My first batch finished, weak carbonation

Wulfonce · 03-11-2010, 06:05 AM

I just completed my first batch. Taking you peoples advice, I decided to add my priming sugar (boiled and liquefied) to the whole batch rather then the more time consuming method of adding sugar to individual bottles.

I did the batch with a Barons kit. It gives you 3 choices for carbonation levels. Low, med, and high which I believe is 1/4 cup of corn sugar, 1/2, and 1. I went for a high amount of carbonation. Whatever the case may be after 2 weeks the beer came out with only a small amount of carbonation and an almost non-existent head. The alcohol content seems really low as well. I struggle to get a buzz off it even when drinking excessively. (every mans gotta test out his beer)

The beer itself tastes amazing. It far exceeded my expectations of whats possible with home brewing.

So with my second batch on the go, my questions are:

-Is it safe to add say 2cups of corn sugar instead of 1 in a 6 us gal batch? I'm a little paranoid about caps blowing off. (assuming that can even happen)

-Is there a point in which you can mess up the batch by adding to much sugar when bottling?

-does the air gap in the bottle effect carbonation in any way? I left approximately 2-2.5" of air in every bottle.

-how do you measure the alcohol content of your beer?

**Blender** · 03-11-2010, 06:15 AM

I wouldn't add 2 cups of sugar as you are liable to have bottle bombs. You should really wait 3-4 weeks with the brew stored at 70 degrees to achieve good carbonation.

To measure ABV you need to know your starting and ending gravity and multiply the difference by 131.

HOOTER · 03-11-2010, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wulfonce

-Is it safe to add say 2cups of corn sugar instead of 1 in a 6 us gal batch? I'm a little paranoid about caps blowing off. (assuming that can even happen)

Not really. Generally 3/4 cup is sufficient for a 5 gallon batch. You could probably go as high as maybe 1 1/4 cup for 6 gallons I suppose but that's about it. The 1 cup you added to your first batch will be plenty if you give it another week or two and then refrigerate.

Quote:

-Is there a point in which you can mess up the batch by adding to much sugar when bottling?

Yes. It's generally referred to as bottle bombs. Too much priming sugar can cause extreme over-carbonation resulting in exploding bottles.

Quote:

-does the air gap in the bottle effect carbonation in any way? I left approximately 2-2.5" of air in every bottle.

You should be fine here. As I previously mentioned, refrigerate after another week or two (at 70f BTW) so the CO2 can dissolve into the beer.

Quote:

-how do you measure the alcohol content of your beer?

You need to make sure your measuring the original and final gravity with a hydrometer. Here's a calculator to help make it easy.

http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php

Erythro73 · 03-11-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOOTER

Not really. Generally 3/4 cup is sufficient for a 5 gallon batch. You could probably go as high as maybe 1 1/4 cup for 6 gallons I suppose but that's about it. The 1 cup you added to your first batch will be plenty if you give it another week or two and then refrigerate.

Yes. It's generally referred to as bottle bombs. Too much priming sugar can cause extreme over-carbonation resulting in exploding bottles.

You should be fine here. As I previously mentioned, refrigerate after another week or two (at 70f BTW) so the CO2 can dissolve into the beer.

You need to make sure your measuring the original and final gravity with a hydrometer. Here's a calculator to help make it easy.

http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php

My first batch, a stout, had a low carbonation+low head after 3 weeks when I opened a bottle. I waited some more days, and I had a much better carbonation when I opened one again! Big head and all.

So put your beers at 70, don't drink all of them, and wait 2-3 weeks again. Might seems hard, but it totally worth it. All beerss are different are react differently to different stimulus. Some take more time while others take less. It's normal.

152Sumo · 03-11-2010, 12:18 PM

check out the bottling tips sticky: Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

There is a real cool video in there showing a time lapse of carbonation up to 31 days. I doubt I will be able to keep my greedy hands off my bottles after two weeks, but after watching that video, I will try a lot harder to wait for at least 3 weeks.

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