bottling troubles?

Hi all,

I am new to the forum and a relatively new home brewer. I am about to bottle my 6th/7th natch and I have had troubles with bottling and reaching the desired carbonation levels. My 1st 3 brews, belgian strong golden ale, amber ale, and bavarian hefeweizen all had different issues. Amber ale, no carbonation at all. Belgian strong, no carbonation. Bavarian hefeweizen had some but not what I was looking for. I then brewed a belgian specialty ale that was PERFECT in taste, carbonation, perfect. Well now I have bottled a Firemans Red ale, and tested one last night after 7 days(i know its not enough but I had to see...) and the was a little pssssst when opening but no carbonation??

I am about to bottle a Texas blond and a pale blond in the next two day and I want tips on how to achieve a good carb?
Some of the mistakes I had believed I made were:
1. not boiling priming sugar adequately(is there a specific time, the package says 1 min?), so I corrected this for the Firemans Red but as mentioned, no carb.
2. Maybe not warm enough but tx had an unseasonably cold winter and my Bavarian Hefeweizen came out ok so I think I can rule out temp+ its almost
90* daily outside leaving my house at around 72-75 throughout the day.
3. I pour in priming solution to a bucket and the siphon beer into to fully mix- is this wrong? I have done this w every brew and 2/5 have been carbonated?

I want the two Blonds to turn out great(for a shindig I am havving to release my brewing expertise upon the masses!) and I want to avoid this troublesome issue. What if any improvements to my methods can any one see??
help save my beer!!!

I let them carb at 70ish for 3 weeks minimum then to the cellar for a week.

For 5 gallon batches - 3/4 cup of corn sugar in 2 cups water, boil for 5-10 minutes.

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And even carbonation doesn't mean that they will not still be green and need more time to condition.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

Be patient. As long as you are using the correct amount of priming sugar (see here for a good calculator: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html) and are storing at the right temperature (which it looks like you are), you should be fine. Sometimes I have to wait for 3 weeks or more before the batch is fully carbonated. Every beer is different.

Some people advocate giving the bottling bucket a slight swirl once full to help mix the sugar in. I've always been a little hesitant (not wanting to oxidize) but as long as you're careful, it might help also.

I swirl...:rockin:

I appreciate all the replies! Couple questions.... The first is I bought a bunch of swing top Grolsch bottles. Are the green bottles going to affect anything?? I found 30 cases for $5 a peice and had to scoop them up.

2nd is this oxidation...when I bottle I siphon into a 7 gallon container w a spigot and as menttioned, I pour in my priming sugar 1st. Wouldnt all the access to oxygen be oxidation? Can someone explain oxidation to me? I am not sure what it is or what it causes?

Thanks!

As for the color of glass. Brown is the best, followed by green which is only very slightly better than clear. This only helps protect your beer from becoming "light struck".

There is also the lack of appeal of a dark stout in a green bottle....

Would I worry, not about much other than light striking.

The problem is that green bottles, like clear bottles, will allow your beer to skunk. They are perfectly fine for cider, etc. but anything with hops you won't want to use those bottles unless you want the skunk flavor.

Your psst without carbonation is probably because there was enough CO2 to cause a little pressure in the neck, but it hasn't fully pressurized and the CO2 hasn't been fully absorbed by the beer. It takes a little while for the beer to absorb CO2. This is just my guess. I could be wrong but that's what it sounds like.

On Grolsch bottles, make sure your gasket is sealed tight and that it is in good condition.

Oxidation can alter the flavor and aroma of your beer. By filling the bottling bucket from the bottom of the bucket, you are inserting beer underneath a layer of beer that is exposed to oxygen. As the bucket fills, that layer pushes upward and only the top is exposed, reducing exposure to the overall beer. If you allow your beer to splash from the top of the bottling bucket into the bottom, you are exposing everything that comes out of the tube to oxygen. As the beer falls into the bucket it is exposed to O2. If there are air pockets in your tubing or auto-siphon it is exposed to O2. After bottling, movement and temperature will increase the chances of oxidation if the beer is stored for any extended period of time. They make O2 absorbing caps if you're overly concerned. I'm sure there's more to this that others will add. I hope this helped some...

For 5 gallon batches - 3/4 cup of corn sugar in 2 cups water, boil for 5-10 minutes.

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Should that be cooled to room temperature before racking beer on top in bottling bucket? Or should it go into the bottling bucket hot then rack on top immediately???

mgortel said:

Should that be cooled to room temperature before racking beer on top in bottling bucket? Or should it go into the bottling bucket hot then rack on top immediately???

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People have argued that since time began...it really doesn't matter. 5 gallons of room temp beer is going to cool it off mighty quickly.

But if you come up with a system like I do in my bottling tips thread, then you work a little cooling time into the process.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

discokid2k said:

I appreciate all the replies! Couple questions.... The first is I bought a bunch of swing top Grolsch bottles. Are the green bottles going to affect anything?? I found 30 cases for $5 a peice and had to scoop them up.

2nd is this oxidation...when I bottle I siphon into a 7 gallon container w a spigot and as menttioned, I pour in my priming sugar 1st. Wouldnt all the access to oxygen be oxidation? Can someone explain oxidation to me? I am not sure what it is or what it causes?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

The only way you are going to see a difference is if you condition out in the open where sun and flourescent light can hit the bottle. If you condition and store in a box there is no reason not to enjoy the convenience of a swing top.

a follw up if anyone iss interested...
My beer came out great and I was able to get three brews ready for my shindig. All were carbonated great and the flavor was superb. The green bottles, stored in the dark did not seem to have any adverse effects on the beer so I am happy to have scored that many flip top bottles for the price. They were stored in complete darkness so no skunk was noticed.
I appreciate all the advice and am learning patience. It is hard to just let it sit for so long. But I try>

Great news....Gratz!

Have fun at your shindig.....enjoy the brews!