I just brewed a clone of Fuller’s ESB and will put it in a 5 gallon corny keg. I want to carbonate with corn sugar, but don’t know how much to add. Any suggestions?
I’ve had pretty good luck using 1/2 the amount I’d use if bottling. Cheers!!!
Try 2.5 to 3 oz for the entire 5 gallons.
Thanks for the advice. I’ll give it a shot.
not speaking from experience here, as I’ve only force carbonated kegs. but…Euge suggests 2.5 to 3 oz of sugar. I’d suggest going with the higher amount since it’s easy to bleed off excess carbonation from the keg if you find it over=carbonated for style or personal taste, but you can’t add natural carbonation as easily. of course, you could boost it with forced carb if desired. don’t think you’ll see any difference. hopefully, you’ll hit right on target, but just sayin’
Have you considered just force carbonating to a desired level. This can be done with the use CO2, no corn sugar needed. For an ESB apply 12psi @ 40F for 1-2 weeks and it will be ready to serve. This method of carbonating allows for better control of the carbonation process.
^^^^ That. I assume you’re gonna use CO2 to dispense, so you may as well use it to force carb. I would also be a little nervous about getting a good seal starting from 0 psi.
If I’m reading the carbonation chart correctly that would give you about 2.5 volumes of CO2 right? Is that what you carb your ESB’s up to?
I really wish some one could give a definitive answer on
how much priming sugar to use when kegging.
The info I have found is all over the place.
Here is what I have learned
- I have heard, or read to use 1/2 (or 2/3 or 1/3 or 3/4) but never done it.
- I use 1/2 (or 2/3 or 1/3 or 3/4) and it works for me
- Use less then when bottling because you can always carb it more with your CO2 tank
- Use more then when bottling because you can always bleed off excess CO2
- Use the same amount as bottling, the “use 1/2 the amount” is just “brew lore”
Hasn’t anyone ever brewed a ten gallon batch stuck it two kegs and primed with
varying amounts, and determined the right amount??? ???
That’s right. Not to style… but to my liking. :)
Actually it’s a little less than 2.5 volumes because my beer fridge is running at 36F right now.
ive been carbonating my kegs at 13psi for 2 weeks before driniking. Just put my Belgian Wit in the keezer last night actually. 
I usually Hit my Keg with 25# CO2, shake for about 2 minutes, let it sit for 48 hours and then drop to serving pressure and blow off once. Usually it works great and I am drinking it after 48 hours.
Even if someone did do that, that would be what works for them with their setup and that style of beer. There just isn’t a definitive answer, anyone who claims to give you one is lying. They’re giving you starting points, you can tweak later to get the level of carbonation you want.
I like using this calculator. It may not be perfect, but it beats the “add 1-1/4 cup of DME” blanket method. 
Yea that’s kind of what I figured.
The most telling was putting pressure on one to seal the lid and the other none. The keg that didn’t get any extra pressure was satisfactorily carbonated but was obviously much less so than the other keg.
My opinion is prime as you would bottles and leave it at that. If it is too much/not enough for the brewer’s tastes scale back or increase accordingly next time.
BYO has a nice article about kegging.
The author states that when using priming sugar he sawed 2 inches off the bottom of his dip tube…sounds like a good idea to keep the sediment down.
I’m new to kegging and haven’t tried natural carbonation, but I know a couple people who have had great success at it.
As far as amt. of sugar to use, I always 5 oz. for 4 or more gallons of well attenuated beer and my bottles have always had more than adequate carbonation and never too much (just make sure you have good attenuation or you’ll have problems).
As stated above, you can always pull the relief valve if you have to much carbonation, so you could probably get away with slight over-priming to ensure your beer is adequately carbonated.
There’s a bazillion ways to do this. Try what sounds reasonable from the opinions above, and adjust as necessary. It’s called empirical research. No matter what, you can drink it and it will be good.
I used Gelatin to clear a keg of Boh Pilsner. If i force carbonate and want to shake the keg will this defeat the gelatin fining, or should i just pressurixe the keg and let it sit for 1-2 weeks?