So i have now brewed 5 batches and other than my very first batch i have had carbonation issues. The beer itself comes out to the style and taste that i anticipate but they all seem to lack the full carbonation. I follow the directions but its weird that the bags of sugar say to use the whole bag but the directions say to do so many ounces… so i never know which directions to actually follow… I have a coworker who is going to give me a kegerator, keg, and all that fancy stuff to try out instead of continuing to bottle and have issues. So my first question is if anyone has suggestions for bottling i would appreciate it. Second, i was wondering if i do decide to go the kegging route and artificially carbonate my beer, is there any way to bottle it from the keg to bring to friends and family to try out? Thanks!
Me do kegging. Carbonation true co2. No sugar. After one week. Most the time i got perfect carbonation. First. Force carbonation. Than let it sit. For. Few days at serving pressure. And yes you can get a bottle filler. What connects to the spigot of your tap point. And fill bottles. I do fill my growlers that way
I have an Irish Red carbonating in a keg now. I go low and slow. I do 12-15 lbs for 2 weeks. I will test at 10 days, if need to go 14 days. When I bottle, I measure out each bottle for what sugar I am using by using the Northern Brew chart. This does take time, patience. I have used honey , brown sugar , and dextrose. Each one has different amount. It does take math and some time. Now with that being said, I do go over 10% of the weight OF THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR GOING into each bottle.
Used to be about all we knew was to mix 3/4 cup corn sugar & water, boil it then mix it with your wort in a bottling bucket. It was hit or miss. Now we have things like our hosts carbonation calculator Homebrew Priming Sugar Calculator It takes some of the guess work out of it.
Then came the tabs, drops or whatever they call the compacted sugar you drop right in the bottle. Still hit or miss.
I keg almost everything and prime the kegs most of the time. When you get your keg setup you will find it gives you the ability to carb without refrigeration and taking up valuable fridge space. Consider buying or building a spunding valve. Just Google it and there is info on both. You can connect it while the sugar is working and it will release pressure above your setting. I just wing it on the sugar using table sugar, give it enough time, like two weeks and connect the spunding valve. If it’s too carbed it will release pressure. If under carbed either wait more or hook up your CO2 to finish it.
Good luck. Carbonation is one of those things you will get better at once you get used to your equipment.
I prime my kegs as well and will never go back to forced carbonation. 5/8 C. of dry light malt extract boiled in about a cup of water and poured into the keg before the beer goes in. Wait a week, throw the keg in the fridge and voila. Perfectly carbonated beer that only requires a bit of serving pressure. I always pour the first couple of glasses without using any added pressure…
