Carbonation issues...

I have been brewing off and on for that last several years, but recently (my last 3 or 4 batches) I have started experiencing some inconsistancy with carbonation. I never had problems before.

Only about half of my beers have been carbonating properly. In fact the ones that are carbonated are really carb'd...

To me it seems my priming sugar is not mixing thoroughly with my beer.

My technique is to boil 2 cups of water, add my priming sugar and boil 1 more minute. I then let it cool down below 80 degrees and pour it into my bottling bucket. I then rack my beer into the priming sugar mix.

What could be causing this problem? I'm stumped !!!

Do you stir gently every 10-12 bottles while filling? We had horrible carbonation inconsistencies that cleared up by stirring gently a few times during bottling. As far as letting it cool to 80 before pouring into the bucket, we've just started the siphon and dumped it in...not sure if that makes a difference, but I'm sure somebody else could comment on that.

last time i bottled i thought about stirring after i racked the beer to the bottling bucket, but i did not do it... from now on a gentle stir will be in my bottling routine... hopefully that will solve this problem.

to be honest i'm not sure i started experiencing this problem until i made a concerted effort to cool down my priming sugar before racking my beer. I did not used to do that, but i started doing it in order to prevent killing the remaining yeast...

maybe i have been overly cautious and should just go back to adding the priming sugar immediately after boiling... i mean 2 cups of hot water added to 5 gallons of beer should not really affect the temps much...

I've done what you describe for every batch I've bottled. Never once stirred. I've never had a problem with uneven carbonation.

But it does sound like inadequate mixing could be your problem. I'd suggest using a sanitized long spoon and gently stir it when you rack. I don't know what else the problem could be.

yea, it's kinda suprising to me i started experiencing this issues.

however, i just picked up a nice spoon that is around 2 feet long, so sanitizing and stirring before racking can't hurt...

yea, it's kinda suprising to me i started experiencing this issues.

however, i just picked up a nice spoon that is around 2 feet long, so sanitizing and stirring before racking can't hurt...

Click to expand...

Is there any worry about oxidation from stirring?

Thanks!

Just be gentle while stirring. Go not stir to the point where you splash or create bubbles.

However, like Yooper, I never had a problem with uneven carbonation when I bottled, and I used the same protocol.


TL

Do you think maybe it could possibly be something left in the bottles? May some residual residue, inconstant cleaning perhaps?

Just a thought, but perhaps the cooler sugar mix doesn't mix as well as a warmer one.

Maybe the higher temperature and the higher gravity work together for a more even solution.

Just speculating though. Before kegging, I cooled and didn't mix and never had any problems.

I have been running into the same problems. I have some bottles that carb fine, some that are low, one that was really, really high, and some that seem a little high and taste noticeably sweeter.

I have always used the boil water, add sugar, cool to 80-90, dump in bucket, get the siphon hose do the mixing method.

I'm bottling a Hefe either tonight or tomarrow. I'll try to give it a gentle stir.

Mike

Another option is to use carbonating tabs. We've tried 2 types, the names I don't recall, but one type is a white tablet and you add 3-5 or so depending on the level of carbonation you want. These left little chunks in our beer though...couldn't taste them, but we didn't like it. The other kind we tried look like a cough drop or lozenge...one tab per bottle for average to med-high carbonation. No problems with those at all. Not sure what's happening with the sugar, but our problems seemed to be solved with the gentle stirring.

I think both of the sugar drops are coopers products. I used the ones that look like cough drops on apfelwein and they did fine. Has anybody used those on beer? How did they do? It's been awhile since I've bottled beer, kegging has spoiled me. When I did bottle, I used the same method as yoop and tex and had no probs.

Regards,
Al

Are there other variables:

Head space in bottles, excess sanitizer, different sugars used for carbing, conditioning time before refrigeration etc ?

kawi6rr said:

Do you think maybe it could possibly be something left in the bottles? May some residual residue, inconstant cleaning perhaps?

Click to expand...

i doubt it...

i use grolsch bottles and i always rinse them thoroughly after drinking a beer. i then remove the grommets and wash them in the dishwasher before sterilizing...

Nic said:

Are there other variables:

Head space in bottles, excess sanitizer, different sugars used for carbing, conditioning time before refrigeration etc ?

Click to expand...

all of those variables have stayed the same.

it must be the cooling of the priming sugar... i won't cool it next time and give a gentle stir every 10-12 bottles...

BrewProject said:

i doubt it...

i use grolsch bottles and i always rinse them thoroughly after drinking a beer. i then remove the grommets and wash them in the dishwasher before sterilizing...

Click to expand...

How about new grommets? When's the last time you bought new ones? maybe they aren't sealing as tightly. You could try buying new ones, and see if that makes a difference.

YooperBrew said:

How about new grommets? When's the last time you bought new ones? maybe they aren't sealing as tightly. You could try buying new ones, and see if that makes a difference.

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i've done that too... using new grommets as of a few brews back. i am fairly certain grommets are not my issue, but thanks for the thought....

I cool my priming solution down a bit, simply because I am usually needing to do something else so why not let it cool a bit. However, the small amount of hot solution will be cooled down quickly by the beer, and th eheat will only affect a small percentage of the viable yeast, so it's not a concern.

Since I've had variable priming in the past, I've been sure to thoroughly mix the solution with the beer, by varying the height of the siphon hose, while filling. This will help to make sure the sugar gets distributed. Same as stirring I guess.

I'm a little concerned because I recently added my corn sugar by dissolving it into lukewarm water (per the instructions on my first kit) but everyone here seems to prefer to boil. This is probably premature, but could I have jeopardized my carbonation?

Actually, my bigger concern is the taste of the beer when I bottled. I've sampled throughout the process and it tasted good (warm and flat, but good) right before I dry hopped. But when I sampled after adding the sugar, it had a little bit of a chemical flavor. I'm hoping that it's just the sugar, but I worry it could indicate an infection. I still have a week or two before it's ready, but I'm starting to get anxious: Did I ruin it?

Thanks, as always!