Under carbed help

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Iceman6409

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Hello all. I bottled a pumpkin ale last night at 1.020. I only bottled 3 gallons as the rest went into a mini keg. I used 2.1 ounces priming sugar in one cup water. I boiled it for ten minutes and poured it in. However after I did that I realized that it looked like some of the water mixture had evaporated. So I added a very small amount of priming sugar to the wort and then bottled. If by chance I don't get a good carb in the end what would my options be to help get it to a proper carb?
 
A couple things...

1) Are you sure it was done fermenting? 1.020 might be high for a pumpkin ale, or it might be fine. A lot of extract beers get "stuck" around there. As long as you gave it plenty of time in the fermenter (2-3 weeks) it shouldn't be a concern.

2) 2.1 ounces of priming sugar for 3 gallons of beer is somewhere around 2.1-2.2 volumes of CO2, so a little bit low, but should be OK.

3) When you boil a sugar solution (priming solution, wort, etc.) the water evaporates, but not the sugar. The gravity of the priming solution increases, but the total amount of sugar does not. So you're cool.

:mug:
 
zachattack said:
a couple things...

1) are you sure it was done fermenting? 1.020 might be high for a pumpkin ale, or it might be fine. A lot of extract beers get "stuck" around there. As long as you gave it plenty of time in the fermenter (2-3 weeks) it shouldn't be a concern.

2) 2.1 ounces of priming sugar for 3 gallons of beer is somewhere around 2.1-2.2 volumes of co2, so a little bit low, but should be ok.

3) when you boil a sugar solution (priming solution, wort, etc.) the water evaporates, but not the sugar. The gravity of the priming solution increases, but the total amount of sugar does not. So you're cool.

:mug:

+1!
 
As a follow up. I was bottling a 5 gallon batch of an abbey ale. The f.g. was at 1.015. I went to make up my priming sugar solution and, of course, I only have a third of a cup of sugar in the house. Everything else was ready to roll so I just went with it rather than run to the store (I've overcarbonated in the past anyways.)

That was a week and a half ago and I opened one tonight and it is basically flat:( I'm going to wait at least through the weekend to see if a few more days makes a difference. I'm rather tolerant of under carbed beer but this was supposed to be a batch that I gave away around christmas time to friends so I want this to be somewhat bubbly.

My questions are- my house has been on the colder side this past couple of weeks just because it is cold outside (mostly like mid to high 60s), do you think this could have slowed down the carbing process? Second, at the end of the weekend, what should I do? Ad carbing tabs to all the bottles and reseal them and wait another two weeks?
 
As a follow up. I was bottling a 5 gallon batch of an abbey ale. The f.g. was at 1.015. I went to make up my priming sugar solution and, of course, I only have a third of a cup of sugar in the house. Everything else was ready to roll so I just went with it rather than run to the store (I've overcarbonated in the past anyways.)

That was a week and a half ago and I opened one tonight and it is basically flat:( I'm going to wait at least through the weekend to see if a few more days makes a difference. I'm rather tolerant of under carbed beer but this was supposed to be a batch that I gave away around christmas time to friends so I want this to be somewhat bubbly.

My questions are- my house has been on the colder side this past couple of weeks just because it is cold outside (mostly like mid to high 60s), do you think this could have slowed down the carbing process? Second, at the end of the weekend, what should I do? Ad carbing tabs to all the bottles and reseal them and wait another two weeks?

The MINIMUM for most beers is 3 weeks when kept above 70 degrees. If it's below 70, but above the yeasts dormancy temp, it will take longer than three weeks, it could take months.

There's no point in checking your beers after the weekend, they still won't be carbed. Just like there's never really a point in checking on a beer BEFORE three weeks. It more than likely would be flat....

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out.

This is your other issue, the whole "leather" or whatver.....You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience." ;)

You need to find a place where the temp doesn't drop, add some sort of heat where they are, or wait.

I have the same issues in my place in the fall winter. I've got an iron brewer beer due for submission next week, that hasn't carbed yet for the same reason. I have the beer inside a thinsulate bag with a heat belt and temp controller running it, keeping it above 70.

If you leave them alone they will carb eventually. If you add heat, they will carb eventually.

Either way patience really is the only answer, not more yeast.
 
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