By Tim Curran
Unknown date
Carbonation
Ever have a "gusher"? Achieving the correct carbonation level is sometimes a hit or miss proposition when bottling beer. Those who keg can turn a knob and dial in a desired level. Bottlers need to know how much priming sugar to add. The books often refer to 3/4 cup corn sugar, but many brewers deviate from this based on their own experience.
A more reliable method is presented here, based on a 1995 Zymurgy article . Regardless of the method, it is recommended that you measure your priming sugar by weight instead of volume. The volume can vary quite a bit depending on how fine the sugar is ground and how packed it is. A "weight watchers" type of gram scale works well. They usually have both gram and ounce scales. Note 1 ounce is about 28 grams.
The amount of carbonation depends not only on how much priming sugar you add, but also on the amount of CO2 already in solution at the time of bottling. Since the beer has been releasing CO2 throughout the fermentation process, it is already saturated with the gas at the end of fermentation. This contributes some gas, but not enough. The residual gas is also a function of temperature. The colder the beer was during fermentation, the more dissolved CO2 it will contain and the less priming sugar is required.
You also have to ask yourself how much carbonation do you want? Different styles call for different amounts. British ales are usually on the low side, in the 1.8 to 2.2 range. German lagers and ales are around 2.5, American beers in the 2.6 - 2.8 range and wheat beers up at 3 volumes.
So what is a 'volume' of CO2? One volume is the space the gas would require at standard pressure and temperature of 32 degrees F and 1 atmosphere (normal air pressure), relative to the beer volume. Thus 2 volumes of CO2 would take up 10 gallons of space for a 5-gallon batch.
The table shows how many grams of sugar are required for a desired amount of carbonation (measured in volumes) given the temperature of the beer at bottling time (not serving time). This is for a 5 gallon batch.
It is very important to note that fermentation must be complete or all bets are off. Priming sugar only raises the specific gravity by roughly 0.002 points, so if your gravity is say 1.014 but on its way to 1.012, better wait a little longer before bottling. Otherwise you'll end up with almost twice the carbonation desired. There should be zero activity in the air lock before attempting bottling. Of course, when you move the carboy you'll kick up some CO2, so don't interpret that for active fermentation. Also, please note the chart is for a 5 gallon batch. Adjust priming sugar up or down proportionally to the amount of beer to be bottled.
About Bleach
Household bleach is a popular cleaner and sanitizer used by many home brewers. It is often referred to as chlorine bleach, but technically this is incorrect. It is usually a 5% solution of sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl, in water. From brewing magazines and books there appears to be some concern that bleach is bad for the environment and possibly contributing to ozone depeletion (perhaps because of the chlorine atom in the formula). My research shows bleach to be a well investigated substance that has few negatives and many positives associated with it.
Bleach has been in use over 200 years for a variety of applications, the most common being cleaning, sanitizing and laundry whitening. Note that it is both a cleaner and sanitizer, whereas many items sold for brewing purposes are one or the other. In normal use the bleach breaks down into salt (NaCl), oxygen (O2) and water (the universal solvent H2O). There can be reactions with other items to produce a small amount of organic halides, but these are generally water-soluble. Highly chlorinated species, such as dioxins, are not formed. The conclusion of the Swedish Environmental Research Institute was that sodium hypochlorite "does most probably not create environmental problems when used in the right manner and in recommended
quantities".
Bleach has a pH of between 11 and 13, so it is very alkaline. This is one reason not to mix it with other chemicals, especially ammonia, unless specifically advised to. I do mix bleach with laundry soap when washing beer bottles. And I wear gloves. As mentioned, bleach can be used for both sanitizing and cleaning. However, the amount needed varies greatly depending on the task. If something is already clean, a very small amount is all that's needed, only a teaspoon per gallon of water. More is needed for cleaning, as the organic materials you are trying to remove will consume the bleach. Mostly bleach needs time to work its magic. Be patient and let it do its work. Some people prefer iodophors just for the reason that they are fast acting.
To rinse or not to rinse?
Rinsing is always a concern for home brewers. Books tell us that in low concentrations rinsing is not needed, but most of us like to anyway. I always rinse, even though logic tells me the organic materials within the beer will consume any trace amount of bleach (although some books say to always rinse after using bleach). My preferred method for bottles is a bucket of warm water with a little washing soda (sodium carbonate), followed by a hot water blast from the bottle jet washer. My daughter has a good nose and I have her judge when a bottle has been adequately rinsed. A recent Zymurgy magazine discussed the use of sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) as a means of removing traces of bleach. This is also known as sodium hyposulfate, or hypo, the same chemical used to fix photographic film. However Kodak fixer also has other film hardening chemical within, so I can't recommend it. Sodium thiosulfate is supposedly available from pool and spa equipment supplies as it is used for the same purpose - scavenging bleach from a recently sanitized container. It should be followed with a hot water rinse.
Sources: Why life's a bleach (The Sodium Hypochlorite Story)
By Dr. John Fletcher and Don Ciancone
Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc.
also www.clorox.com
