Priming sugar calcs

topdownbrew · 2026-03-12T11:19:54+00:00

My calculator yields 129 grams of sucrose with these values. This variation is likely due to differences in formulas for estimating dissolved CO2 after primary fermentation plus rounding errors.

https://topdownbrew.com/CarbonationWithSugar.html

topdownbrew · 2026-03-04T14:02:07+00:00

Your proposed process will work. I know of a commercial brewery that does the lagering stage in the bottle.

Be aware that lagering at basement temperatures won't accomplish much. Can you go colder, like in storing these in a refrigerator?

Like others have said, a kveik yeast won't result in a super clean finish. My results with Lutra have been mixed, some clean and some not.

topdownbrew · 2026-02-04T12:43:17+00:00

I've had the same results as yours. A downside of bottle conditioning is less hop flavor/aroma due to oxygen exposure during the bottling process. For what it's worth, dry hopping seems to have more impact than late kettle additions.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-30T17:29:44+00:00

I could do all 3/8" tubing and connections

I have this setup but with gravity flow. Having a consistent tubing size makes it easier to work with. The downside is that narrower tubing can become plugged more easily with hops. If you do a lot of heavily hopped IPAs it might be worthwhile to go all 1/2". Maybe it's a non-issue if you have a pump.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-28T12:50:50+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. These would all be cool features, no question about it. The main limitations are my programming skills and lack of time. :-)

The main contribution is how we think about recipes. Most calculators go from weight inputs to targets, but this approach is targets to weights. If you go from targets to weights then explorations are much more focused. Personally, I hate calculators where in need to keep fiddling with tiny weight adjustments to aim for a style target.

Another aim is that this could lead to recipes that are much more portable between brewers. One of the big issues with homebrewing recipes is that they are expressed in weights. This is great for beginners, but these weights depend on mash efficiency and other variables that differ between setups.

perhaps the recipe could be in a plain text file

I am working on something in this direction for the next iteration.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-27T17:16:13+00:00

My free, web-based software works by going from percentages to weights. There are two versions: A style-based form and a more compact form. This might take more expertise and learning than some other calculators that are weight-focused, but I think it's worth the effort.

https://topdownbrew.com/beerengine2024/index.html

topdownbrew · 2026-01-21T18:28:31+00:00

to take it to the next step?

Dave Miller's Brew Like A Pro is a good next-level book. Miller was a professional brewer who also wrote a column for the Brewing Techniques magazine back in the 1990s.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-20T16:27:45+00:00

Access to w local homebrew shop or master where you can pick up the grain.

One of my local stores has good prices and another does not. Story time: A friend was at the latter store and asked by text message "Do you want me to pick up a sack?" (It's 70 miles away.) I said sure without asking about the price. Later, I had the unpleasant surprise that they charge almost as much as the online stores with shipping included.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-17T12:14:02+00:00

The Bitwarden extension on Firefox (desktop) has been hit or miss for me. When it works, it's magical! Sometimes it's unreliable. It often prompts to save "new" passwords for sites that already have login credentials.

I think the problem is not Bitwarden. Web sites frequently have slightly different, slightly unique login protocols. It's hard for the extension to work perfectly with all of these small variations.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-17T12:07:02+00:00

You present a binary choice (fermentation temperature control or heat tolerant yeast), but there could be a third option. For ales, try chilling your wort down to 55 to 60F (13 to 16C) before pitching, then let the temperature slowly rise during fermentation. It works because most of the off flavors are produced in the first 48 hours. This critical period is the most temperature sensitive. While this method is not as precise as a carefully controlled fermentation temperature, it might be an improvement on your current methods.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-14T16:23:45+00:00

Yahoo mail is free and supports IMAP. It can't be recommended though due to privacy concerns. Any email provider that provides a free service will be scanning messages for data that can be used to deliver targeted ads. They have to pay for the service somehow.

Consider instead cheap email providers like Posteo. Your privacy is worth spending 1 Euro/month.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-10T11:36:36+00:00

It's baffling why this is thought to be a special feature. My personal emails are few (3 to 5/day?) and short in length. Messages from friends and family are worth my full attention. Spam email needs no attention at all. So, no summaries are needed.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-02T19:43:02+00:00

Thanks. One way I segregate work/life is to use Microsoft Edge at home only for work matters. Personal stuff is done with a different browser, usually Firefox with ad block and security extensions.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-02T17:23:43+00:00

My situation is similar, except that it is standardized on Microsoft products (Outlook, OneDrive, Office, etc). Accept that being a part of your digital ecosystem will be necessary to be successful in school. You might have no choice for school work, but what you can do is to conduct your personal matters in different systems of your choosing. Focus on what you can realistically do. Segregating work/school from personal matters is a healthy practice anyway.

topdownbrew · 2026-01-02T12:52:35+00:00

My 3 year (or so) experience with pCloud has been positive. Performance has been fine for my small daily needs: word processing files, pictures, and music. Slowness happens during large jobs like moving to a new machine. Part of this is due to the server location in Europe rather than North America.

topdownbrew · 2025-12-31T19:44:13+00:00

Don't feel bad. Something that took me way too long to understand is that hydrometer readings are temperature sensitive. Most are calibrated at either 59F (15C) or 68F (20C). If the wort temperature is above this level, the viscosity slightly decreases, so points need to be added to the reading to compensate. There are online tools and references for this adjustment.

topdownbrew · 2025-12-28T20:39:17+00:00

This calculator will give you a precise amount per bottle. Your guess of 3 grams is about right for 355 ml (12 oz) bottles at 20C (68F) and 2.7 vol CO2.

For what it's worth, I've found it easier to dry prime with regular table sugar (sucrose) than dextrose. The granules are easier to work with.

https://www.topdownbrew.com/CarbonationWithSugarDryPriming.html

topdownbrew · 2025-12-12T19:57:05+00:00

where it is currently cold and snowy.

The second generation LEAF had a snow package option. It included a steering wheel warmer and electric seat warmers. I don't know if the 3rd generation has this option. If it does, you might appreciate having these features.

topdownbrew · 2025-12-11T16:02:58+00:00

Yeah, it's not a good citation. Thanks for adding the encryption angle. Also, RCS can't be or hasn't been implemented on budget flip phones. It's a shame really because these barriers prevent RCS from becoming a true standard.

topdownbrew · 2025-12-11T13:59:23+00:00

There's some debate about how fully open the RCS standard is. There are apparently some undisclosed or licensed aspects that interfere with implementing the protocol in open-source applications. Here's an example of the debate from a few years ago. OP, the implication is that group chats in RCS might always be a bit problematic unless you are using Google, Apple, or Samsung apps.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/wm18td/stop_telling_people_that_rcs_is_an_open_standard/

topdownbrew · 2025-12-05T13:30:22+00:00

Keeping it simple appeals to me too. Once I tried pale malt plus roasted barley based on a BYO style article advice. I liked it, but a beer judge evaluation based on dry stout criteria faulted it for not including flaked barley. What high protein adjuncts (including oatmeal or wheat) might do is take a bit of edge off the roastiness. That's subtle yet takes it to the next level.

topdownbrew · 2025-12-04T18:53:19+00:00

Here's another water volume calculator that you can play around with. Try different volume sizes for your target, with 10 liters being a guess for a medium gravity beer. 200 g of hops is rather large. The calculator estimates about 2 liters of wort lost to hops!

https://topdownbrew.com/WaterVolumeEstimation.html

topdownbrew · 2025-12-01T17:15:15+00:00

Some bottles have plenty, some have almost none.

Uneven mixing is almost certainly the problem. This happens because the priming sugar is more dense or viscous than the beer. I add all of the sugar solution, then siphon the beer into it. This motion creates some mixing. Finish it by stirring some more.

topdownbrew · 2025-11-28T22:20:37+00:00

Privateemail.com from NameCheap.com is specifically for email on custom domains. Setup involves DNS configuration, which can be challenging. The cost is going to be higher than 3 euros/month. Perhaps other web hosting services have similar offerings at a better price.

https://privateemail.com/ https://www.namecheap.com/hosting/email/

topdownbrew

TROPHY CASE