Coarse bubbles vs. Fine bubbles

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Erlendso

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Hello, I have been snooping here for a while and this is my first post here!

I am a (all grain) homebrewer from Norway, Europe, and basically brew anything from traditional norwegian pilsners to more heavy ales.

What I am wondering about is how you can control what types of bubbles appear in your finished beer. Sometimes, the bubbles turn out very coarse and huge, and I really prefer finer, smoother bubbles.

Does it have anything to do with artificial carbonation and temperature? Yeast types?

I also hear this is a common "problem" in production of sparkling wine/ Champagne.

-Erlend
 
I don't know about the control you can achieve through the fermentation process. My guess would be that the final gravity has a large part to play and as such the type of sugar used would effect it.

The Level of carbonation would be the easiest condition to experiment with. When bottling prime to each level of carbonation within the style range, then see what you like / how it effects the bubbles.

Finally the type of glass you use can have a dramatic effect aswell. Sandblasted or chemically etched glasses will increase the number and size of the bubbles in the beverage (any carbonated beverage). The shape helps to control the appearance of these bubbles but I don't think that it effects their size.

Someone here who force carbonates may be able to give you a better answer.
 
I'd imagine that you'd get smaller bubbles if force carbing at lower pressures. You probably get smaller bubbles with natural carbonation instead as well.
 
I think it has to do with the amount of protein in your beer. More protein (it has to be thr right kind) gives you finer bubbles, which are also longer lasting. My personal observation is that if I have a beer with large bubbles, the head is short-lived, I'm not sure I'm right, but I think a short protein rest helps with head stability.
 
I'm sort of pulling this out of my a$$, but I believe that the size of CO2 bubbles has a lot to do with what is used to carbonate. Force carbing produces the biggest, corn sugar (et al) produces finer bubbles, and malt-based sugar (saved wort, DME, etc) are the finest. I'm piecing that together from readings and some experience.
 
I think it has to do with the amount of protein in your beer. More protein (it has to be thr right kind) gives you finer bubbles, which are also longer lasting. My personal observation is that if I have a beer with large bubbles, the head is short-lived, I'm not sure I'm right, but I think a short protein rest helps with head stability.

I was thinking that too. Wouldn't CaraPils or somesuch help?
 
The method of getting CO2 dissolved have nothing to do with bubble size. If you have a higher keg pressure, the differential between in the keg and in the glass is much higher so the bubble is going to expand more.
 
Where in Norway are you, I have been there twice, Have cousins in 3 towns

I am from the central part, Trondheim. Right now I live on the rainy west-coast in the city of Bergen, where my wife is from. And most of my family now live in Oslo! Big country, but still small.

Thanks everybody for the input about bubble size. It seems proteins and force-carbonation regime has a lot to do with it then.

-Erlend
 
The method of getting CO2 dissolved have nothing to do with bubble size. If you have a higher keg pressure, the differential between in the keg and in the glass is much higher so the bubble is going to expand more.

That seems to make sense, but in the example of force carbed commercial soda, the bubble size seems to be large no matter the size of the storage container.
 
I happened to be reading Horst Dornbusch's book 'Altbier' and read a snippet that seems to make sense of small CO2 bubbles vs large ones. Here's a quote:
Proteins and dextrins also form an invisible web in the alt, through which carbon dioxide bubbles must work their way slowly to the surface. As a result, full-bodied beer remains effervescent longer. Its bubbles remain smaller and do not combine into large pockets of burpy gas, as happens in carbonated mineral water for instance.

So, the more dextrins and/or proteins in the beer, the finer the bubbles of CO2. And it seems that carbing with sugar would produce the same size bubbles as force carbing. Carbing with saved wort or DME would add a few more proteins/dextrins which may produce finer bubbles, but this might be such a miniscule amount that it wouldn't be a noticable difference.
 
Here comes the science:

ben_affleck.jpg
 
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