Conditioning Tablets - thoughts?

No, they're just expensive sugar tablets, and they don't allow precise control over carbonation levels.

 

Not in my opinion.
Only if you can't use scale and an online priming calculator. If your beers are carbing screwy, tabs are not the answer. Few people rely on them because priming with a the proper weight (not volume) of sugar is easy.

 

You won't have exact control over the level of carbonation with these and they will cost you significantly more than table sugar

 

If you only occasionally condition a few bottles, probably worth having on hand. Definitely not for an entire batch; bulk priming is the way to go there. There are handy alternatives that you already have too:

If you want to condition just a few bottles, 2ml of maple syrup per 12oz bottle gives ~2.5 volumes. We always have maple syrup handy but you could easily make a syrup with table sugar and calculate the amount needed per bottle. Dispensing liquid into bottles with a syringe is much more accurate and consistent than weighing out tiny amounts of sugar, or especially, measuring out fractions of a teaspoon.

 

I bought some several years ago (Coopers)...thinking they would save me some time...but most are still there in my beer cupboard. Kegging was more fulfilling and satisfying

Just looked...must have given them away...could only find the Campden tablets I haven't used either (RO for me)

 

I never used them. I won't say that I never have had priming issues with my beer, but they all but disappeared once I started using a priming calculator and a balance for weighing sugar instead of following the old 3/4 c of corn sugar advice. A good calculator like this will tell you how much you need: http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html
Weigh sugar out accurately. (I use table sugar when I bottle prime).
Dissolve in about a cup of boiling water (don't scorch the sugar).
Begin racking beer to bottling bucket and add the sugar water.
Give contents a gentle stir after filling is complete;
patiently allow 5-15 minutes to pass for sugar concentration to equilibrate.
Bottle/

 

I've never used anything like it, but i am thinking about it. Check out these Prime Dose capsules.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/prime-dose-carbonation-tablets-200-count.html

 

That's nothing more than very expensive sugar in a fancy package. Whoever came up with that is a marketing genius, I'll gladly buy some cheap gel caps, fill them with sugar, and sell you a small bottle of them for half that price.

 

And still make a killing!

 

Waste of time and money. I use my bottling bucket for everything, even 1 gallon batches.

 

I have bought some. I've used them when I've split 5 gallon batches; 3 gal to keg and 2 gal to bottle condition. Your better off with regular sugar (or dextrose).

 

Can't you do roughly the same thing with a bag of sugar and a 1/4 tsp. measuring spoon?

 

I'll take you up on that

 

I bought a bag of them conditioning tablets for batches that come over what I'm putting in the keg. I use 22oz bottles and for a few batches of beer, I've used them and toyed with them and had good results. They are pretty convenient and they do carbonate the styles I've brewed pretty consistently. It was fun using them but I think these guys have better ways of doing it. More economical, but hey, they do work. styles I brewed for these batches. I've brewed a vienna ale, a BDSA, and a wheat beer. worked out pretty good. I bought a bag of 200 tablets for 4 dollars.

 

Yes you can and I have on several occasions with good results. Only problem is a bit less control, but for a few bottles it definitely works.

 

I used to be curious about those drops, but once I started batch priming, I never looked back. (although I did overcarbonate my Floral Saison a few years ago. Bottle rockets.)

 

Conditioning tablets are quite useful if you get all the way finished with bottling, THEN notice that your sugar solution is still sitting on the stove top. Don't ask me how I know this.

Otherwise, you are better off doing it the regular way.

 

As far as the "prime dose" capsules from northern brewer, I believe they are sugar and yeast mixed together, designed for high abv beers or beers that have undergone an extended lagering and may not have enough viable yeast to bottle condition. That being said, batch priming with corn sugar and a measured amount of CBC-1 yeast will do the same thing quite a bit cheaper.