From my research I have found the two main methods with which to achieve carbonation, fortunately I have some experience with both:
- Coopers carbonation drops – dropping a Coopers carbonation drop into the recommended amount of beer based on bottle size. The amount is advised as two drops for 750ml bottle and one drop for a 375ml bottle. This can be a little cumbersome if you have 440ml or 550ml bottles as this saw me trying to chop some drops into quarters and three quarters and eventually making all too much of a sticky mess. Overall it is a very easy option as all you have to do is drop the sugar tab into the bottle before you fill it with beer. A simpler solution is even to use normal table sugar in each bottle instead of expensive Coopers drops.
- Batch priming – this is my preferred method for two reasons: the first being consistent carbonation across the entire batch and secondly it produces a nice, clear beer. The method does require a second bucket, but produces a much better result in my opinion.
- a bucket (with a tap attachment) large enough to hold your batch – I use the first bucket I purchased for my kit beer brewing days...works a treat
- a mixing spoon/ladle
- a syphon tube
- bottle caps and a bottle capper
- empty bottles of course!
- measure out some sugar based on a basic guideline of 5gr sugar to every litre of beer. This means for my mini all grain batches I use around 20-25gr of sugar. Chuck that into a small pot with about 120ml of water and then bring it to the boil for around seven to ten minutes with the lid on. Once it has bubbled away remove from heat and leave it to cool down (still with the lid on) to room temperature.
* In the meantime take a second bucket and start with some kind of sterilization noise – for me this means 10ltrs of water and 15ml of Iodophor which I just shake around and wipe up the sides
- With this throw in your syphoning tube, mixing spoon and bottle filling tube and let it sit in the bucket in the sanitizing solution until the sugar solution is cooled down.
- At this point you want to start cleaning your bottles first with a bottle brush under some hot water and then add it to the sanitizing mixture – ensure they fill up and sit in there for at least two minutes each. If your bottles are really dirty or if you are not in the habit of rinsing it out immediately after you pour out a beer, you will have some mouldy yeast "bewegings" clinging for dear life at the foot of the bottle. This will require some more intense pre-cleaning with some hot water/household bleach solution instead of just a bottle brush and hot water. Make sure to get rid of this caking and the bleach smell before putting the bottles into the sanitizing solution!
- Once you can touch the outside of the pot holding your sugary water without burning your fingers, it is time to press on...
- Back to the bucket, take out the syphon tube, mixing spoon and whatever bottles you forgot about and scoop some solution into a bowl to do the bottle caps in a minute
- take the bucket to the nearest sink and run some of the sanitizing solution out the tap and pour the rest out of the bucket
- Once empty, chuck the sugar solution into the bucket and then very carefully and without introducing splashes or too much noise syphon the beer from your fermenter into the bucket
- now use your sanitized spoon to mix it about for a couple of seconds and then leave it all to get acquainted for 15-20min
- at this point you can chuck your bottle caps into some of the saved solution
- Once it feels sufficient, attach the bottling tube and start filling up your bottles
- take the caps straight out of the solution and smash them onto the bottles if you feel like the Hulk, but probably better to use a proper bottle capper
Next up – in what I guess will be part four technically – serving your beer to your mates and getting them to give you some constructive feedback for your next batch. Until then, I salute you!
Cheers.