WARNING - Racking on top of priming solution may not provide sufficient mixing

So, I brewed a really light session blonde ale a while back and bottled it around 4 weeks ago now. I have been really patient with it, but I keep pulling out bottles with practically ZERO carbonation... I was getting really frustrated trying to figure out what was wrong since I tried 6 or 7 bottles and they all were flat. I was even beginning to wonder if I magically killed the yeast, which I know is highly unlikely.

Then I remembered that I bottled a case of bombers first so if the sugar wasn't mixed it would all be in those. So I poured one last night and BAM, waaaayy over carbonated.

It is clear that the priming solution did not mix completely around in the bottling bucket. I did it as I always do (the recommended practice), by adding boiled sugar solution to the bottom of the bucket and racking the beer on top of that to mix it. Only this time it didn't mix well.

The only difference this time was that it was the first batch that I have cold crashed before bottling and I guess it's possible the cold beer didn't have the same mixing action as my usual warm beer. I would never have thought this to be an issue, but I guess it's possible.

I am pretty disappointed that this batch is crappy now, and I'm really worried about a batch I just bottled this past weekend using the exact same method after cold crashing. I am going to be so pissed if the carbonation is messed up on this one too.

Long story short:
Always gently mix from the bottom up with a spoon, even if you rack on top of the priming solution. Trust me it's worth the effort to not have this happen to your good beer.

Update:
Sadly, this did in fact happen to the next batch as well before I figured out what was wrong. It is making a great amber a little less enjoyable...

Ive always racked on top and have never had inconsistent carbonation. Do you have your siphon hose going to the bottom of the bucket? Preferably around the side so that it creates a swilring pattern as it siphons?

Other than that, I have no idea what couldve caused it

m00ps said:

Ive always racked on top and have never had inconsistent carbonation. Do you have your siphon hose going to the bottom of the bucket? Preferably around the side so that it creates a swilring pattern as it siphons?

Other than that, I have no idea what couldve caused it

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Yep my hose is always at the bottom and has a natural curl to it... I have no idea why this happened either, but I'm not going to chance it in the future, however rare it might be.

The temperature differential between your beer and your sugar solution is likely the culprit. Pure water will stratify by temperature amazingly well and add in a density difference and bam, improper mixing.

I always make sure I stir mine with a spoon to make sure that there's vertical mixing and not just whirling.

take the end of the racking can and stir slowly for a minute or two.

I fill a bottle (bomber preferred) and pour it back in and then stir the batch again using the middle wand of the siphon.

'da Kid

Making a coil of the racking tubing at the base of the bottling bucket is more difficult if the beer is cold when flowing through it. May have straightened out on you losing the coil at the bottom of the bucket, reducing the gentle swirl-mix.

What few batches I've bottled, I 've never stirred and never had issues.

I've always wondered whether normal stirring really helps much with mixing in the priming sugar. How do you know the sugar solution isn't just whirling around as you stir, but still layered in the bucket. I did a google search but couldn't find anything definite.

jmpreiks said:

I am pretty disappointed that this batch is crappy now, and I'm really worried about a batch I just bottled this past weekend using the exact same method after cold crashing. I am going to be so pissed if the carbonation is messed up on this one too.

Click to expand...

When you're ready to consume, mix a couple of 12s with a 22. Carbonation will average out, and after consuming that mus beer, you won't mind so much!

It's very possible your sugar priming solution had insufficient water. It forms a syrup of sorts, which does not mix as readily as a more dilute sugar solution does.

Just happened to my rhubarb wine batch that I bottled in May. All were too dry except that last bottle which was super syrupy sweet. I was trying to minimize the dilution effect, but went too far. Have bottle primed 20+ beer bathes without issue by racking on top with a more dilute syrup.

jmpreiks said:

Long story short:
Always gently mix from the bottom up with a spoon, even if you rack on top of the priming solution. Trust me it's worth the effort to not have this happen to your good beer.

Click to expand...

I've had similiar experiences sometimes. Now I always add after I rack to the bottling bucket and give a thorough (yet gentle) stir. No problems. On top of that, it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly how much I'll be bottling until it's in my bottling bucket. So it just makes more sense to do the priming sugar measurements after I've left the trub and a little beer behind and I can see exactly what I have.

We had this happen a few months ago with our first cold-crashed batch. The sugar mix was quite thick as well, and about room temp, and we racked the cold beer on top. The result was identical to yours: most bottles almost flat and a few way over-carbonated. We've been stirring ever since.

Thank you for solving a mystery for me. Ive had this happen several times and while reviewing my notes it was always on beer that was either cold crashed or a lager that was still really cold when bottled. Ill be giving it a gentle stir from now on.

ncbrewer said:

I've always wondered whether normal stirring really helps much with mixing in the priming sugar. How do you know the sugar solution isn't just whirling around as you stir, but still layered in the bucket. I did a google search but couldn't find anything definite.

Click to expand...

I find moving the spoon from the bottom to top does a much better job of mixing vs. a normal horizontal stir. It's much better at evening out the temperature when mashing, etc. You can easily see this effect if you have the thermometer clipped on top of the BIAB kettle like I do.

Black Island Brewer said:

When you're ready to consume, mix a couple of 12s with a 22. Carbonation will average out, and after consuming that mus beer, you won't mind so much!

Click to expand...

That is a pretty good idea I might use. Thanks!

Well after sampling quite a few bottles from my next batch, I have confirmed that the same thing happened to this as well. It's pretty disappointing. Now I don't feel comfortable sharing what is actually a great amber beer. At least I know for sure what the issue is now and I can avoid it. I think this issue should be added to the bottling sticky to hopefully save a few batches for other people.

Had the same thing happen to and Oktoberfest I brewed!! It was hit or miss if it had carbed or not. Very disappointing that I couldn't share. What bottles that did carb where awesome

rpage said:

Had the same thing happen to and Oktoberfest I brewed!! It was hit or miss if it had carbed or not. Very disappointing that I couldn't share. What bottles that did carb where awesome

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Ouch... it's definitely a big piss off. Welcome to the forum by the way!

In addition to running the hose to the bottom of the bottling bucket and letting it mix that way, I also use the auto-siphon to give a (gentle) swirl after I fill each 12-pack of bottles. That's usually enough to keep things from settling out as I go.

I think this just happened to me... I cold crashed my second ever batch and just opened the last bottle I filled after 6 days. Big Pop and lots of carbonation... I am gonna open another random bottle shortly too see.

Bingo, opened another bottle and was way less carbonated. Not flat, more what I would expect a 6 day old bottle to be at. My hope is that the majority big the batch is ok, and those last couple bottles are just extra carbonated... From now on I will do some extra mixing. Lesson learned