Gyle and Krausen Priming Calculator - Brewer's Friend
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Gyle and Krausen Priming Calculator

Calculates how much unfermented wort (aka Gyle / Speise), or Krausen is needed to hit the desired volumes of CO2 when bottling beer. Allows for a different wort (OG/FG) to be used as the gyle or krausen. Accounts for remaining gravity points in the beer if it has not yet reached final gravity. Also allows for the use of priming sugar if the amount of gyle or krausen is not enough. Breaks down the relative CO2 contributions from the beer, gyle/krausen, priming sugar, and any unfermented sugars still in the beer.

Gyle / Speise / Krausen - Priming Calculator:
Units:
Gravity Unit:
CO2 Unit:
Volume Being Packaged: (Gallons)
Target CO2 Level: (volumes)
Temperature at Bottling: (F)
Beer OG: (1.xxx)
Beer FG: (1.xxx)
 
Priming Method:
     
 
 

CO2 contributions (volumes)
Beer Unfermented
Wort
Gyle Priming Sugar Total


Gyle Needed:

Carbonation Guidelines by Style
British Style Ales 1.5 - 2.0 volumes
Belgian Ales 1.9 - 2.4 volumes
American Ales and Lager 2.2 - 2.7 volumes
Fruit Lambic 3.0 - 4.5 volumes
Porter, Stout 1.7 - 2.3 volumes
European Lagers 2.2 - 2.7 volumes
Lambic 2.4 - 2.8 volumes
German Wheat Beer 3.3 - 4.5 volumes

Priming Options: This calculator handles Gyle / Speise, and Krausening - two advanced techniques for bottle conditioning home brewed beer! These methods are a little extra work, but have advantages over table sugar, corn sugar (dextrose), or DME.
  • Priming with unfermented wort:
    Unfermented wort used for priming is called Gyle (aka Speise). There are some advantages of priming with unfermented wort. The OG is not increased by a highly concentrated sugar solution. The flavor is not altered. The approach does require saving off a little extra of the original wort and freezing it until bottling time. To ensure quality, the gyle should be defrosted and boiled for a short time, then chilled prior to bottling. You may add fresh yeast to the unfermented wort at the time of bottling. A sample off the bottom of the primary works fine.

  • Krausening:
    Priming with an actively fermenting beer is called krausening. (The German word Kräusen refers to the foamy head on top of a fermenting beer.) The objective is to get a krausen beer going, and use it for bottling when the krausen is at its peak. The gunky krausen foam is scraped off and not put into the beer. Krausening is said to actively scrub the beer of oxygen, and lead to faster bottle conditioning. Just before bottling, the gravity of the krausen beer should be taken and entered into the calculator above, such that the correct volume is used in order to hit the desired CO2 level in the finished beer.


Notes on Sugars:
If the Gyle/Krausen is not enough, the calculator will tell you how much sugar is called for to make up the difference in CO2. Corn sugar and dextrose are the same thing. Dextrose is the most popular priming sugar. Table sugar can also be used. It is assumed that corn sugar is 91% sugar, while table sugar is 100% sugar. Dry Malt Extract (DME) is another option. This calculator uses 68% attenuation for DME.

CO2 units: One volume of CO2 equals 2 g/l CO2.

For More Information:


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Legal Disclaimer: The Brewer's Friend Gyle/Speise calculator is for entertainment purposes and should not be used for professional brewing. No warranty or guarantee of accuracy is provided on the information provided by this calculator.