Stop the carbonation!

Hello,
My IPA's been bottled for two weeks at about 68 degrees F. I cracked one open last night to see how things are coming along (yummy!), and the carbonation is already right where I want it. So I took it and put it in my basement, which is always between 55 and 58 degrees. Is this cold enough to keep my beer from becoming more carbonated? I was using Wyeast's Irish Ale yeast - 55 is below its ideal temps, but is it low enough to stop the yeasties from doing their job?

Thanks!
Bob

That should work to let the beer continue to condition while not increasing carbonation. Also, when beer is keep colder for a longer period of time, the co2 goes into the beer better so it won't seem as carbed. I don't know how long you refrigerated the ones you opened, but if they were in the fridge just a short time, they'll seem to be more carbed.

Anyway, 55 degrees is perfect "cellar" temperature, so that should be fine.

Once the yeast has eaten all the priming sugar, carbonation will stop. You should not have to keep an eye on it to stop it from over carbing. Sometimes taking samples is fun though.

- magno

magno said:

Once the yeast has eaten all the priming sugar, carbonation will stop. You should not have to keep an eye on it to stop it from over carbing. Sometimes taking samples is fun though.

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True, but it's at the carbonation level that I want right now, and there's no way to know if there's any priming sugar left in the beer. I guess I'm just trying to cover my butt in case I put in too much sugar! I do have to agree though that taking samples is fun...

How much sugar did you use to prime? If you stop carbonation before all the sugar has been eaten, the taste of the beer will probably suffer.

magno said:

How much sugar did you use to prime? If you stop carbonation before all the sugar has been eaten, the taste of the beer will probably suffer.

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Well, all that I used was just a little more than 1/2 cup, so I don't think that taste will be a problem - I'm pretty sure most of the sugar's been eaten. I didn't have any cane sugar so I used the beet sugar that we have (in Michigan, if you don't look specifically for cane sugar, you're going to get beet sugar). I saw somewhere on line that it measures the same as cane sugar for priming. So like I said, most or all of it's probably used up. But I poured pretty carefully and there was still a pretty good head on it. I didn't want it to get out of control. Although from what Yooper Chick was saying, it sounds like if I had refrigerated it longer then the carbonation wouldn't seem so prominent. I think I'm going to be all right. As usual, I think the solution is to RDWHAHB!

Thanks for the help!!!!!

You should get a bag of DME to use for priming. Some people will argue that taste can be effected by using table sugar. Most brewers use either DME or corn sugar for priming. You probably won't be able to tell a difference, but just thought I'd throw it out there

bobbo said:

Well, all that I used was just a little more than 1/2 cup....

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No worrys of bottle bombs. I use 3/4 cup corn sugar, or, more often, 1.25 cup extra pale DME in five gallon batches. I have never had a bottle bomb from a beer that was not infected.

Enjoy your beer.

i use dme every time now. even corn sugar can make your beer taste bad if it doesn't ferment out completely. bleagh.

seefresh said:

You should get a bag of DME to use for priming. Some people will argue that taste can be effected by using table sugar. Most brewers use either DME or corn sugar for priming. You probably won't be able to tell a difference, but just thought I'd throw it out there

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That's funny. I just remembered that I had a small baggie of DME left over from when I made my starter. Probably enough to prime with... Wish I'd thought of that when I was searching my cupboards for something to use for priming!

Alright... I'm bottling my next batch on Sat. and this thread has convinced me to try using DME instead of priming sugar. I have a couple of questions though:

1) Should I use the lightest DME I can find?
2) Do I just add the DME to the bottling bucket or do I need to make a solution out of it?
2A) If I have to make a solution, is it equal parts water to DME?

1. Yes, the lightest is fine.

2. Make a solution, so that it is fully dissolved. Cool, then put in your bottling bucket and siphon your beer into it, with the tip of the tubing at the bottom so it "swirls" around to mix thoroughly.

3. Most people use 1.25 cups or so of DME in around 2 cups boiling water. It's really the same technique as priming sugar.

Read this, too- http://byo.com/mrwizard/784.html
Even BYO says there isn't a noticeable difference between corn sugar and DME for priming, and prefer corn sugar or invert sugar for this purpose.