I have an IPA that I want to cask condition in the cornie keg. How much sugar would I need to add to a 5 gal cornie to get the right level of carbonation for an IPA? I don’t have room in the keg fridge for this one and since I’m going away on vacation, I thought it would be fine to dose it with sugar and walk away for a week.
Thanks
What level of carbonation do you want? 1.2 vol would be about the maximum for a traditional cellared cask (saturation level at 10°C/50°F). So for an ale you’d need less than an ounce (30 g), depending on the fermentation/maturation temperature.
You know I used to add half the bottling sugar which was recommended by my homebrew shop (i.e. 3/8cup or ~2oz.) but I never got the carbonation I wanted. So I went back to adding the full 3/4 cup (~4oz) of corn sugar and have never looked back. My carbonation has been great.
Given its an AIPA, I think I will go a bit higher, say 1.5 to 1.7 volumes. I think it should be higher than a British Cask ale.
Thanks for that link. I think about 1.7 oz looks good. It’s gonna eventually go on CO2 anyway when I get fridge space but i thought this would get me a carbonated keg while I’m away.
If kegging I’d say shoot low and adjust with the CO2 pressure. It seems easier to add extra pressure than bleed it off.