Good Head, Poor Carbonation?

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the_rayway

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I apologize if this has been covered somewhere else (mods, please move if I'm in the wrong place!)

My husband made a couple of beer kits a while back (9 months or so), and they took a very long time to carbonate, then the ones that did have a great, thick head - then they are flat within a minute.

What causes this? I'm going to do a GF Chocolate Vanilla Ale from scratch and I do not want this to happen during priming - I like LOTS of little bubbles and quite heavy carbonation.

What would I need in a 1 Gal recipe to attain a great amount of carbonation that stays around long enough to finish the drink?

Ray
 
the_rayway said:
I apologize if this has been covered somewhere else (mods, please move if I'm in the wrong place!)

My husband made a couple of beer kits a while back (9 months or so), and they took a very long time to carbonate, then the ones that did have a great, thick head - then they are flat within a minute.

What causes this? I'm going to do a GF Chocolate Vanilla Ale from scratch and I do not want this to happen during priming - I like LOTS of little bubbles and quite heavy carbonation.

What would I need in a 1 Gal recipe to attain a great amount of carbonation that stays around long enough to finish the drink?

Ray
Click to expand...

Here is a good website with a priming calculator.....http://tastybrew.mobify.me/calculators/
The average amount of co2 volume is 2.0-2.5 I believe. You can shoot higher if you like high carbonated beer.
 
Jet Dry kills head faster than anything. You are kind of short on specifics that might help diagnose the problem though.
What was the ABV on these beers?
How long did you let them carbonate?
What temp did you carb at?
How long did you chill after carbonation?
 
Don't know if this helps any but when I have overcarbed beers in the past (kegging and force carbing) I get lots of lingering foam, and by time it recedes the beer is nowhere near the carbonation level it should be. I have since fixed these issues.
 
Initially the CO2 hangs out in the headspace and as pressure builds up, it begins to dissolve back into the beer. It sounds like you are opening your bottles before the CO2 has fully dissolved into the beer. So next time open a bottle and if the carbonation isn't what you like then give the rest another week or two. I would also use the link posted above to figure out the amount of priming sugar. But be careful of bottle bombs from over carbonation.
 
Thunder_Chicken said:
Are you chilling your beers for several days? Cold beer absorbs CO2 better than warm beer. To BobC's point it will take several days for the CO2 in the headspace to go back into solution in the beer.
Click to expand...

I dont log in much any more...Am I gonna see you in Warren to quaf a pint or two from my pony for afterglow?:mug:
 
The average ale takes 3-4 weeks at room temp to carb/condition in the bottles. Then at least a week in the fridge to get co2 in the head space into solution. Also needs 3-5 days for any chill haze to settle out clear. 2 weeks fridge time for thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.
 
Thunder Chicken aside...

Our beer is now 9 months old: it was a cream ale (can't remember just now the brand) and a canadian lager (Barons). Followed directions to the letter. They were left in room temp for approx. one month, then into our cooler basement for the last 8 months. The last one we opened was last weekend after sitting in the fridge for 4-ish weeks. The problem as described.

Does this help?
Ray
 
When I first started brewing, I did a blonde that had the same problem. Bottled,
Left it sitting in my garage for 5 months, still no lingering head, long story short, I asked around here and a few other forums and came to the conclusion that it was an infected batch. *gasp*

Not saying that's the case, but it's possible it could be some kind of lactic acid infection, how was your sanitation process?
 
Getting a good rolling,but not crazy wild boil will help things a little. It's hard to describe,but low boils like a heavy simmer turned out beer with these kinda problems. Steep som carapils for head retention. Use the right amount of priming sugar for the style. And for the love of God,stop putting beer that needs carb & condition time in coool to cold places. It'll work mind numbingly slow,if it carbs even a little bit at all. Mine got cool like that & stalled. I swirled. I shook. I shook & cursed. they barely carbed %-7 weeks later or more. If they don't get the right conditions from hour one,they may not carb worth a damn at all.
 
Sanitization was good, so no worries on that score.

I'm thinking it was a combination of priming sugar and jet dry. Huh, who would have thought?

I'll let you all know what happens with the Chocolate Vanilla!
Ray
 

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