Best way to carbonate?

[fretlessman71]

Priming sugar just seems like cheating. Is there a more beer-y way to prime? I've heard of using unfermented wort, extra DME, honey... what are the pros and cons of each? Do they affect the head much, or just the flavor?

[b3s]

honey is harder, you'll need to determine the SG of the particular honey to figure out how much to use and honey takes longer. otoh, the one time i did this, it yielded a very interesting flavor.

DME is easier, use twice the amount as for corn sugar. i guess it's more beery, but to tell you the truth, i can't really tell the difference.

another way to go is to save some wort from the boil (maybe boil it down so there is less water) and use that (i think it's called krausening and it's pretty hard to get right from what i've heard).

or you could always force carbonate. my opinion on the corn sugar vs. DME vs. force carbonation...CO2 is CO2.

[brewmonkey]

Kraeusening would be taking a beer that has fermented and adding a volume of freshly fermenting beer (usually while it is at high kraeusen) to it for carbonation.


The best way to carbonate is the one that gets the job done the way you wuold like. I prefer to "false" carbonate as I can get to the desired volume of CO2 quickly.

[YamahaXS]

there is no cheating IMO.

the amount of sugar used for priming is so small compared to the total amount of fermentables that it simply doesn't matter.

I force carbonate my kegs, and prime with corn sugar when i bottle.

[wortchillergoal]

I like priming with DME. I have been told it is diffcult to prime with wort saved from the boil. There is a formula to use and it is in Charlie P's book. I also believe the wort from the boil is called gyule(spelling).

[S.F.B.]

I like to use DME when I bottle. I just tried keg conditioning. I'll see how that turns out. Usually I force carbonate the kegs. I don;t think anything that gets you to the desired cO2 level is cheating.

[Redbird Fan]

is there a reasonable way to measure the CO2 level in homebrewing?