Carbonation Drops or Sugar?

[Dribble]

Have seen the coopers carbonation drops in my LHBS and was just wondering if they are any good?

Is it worth priming the bottles with these or should I just use sugar? I'm assuming the main benefit of using the drops is convenience and knowing the bottles are all primed with the same amount...but is it worth the extra cost?

[72mgb73gt]

If you want every bottle to be primed the same then the carbonation drops are the easiest way if you use the method of putting the sugar into each bottle. I think an easier method is to rack the beer into a clean bucket, leaving all the sediment behind, add the priming sugar to the whole batch of beer and then bottle or keg from there. No need to add priming sugar to individual bottles then.

[Dribble]

Hi 72mgb73gt,

I see from your signature that you have Guinness and TT Landlord in kegs, are these from a kit or have you used a recipe and made them from scratch?

[Dribble]

Oh and roughly how much sugar should i be using with that method...would 2oz for a 40 pint brew be enough?

[72mgb73gt]

I see from your signature that you have Guinness and TT Landlord in kegs, are these from a kit or have you used a recipe and made them from scratch?

They are both recipes from Graham Wheelers book as are the Bass and Broadside that I have in my FV's at the moment.

Oh and roughly how much sugar should i be using with that method...would 2oz for a 40 pint brew be enough?

Yes, 2oz is right for 40pints. I follow Jims advise here: http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/finishing.htm

Jim is kegging his beer rather than bottling it, but the theory is the same.

[Trunky]

[Dribble]

Am I right in thinking that it takes less time to condition/mature in bottles?

I've put my first brew into a keg and have another 2 to use but am also thinking it might be nice to bottle some.

[twentyfootwilf]

In answer to the last question, yes, it takes less time to bottle condition than to condition in a keg or barrel, simply because there is less to volume. I love bottle conditioned beer, that's not to say I don't like beer out of a cask, I do, I find it very smooth. I use coopers carbonation drops when bottling, they are very easy to use and very efficient. I use 1 and a half drops per 500ml bottle. This does mean chopping some of the drops in half, but it's not too much of a problem. If you take away the cost of the sugar you would use for priming then the cost of the carbonation drops aren't really so expensive. I shall certainly keep using them.

[Andris]

In my opinion, it takes bit longer to dissolve drops in the bottles and that involves a lot of shaking. if you dont have bucket where you can transfer beer from your fermenter and bulk prime it and then bottle, then yes, those candy drops might be good idea, otherwise bulk priming beats it by far being easier.

Another thing - check if those candy drops in your packets are not too badly shaken/damaged - its like normal sugar candy - you can crack piece off it and theory about even carbonation goes under dogs tail.

[Andy]

Shaking ? I'd not want to be doing that. Don't the drops dissolve naturally over the course of a few days/weeks ?

[Trunky]

Shaking ? I'd not want to be doing that. Don't the drops dissolve naturally over the course of a few days/weeks ?

Yes they do.

[twentyfootwilf]

Shaking ? I'd not want to be doing that. Don't the drops dissolve naturally over the course of a few days/weeks ?

There is no need to shake - they will dissolve very quickly, no need to even invert the bottles a couple of times, just put in the drops then fill with beer and cap, end of story. So far it's been fine for me, but everyone has their preferred way of doing things, it's just a case of what you like best.

[Andris]

mhm.. I was under impression that you have to shake the candy until its fully dissolved. If you dont have to do that, then its definitely easy. I still have some left, will try with my next batch of 0.33l

[mickhew]

I just prime the FV directly with sugar, because, 1. I am lazy, and 2, I am tight!

[twentyfootwilf]

I got an instruction DVD with my Coopers Microbrew Kit in which they simply add the carbonation drops (they call them lollies) to the PET bottle fill it up and screw the lid on. I've done the same except I have inverted each bottle a couple of times (but it doesn't immediately dissolve the 'lolly' so I don't really know why I do it). My bottles all come out with a very acceptable amount of carbonation. I would definitely recommend giving them a go to see how you get on with them. I have to say I find them very convenient.