Newest Threads

TheZymurgist · 11-15-2012, 02:13 PM

Hmm, maybe my calculator is off. Or I input something wrong. Oh well. I'll check them this weekend and see if I need to add carb drops and recap.

zeg · 11-15-2012, 02:30 PM

I primed an ESB with about an ounce and a half of sugar, and it came out with faint but noticable carbonation. No head, but you get some bubbles and a faint line of light foam around the edge of the glass. So with 3.5 ounces, you should have SOMETHING. I've only used more than 4 ounces once, and I've had plenty of carbonation.

In your shoes, I would probably pull them out of the fridge and wait a couple weeks. Maybe the temperatures weren't uniform in your storage area, or maybe some had more yeast than others. Whatever the cause, the first couple might have been hero bottles. It's not going to hurt anything to give them a couple more weeks. If it doesn't help, then start thinking about what to do. I'd be very cautious about adding additional priming sugar, simply because you don't know for sure how much unfermented sugar is sitting in there right now.

I personally don't mind low carbonation. My ESB is very low, and I would prefer more, but if I warm it up to proper British beer temperatures, the low carbonation makes it a different, but still good, beer. Not for everyone, though.

WoodlandBrew · 11-15-2012, 02:50 PM

Good point about not knowing the residual sugar in the event that some how carbonation didn't complete in this beer. I've never seen a 6% ABV beer sitting in the low 70's fail to carbonate in two weeks, it certainly isn't bound possibility.

The worst case would be that there was very little yeast in the bottle, perhaps if the beer was crashed for a week or more before bottling. Then there might be, at most, 3 oz of sugar. So the most you would want to add would be 2 more oz of sugar. 2 oz of sugar is about 1/4 cup, which is 12 tsp.

For 48 bottles that's 1/4tsp each.

TheZymurgist · 11-19-2012, 01:06 PM

So I pulled these out of the fridge and let them sit for a week, and they've regained their carbonation. Not quite back to what it was, but it's getting there.

I entered these in a contest on Saturday, and got 2nd in the "People's Choice" category. Only lost to first by one vote!! So I'm pretty excited about this one!

***Yooper*** · 11-19-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheZymurgist

The calculator I used said it would be about 2.5 volumes, which is what I was going for. Since it's a stout and stouts are typically less carbonated.

I hate those priming calculators! Sure, "cask ales" are typically not carbonated much, but all bottled beers are, and not lower carbed than other beers normally. I've seen so many under or overcarbed beers on this forum, directly related to those priming calculator. Priming "to style" just isn't really feasible for bottle carbonating. Most Americans are used to bottled beer being 2.4-2.6 volumes of C02 regardless of style.