Do all Brown ales overcarbonate?

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BrewmeisterSmith

BrewmeisterSmith

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I've brewed a few brown ales over time. The ones I put in keg, turn out perfect. However, all the ones I put in bottles end up over carbonated. I typically use 3/4 cup corn sugar in a 5 gallon batch. Then store around 70degrees until they are ready. About two weeks. They stay at this temp, maybe a few degrees lower until I stick them in the fridge a day or two before I drink them. My other recipes...pales, wheat, etc dont have this problem. Anyone else experience this? I'm wondering why I'm just getting this with my brown ales.
 
nope, nothing in a brown ale would make it bottle condition any differently than any other style. You should consider measuring your priming sugar by weight instead of the old 3/4 cup method. Use beersmith if you have it, or one of the free ones such as this: http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/ Hopefully that will help you nail down the exact CO2 volumes you are looking for per the style.
 
BrewmeisterSmith said:
I've brewed a few brown ales over time. The ones I put in keg, turn out perfect. However, all the ones I put in bottles end up over carbonated. I typically use 3/4 cup corn sugar in a 5 gallon batch. Then store around 70degrees until they are ready. About two weeks. They stay at this temp, maybe a few degrees lower until I stick them in the fridge a day or two before I drink them. My other recipes...pales, wheat, etc dont have this problem. Anyone else experience this? I'm wondering why I'm just getting this with my brown ales.
Click to expand...

I've made several Northern English brown ales, all of which I've bottled. Never had a problem with overcarbonation. According this site, the carbonation range for the style is 1.5 to 2.5 vols. If you go with the midpoint of the range, you're looking at 2.6 ounces of Corn Sugar. That works out to about 1/3 of a cup, I believe. I've always preferred my browns a little on the flatter side.
 
Start weighing your priming agent instead of measuring by volume.

Use the online carb calculator linked above. Shoot for 2.4 volumes of CO2 for drink-at-home (non-competition) brew.
 
i actually have noticed this same phenomenon (though maybe beginning at 2 months not 2 weeks in the bottle) and carbonate my dark beers with less priming sugar (like 2.5 ounces to a 5 gallon batch). conceivably it could be the yeast slowly working on the unfermentables that tend to be present in dark beers. or maybe it has something to do with the reduced presence of hops. or maybe it is all in my head, or maybe it is confirmation bias from those times when it has happened..
 
Do you use the same yeast for your Browns that you do for any other style? I'm wondering if the yeast might have something to do with it.
 
I do a lot of brown ales and only one was slightly overcarbonated. I agree with priming to style and by weight instead of volume.

The amount of sugar might be the cause. I just looked at a calculator and an American brown was .6 cup of corn sugar and an English was .5 cup.
 
I'll have to start weighing out the priming sugar. It's weird. The brown ales are the only ones that see overcarbonating with this method. I use the same yeast US-05 for about all my batches. Sometimes Notty. Cheers.
 
I have this problem as well. I am suspecting an infection with some wild yeast. I let them ferment out for 4 weeks then bottle. I do not have this problem with cream ales or IPAs, but do with browns and stouts. Maybe more non-fermentables in the darker ales that over time a strange yeast does ferment? These are typically not finished off (drank) as fast as my lighter ales, so that may be a factor as well. I gave up on them for 8 months, but now have bottled one and have another on deck. Hope the problem is gone.
 

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