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Priming sugar/carb drops/spraymalt

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  • 05-06-2013 10:59am
    #1
    gosplan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,828 ✭✭✭


    Does it make a difference which of these I use? Dies it affect the flavour?

    Kit i'm using says half tsp of spraymalt per bottle but I have a pack of carbonation drops which are just a mix of sugar and glucose.


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    #2
    mayto
    Registered Users Posts: 850 ✭✭✭mayto


    gosplan wrote: »
    Does it make a difference which of these I use? Dies it affect the flavour?

    Kit i'm using says half tsp of spraymalt per bottle but I have a pack of carbonation drops which are just a mix of sugar and glucose.

    I find carb drops work fine, just put them in each bottle with a sanitised tea spoon. It can be tricky putting a small bit of sparaymalt in each bottle, but you could batch prime too.


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    #3
    sharingan
    Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭sharingan


    Carb drops are convenient, and less messy than funnelling sugar or spraymalt.

    But I find that I get my best conditioning when I batch prime, and it is easy to calculate the precise amount of carbonation if you so desire (which varies by beer style).

    Batch priming with spraymalt give some fantastic head retention characteristics. The beer is less overtly fizzy, and makes smaller bubbles, which keep a solid head.

    However, batch priming with spraymalt will take longer. I can get respectable conditioning with regular sugar in a week, but spraymalt priming will take 2 weeks minimum, and I would tend to leave it three weeks.

    Also strictly speaking your spraymalt should be boiled to sanitize it, and that will generate 'protein break' material which can make for unsightly deposits around the neck of your bottles.

    I have gotten away with boiling spraymalt and not getting those cosmetic features, but the beer in question had a lot of yeast in suspension. I have also gotten away with *not* boiling spraymalt and taken my chances with infection.

    Another option that is available to extract and all grain brewers, is wort priming: you keep some of your beers wort aside in a sterilised bottle and store in a fridge. You would need to calculate fairly precisely how much you need, but it may be a simple ratio (maybe 1 L set aside from a 20L batch). This has the advantage of not introducing any break material.

    Lastly if you had another similar batch on the go, that was fermenting vigorously (ie 1 or 2 days pitched) you could draw off some of the fermenting beer and prime with that. You get some vigorous yeast into the mix, which may help with conditioning strong beers. Its not terribly practical for home brewers, mostly for commercial brewers (and not small ones either), but it might be worth a shot if batch A is bottling when batch B is pitched.


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