
This is my concern as well.
The basic math for bottle carbonation isn’t difficult to learn. And there are really great people here willing to help.
I won’t use the fizz drops with the smaller bottles. I’ll use priming sugar instead. I have John Palmer’s book and I’ll bounce my calculations off the forum. Thanks all.
This is the priming sugar calculator I use all the time just for consistency. Along with good notes on the carbonation level after the beer is fully conditioned I adjust if needed.
I often disagree with the carbonating to style level. I have my own personal preferences for carbonation level.
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Thanks Frank. That was easy. I was debating whether to use 12 oz bottles and the fizz drops or the small bottles and priming sugar. But with NB’s priming chart I’m planning to go with the small bottles. Thanks again.
I normally botte in 22 oz bottles. I put any leftovers into 7 oz Corona bottles. My father in law loves them. I never have had an issue. I don’t use fizz drops. I have a bag of some other type of “pills” that require 5 for a 12 oz bottle (if I remember correctly). I just use less. 7 oz bottles are great if you want an early taste after a week but don’t want to open a bigger bottle.
