Newbie question

I’m just getting started and I’m gonna try a couple 1 gallon kits to get my feet wet.
Before I order,I wanted to ask about “Fizz Drops"…it says in directions :Add one per 12 oz. bottle.Only problem is, I have 16oz Grolsch bottles.
Do I need to skip these and just order priming sugar? and what amount would I use for each gallon?
Thanks in advance

I’ve used the Coopers drops in the past when bottling a few at a time and found the carb level to be rather high, if similar 1 drop may work ok for a 16oz bottle. That said if you’re bottling an entire batch you’re probably better off getting the priming sugar anyway. There are several calculators online, inlcuding one on NB’s site I believe, that will help you out as far as how much sugar to add.

fizz drops are nice for small 1/2 or 1 gal batches but they are unpredictable imhp. You have to experiment with them. For larger batches go with powdered corn sugar (priming sugar).

You can use the ‘fizz’ drops or any brand of sugar pills. They will work, but it’s a guessing game as to whether the beer will be over-carbed or under-carbed. You’ll need to experiment with the first batch.

Batch priming, if done correctly, can be a more precise method of priming beer. If done incorrectly you’ll get uneven priming of the bottles, which is one benefit of the drops, is that all bottles are pretty much evenly carbed.

Use this calculator to determine the amount of priming sugar needed for batch priming.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

I have used both and generally prefer batch priming, though it does require more attention to detail.

[quote=“jd14t”]

I have used both and generally prefer batch priming, though it does require more attention to detail.[/quote]

+1, better to learn the right way to do it than to try a no-brainer method.

My experience is limited - eight 1 gallon batches, three of which I bottled in 16 oz EZcap bottles using the supplied fizz drops. All have turned out fine for me so far.

I did have to crush the fizz drops as they would not fit down the bottle opening otherwise.

I’ve thought about adding priming sugar into my process, but haven’t purchased a bottling bucket or wanted another item to clean just yet.

[quote=“Pietro”][quote=“jd14t”]

I have used both and generally prefer batch priming, though it does require more attention to detail.[/quote]

+1, better to learn the right way to do it than to try a no-brainer method.[/quote]

I don’t necessarily disagree with the sentiment but curious as to what makes you say either is the “right way” to do it

because one way is allowing the brewer to calculate sugar additions based on a desired final level of carbonation, whereas the other is meant to be a ‘catch all’ and will carbonate a stout/bitter to the same level as a saison.

Carbonation and packaging are extremely important to delivering a good final product to the drinker. One size does not fit all.

[quote=“Pietro”]because one way is allowing the brewer to calculate sugar additions based on a desired final level of carbonation, whereas the other is meant to be a ‘catch all’ and will carbonate a stout/bitter to the same level as a saison.

Carbonation and packaging are extremely important to delivering a good final product to the drinker. One size does not fit all.[/quote]

That’s a good argument for one method being more precise and/or flexible, perhaps even better, still don’t think either way is wrong, but to each their own I guess.

I just bottled Monday using fizz tabs on five gallons of Caribou Slobber. The OG was 1.052, FG 1.012 after 23 days in primary.

Last Wednesday, I topped off a bottle with beer used to take the specific gravity reading and a bit more from the fermentation tank (which is really just a bottling bucket with an airlock and spigot). I don’t have a secondary.

I checked that bottle today (1 week later, the minimum time on the instructions for “bottle conditioning”). It has a cloud of green sludge on the bottom where the sugar presumably dissolved. It does not look carbonated. The other 40 or so bottles are also now developing green sludge.

I put that early test bottle back into the case for another week, but am worried that something has gone wrong. Is it possible all the yeast was consumed and that the carbonation phase is not going to work? Most of the bottles were 16 oz and received one fizz tab. The 22 oz and flip tops got 2.

Not liking the look of things…

[quote=“Grants”]I just bottled Monday using fizz tabs on five gallons of Caribou Slobber. The OG was 1.052, FG 1.012 after 23 days in primary.

Last Wednesday, I topped off a bottle with beer used to take the specific gravity reading and a bit more from the fermentation tank (which is really just a bottling bucket with an airlock and spigot). I don’t have a secondary.

I checked that bottle today (1 week later, the minimum time on the instructions for “bottle conditioning”). It has a cloud of green sludge on the bottom where the sugar presumably dissolved. It does not look carbonated. The other 40 or so bottles are also now developing green sludge.

I put that early test bottle back into the case for another week, but am worried that something has gone wrong. Is it possible all the yeast was consumed and that the carbonation phase is not going to work? Most of the bottles were 16 oz and received one fizz tab. The 22 oz and flip tops got 2.

Not liking the look of things…[/quote]

Whoah…

First things first, a week is WAY too short a time for beer to carbonate in bottles. Minimum three weeks for me.

Second, yeast doesn’t get consumed. It’s a living colony, and will likely rise to the occasion more often than not.

That being said, let’s talk about a couple of things. First, explain “topping off.”. Did you open a bottle and dump in extra beer that had been hanging out in a bucket and test jar for a couple of days? If so, no bueno. Bottle at bottling day and don’t fiddle until you want to drink.

Second, let’s talk green sludge. Sludge happens with bottle conditioning. When you say green, I’ve got questions. Are you bottling in brown bottles? Might not be able to tell the color of the sludge in tinted bottles. If you are in clear bottles, consider something that blocks light. If your sludge really is green, it could be hops… Tough to say, though.

Thanks for responding.

The Caribou Slobber instructions have a week as a minimum bottle condition, but it’s good to know longer is generally better. I was, fo course, hoping to crack one open after a week and have a nice, cabonated taste of beer that tasted quite good flat after fermentation ended. http://www.northernbrewer.com/documenta … lobber.pdf

Yeast: I thought it could kinda die…So there’s no possibility that I won’t get carbonation because the yeast potency is gone?

Clarification: I used the (still sealed) fermentor spigot to fill the specific gravity tube. I tasted it (good) and then immediately poured the rest into a bottle. Since it did not fill the bottle, I topped it off with more beer from the spigot, dropped in a fizz drop, capped it, and put it in the closet for a week.

Green Sludge: I am bottling in brown bottles, so my color perception is refracted by that. Again, this is my first batch. But that bottle, after a week, looks nasty rather than tasty.