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Gravity Question..Help!

trainz71 said:
Some say 3/4 cup and some say 1 cup...to 5 gallons...so I split it down the middle...not quite a full cup..would this make much difference?   Thanks!
That depends!

If your FG was 1.018 and you added 1/4 cup more than you needed, you have a potential for bottle bombs. BUT, your FG was low so you should be fine. The most that could happen is you will have some extra fizz in there. A good rule of thumb is: If you are unsure, add less! This will keep you from the dreaded bottle bombs!

The best way to measure would be with a scale! BeerSmith uses "Sugar Weight" because it is more precise and you can get very precise with your carbonation. I bought a scale off Ebay for under $10 with shipping and it helps me measure all kinds of things like hops, Belgian Candy sugar, among other things.

Cheers
Preston
 
trainz71 said:
Some say 3/4 cup and some say 1 cup...to 5 gallons...

Soap Box, part deaux.......

"Some" body should be shot for this generalization.....I *really* dislike this one.  I realize, at this stage, you may have been only thinking about getting adequate carbonation, but I cannot count the beers I've tasted at competitions that would have been much better if they had not been way too fizzy or dull and flat.  A little effort on this final step can really improve the final product you've worked for weeks to produce. 

And it's a chance to "cover" up earlier errors too.  You can pick a CO2 level to compensate for the body/MF you perceive before bottling it.  And +1 on getting a cheap digital scale. 
 
Ok...so Maltlicker...what are you saying I should do here...what is the correct adequate amount then??? How would I know if I have 2 spoons too much or less or whatever the case may be...We are still talking about 5 gallons no matter what you are brewing...so does it depend on the specific type of brew?? I mean I'm not in any competitions or anything... I just want a good tasting beer...So if I have made an error .. by all means let me know... I'm not a pro.. and don't claim too be.... just looking for the right answers...thanks again... I appreciate everyone's help...
 
Sorry, I deleted some stuff to shorten my post, but in Recipe View, look at the very bottom, section called Carbonation.  BeerSmith provides the Volumes of CO2 for each beer style.  Let's take ESB (8C) which ranges from 1.5 to 2.4 volumes.  Americans like bubbles, so we enter 2.3 volumes and the batch size is set at 5.0 gallons up top.

At 68F, BeerSmith says to use 3.86 ounces of corn sugar to reach 2.3 volumes of CO2, which would be appropriate for this beer style.  A "cup" of sugar is a measure of volume, not weight, but a "cup" of sugar typically weighes around 7 oz, or almost double the recommended sugar for this volume of this beer.

3/4 cup of sugar = 5.25 oz, still a third more sugar than recommended for an ESB.  But a hefe would be just about right with 5.46 oz sugar.  And the batch size may have started out to be 5.5 gallons, but by the time you fill the bottling bucket, you may have only 4.5 gallons which would decrease the sugar needed. 

My recommendation is get away from cups and spoons altogether, and weigh the corn sugar on a scale to match the amount of carbonation you prefer in that style beer.  With practice, you can set the carbonation just as accurately as you can IBUs and SRM (color). 
 
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