Some bottles too fizzy, some totally flat

jpc8015 · 02-08-2012, 12:03 AM

I bottled a batch of Janet's Brown from morebeer.com about six weeks ago. Some of the bottles are completely flat while others are all foam. My thought is that the priming sugar didn't mix in good enough and that a good stir, without splashing, will evenly distribute the sugar and fix the problem. Any thoughts?

lzrdkng14 · 02-08-2012, 12:05 AM

I had the same problem and it was because I did not evenly distribute the priming sugar...

solbes · 02-08-2012, 12:06 AM

Probably. It's usually either over/under primed with sugar by inadequate mixing. Or a temperature inbalance where some bottles are much warmer than others. Time of course is an important factor, but 6 weeks sounds like plenty of time for that beer.

cshamilton · 02-08-2012, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpc8015

I bottled a batch of Janet's Brown from morebeer.com about six weeks ago. Some of the bottles are completely flat while others are all foam. My thought is that the priming sugar didn't mix in good enough and that a good stir, without splashing, will evenly distribute the sugar and fix the problem. Any thoughts?

Did you boil the priming sugar in 1-2 cups of water, then add to bottling bucket, and rack on top? The normal swirling generated by this method is enough to evenly distribute a normal 5 gallon batch. Some people do stir, but unless you added sugar after you started racking - you shouldn't need to.

How long did you chill the beer before opening? It needs at least 24 hours (48 is better) to dissolve the CO2 properly.

jpc8015 · 02-08-2012, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cshamilton

Did you boil the priming sugar in 1-2 cups of water, then add to bottling bucket, and rack on top? The normal swirling generated by this method is enough to evenly distribute a normal 5 gallon batch. Some people do stir, but unless you added sugar after you started racking - you shouldn't need to.

How long did you chill the beer before opening? It needs at least 24 hours (48 is better) to dissolve the CO2 properly.

The beer chilled for a bit less than 24 hours. I just threw a couple of 22 ounce bottles in the fridge and will let them chill for a couple of days.

I will report back.

jpc8015 · 02-23-2012, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpc8015

The beer chilled for a bit less than 24 hours. I just threw a couple of 22 ounce bottles in the fridge and will let them chill for a couple of days.

I will report back.

The bottles that I let chill for 48-72 hours were also flat. I am convinced that the priming sugar didn't get distributed properly. I bottled an IPA last weekend and made sure to give the beer a good stir to mix the priming sugar in. Those bottles will have a chance to condition for about 15 weeks because i won't have a chance to get to them until June.