Weird carbonation thang

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Polaris96

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OK a few months ago bottling some rogenbier. Carbonating with yeast.

Used a larger than average corn sugar charge (1 1/8cups) Becasue I wanted nice foamy foamy rogenbier.

The issue is uneven carbonation.

I added the sugar charge after racking to the bottiling bucket. stirred well for about 5 min. then allowed the bier to stand about 15min before bottling.

I wasn't 100% scientific about keeping the air space exactly equal in each bottle but they weren't THAT far off - all about equal by eyeball.

Some carbonated nice n foamy. Others came out like english bitter.

Is it possible that the caps were leaking CO2? I can't think of why else there would be such disparity. the bottles were conditioned together in the same area.

Anybody had this problem?
 
Is it possible that the caps were leaking CO2?

It does happen. I've gotten rid of a few bottles here and there because they didn't carb up properly two batches in a row. If I get a beer that isn't carbed like the rest I mark the bottle with a piece of tape. If it's undercarbed the next time I use it, in the trash it goes. Sometimes there's a little unevenness along the rim of the bottle that prevents the caps from making a good seal.

Then again, other times I've found that the bottle is fine. In those cases I mostly blame it me being lazy while bottling and just didn't push down quite hard enough on the capper for that one.
 
Also, its a better idea in the future to dissolve the priming sugar in water and then rack your beer on top of that. Trying to stir and dissolve the sugar after racking will lead to an uneven mix. Not to mention excessive oxygenation.
 
OK my bad :) I did, in fact, dissolve the sugar and boil the solution, which was then allowed to cool and added to the bottling bucket with a healthy shot of CO2 on top to prevent oxygen contamination as I gently stirred during rthe racking.

I always bottle condition for at least 30 days. The time period had no visible effect on carbonation, though. Some of the early bottles were nicely hefeweiss'ish while some of the eldest (it took about 3 months to drink everything) were positively english in character. There were varying levels of carbonation across the batch during all periods of consumption.

I will definitely be paying closer attention to the capper, this go around. Is it worthwhile to switch to one of the fancy bench mounted cappers?
 
Did you add the priming solution to wort that was already racked in the bucket or did you pour the priming solution into an empty bottling bucket and then rack the wort on top of the priming solution?

I would bet capping has nothing to do with your issue.
 
the wing capper never gave me any issues. only thing i can think of is either they need more time. (sometimes it takes a long time) or they didn't get capped well enough :( sorry i can't offer anything else.
 
Make sure you put them all in the fridge for at least 3 days before serving as well. While conditioning/carbing at 70ish degrees, a large % of the carb will actually just linger in the dead space of the bottle. At 70, it slowly dissolves into the solution, but not very fast. At 34-36, however, it only takes AT LEAST 36 hours or so for all of that carbonation to dissolve into the solution.

A beer with lots of carb in the headspace will gush a bit when you open it and pour with alot of thin head that dissipates very quickly.

A beer with lots of carb actually dissolved into the solution WON'T gush when you open it and will have a smaller, but thicker, longer lasting head.
 
Did you add the priming solution to wort that was already racked in the bucket or did you pour the priming solution into an empty bottling bucket and then rack the wort on top of the priming solution?

I would bet capping has nothing to do with your issue.


Alright. I almost feel ungrateful doing this, but it's for the common good.

I want you to explain to me how the timeliness of addition would effect the fermentation properties of a solution that was agitated in an anoxic environment (under a cloud of CO2, that is) after the addition.

The solution was definitely homogenous by the time bottling commenced.

Have you figured out yet that I'm an Engineer? My Chem professors were all MEAN (except one - i was in love with her). No way would they entertain your comment without a good explanation.

So, please enlighten me about the timeliness of adding syrup.

And also, please explain what you think this problem may relate to, since you've ruled out capping...
 
Make sure you put them all in the fridge for at least 3 days before serving as well. While conditioning/carbing at 70ish degrees, a large % of the carb will actually just linger in the dead space of the bottle. At 70, it slowly dissolves into the solution, but not very fast. At 34-36, however, it only takes AT LEAST 36 hours or so for all of that carbonation to dissolve into the solution.

A beer with lots of carb in the headspace will gush a bit when you open it and pour with alot of thin head that dissipates very quickly.

A beer with lots of carb actually dissolved into the solution WON'T gush when you open it and will have a smaller, but thicker, longer lasting head.


This is interesting and thanks for the advice. It makes total sense and I hadn't considered it. It probably wasn't the major factor in this case. Most of the beers had been in the reefer for a few days by the time I cracked them. I will keep it in mind though.

Thank you, sir.
 
Alright. I almost feel ungrateful doing this, but it's for the common good.

I want you to explain to me how the timeliness of addition would effect the fermentation properties of a solution that was agitated in an anoxic environment (under a cloud of CO2, that is) after the addition.

The solution was definitely homogenous by the time bottling commenced.

Have you figured out yet that I'm an Engineer? My Chem professors were all MEAN (except one - i was in love with her). No way would they entertain your comment without a good explanation.

So, please enlighten me about the timeliness of adding syrup.

And also, please explain what you think this problem may relate to, since you've ruled out capping...

My chem professors were not mean but they were very good despite the absence of a horrible attitude.

What I am referring to has nothing to do with timing. And I never meant to infer that it does. It has everything to do with the resultant homogeneity of the beer after mixing. If you rack a large volume of beer onto the smaller priming volume, the two solutions will mix more thoroughly. They mix as you are racking. It is my impression that the resultant solution is still not completely homogeneous, so I still stir a little after racking but the stirring is by no means vigorous and it is probably not even necessary. I have never had any issues with variations in carbonation levels.

Creating a homogeneous mix by adding a small volume of priming solution to a large volume of beer is extremely difficult. I'm sure it can be done but it seems much easier and more fool-proof to follow the above procedure. I am certainly not the only one who does this. It is a well accepted practice and is delineated in several brewing books. If you do not follow the technique and are having issues with variations in carbonation levels, I would suggest you give it a try. I feel this is the most likely explanation for your issues. Not capping. Why not give it a try before you replace your equipment?

As far as oxygenation... If you add priming solution to 5 gallons of beer and mix vigorously enough to achieve a homogeneous mix, you would have to release a constant blanket of CO2 to exclude the possibility of oxygenating the beer (when you mix, you are disturbing and mixing both the solution you are stirring and the air above it). If you do that, then good for you but it seems far easier to just rack onto the priming solution. If you read through Briggs you'd be impressed by the length to which professional brewers go to avoid exposure to oxygen. It probably isn't as much of an issue for homebrewers if you drink your beer very quickly but I prefer not to take the chance.
 
Alright. I almost feel ungrateful doing this, but it's for the common good.

I want you to explain to me how the timeliness of addition would effect the fermentation properties of a solution that was agitated in an anoxic environment (under a cloud of CO2, that is) after the addition.

The solution was definitely homogenous by the time bottling commenced.

Have you figured out yet that I'm an Engineer? My Chem professors were all MEAN (except one - i was in love with her). No way would they entertain your comment without a good explanation.

So, please enlighten me about the timeliness of adding syrup.

And also, please explain what you think this problem may relate to, since you've ruled out capping...

Do you want simple reasoning? You started this thread and had a mixing problem. That's about all there is to it really.
 
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