Hey everyone. I made a honeybee ale from extract fro Midwest. The brew was one week in primary, 2 in secondary, and three in bottles with priming sugar. Two nights ago I poured my first glass and had crazy amounts of head. It was about 3/4 of the glass. Tonight I took two out of the fridge and both had zero carbonation and no head. What is going on. It has a little off taste to it as well. Could it be infected? If so will time fix it?
Crazy carbination problems
- Thread starter bmasyga
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PistolsAtDawn
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The off flavors are common on young extract-based beer. That will probably decrease with age. Worry not about infection being the culprit there.
As for your carbonation difference, that may be something as simple as the priming sugar not being mixed well enough in the pre-bottled beer. I had plenty of problems with that myself early on.
As for your carbonation difference, that may be something as simple as the priming sugar not being mixed well enough in the pre-bottled beer. I had plenty of problems with that myself early on.
jknapp12105
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How did you introduce the dextrose to the beer?
jknapp12105
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No Biggy. Dextrose (corn sugar) is what you use to carbonate the beer the final two weeks. For 4 gal you typically boil 2 1/2 cups of the dextrose on the stove fr about 3 min then you pour that into your bottling Bucket FIRST. Then you pour your flat beer on top of that will it will naturally mix, then bottle
jknapp12105
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How you bottled it could have played a factor. What type of bottles did you use?
I also had this problem except not as much foam as you describe, but I had an inconsistency in my bottles. I poured in the priming sugar mixture, after boiling, into the bottling bucket and then siphoned on top of that. Then I slowly and gently stirred to give it a proper mixture. I then stirred occasionally while bottling (every 12 pack or so). This should help with your inconsistent carbonation.
Kevin
Kevin
BillyBock
Well-Known Member
Wait, did somebody say 2.5 cups corn sugar for 4 gallons of beer?! I thought it was .75 cups for 5 gallons... That's a pretty big discrepancy there...
Yeah, it should be 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar per 5 gallon batch.
Sounds like you didn't get enough sugar in each bottle. The sugar will settle to the bottom if you don't keep it stirred up. Next time, GENTLY stir your beer in the bottling bucket after you've bottled 4-6 beers. This will help keep the sugar mixed evenly.
Try using a priming sugar calculator next time. Just google it. Not every style of beer gets the same amount of carbonation.
Try using a priming sugar calculator next time. Just google it. Not every style of beer gets the same amount of carbonation.
TopherM
Well-Known Member
How long are you leaving the bottles in the fridge before you sample? You need to give them a good 3-4 days. When naturally carbing at 70F, a good % of the CO2 stays in the headspace of the bottle, because it is difficult for the beer to absorb CO2 at that temp. So all the CO2 is there, but not yet absorbed into the beer once your carb/conditioning period is complete. It takes a good 3-4 days at fridge temps for this CO2 to then properly absorb into the solution. Many peeps that throw their bottles in the fridge just long enough to get cold, or even for 24 hours get gushers from the CO2 in the headspace having unequal pressure with the rest of the solution.
This may not be your only issue, but it may be the reason for the gusher.
This may not be your only issue, but it may be the reason for the gusher.
Nate7out
Member
It probably just needs a little more time. I had very inconsistent carbonation in the first 4 weeks or so in my last batch, but after 4-5 weeks everything was great.
I wouldn't try something like that to risky for fear of infection and over carbonated beer. I used to all kinds of problems with under/over carbonation. I got a good accurate scale and use a calculator https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f84/cps-brew-chart-3-0-a-224451/ and measure by weight not volume for the exact amount of beer and fermentation temp.
cshamilton
Well-Known Member
JUST WAIT
Look for one of Revvy's thread replies or the bottling sticky thread.
If carbonation is uneven, wait a week longer with your bottles at 70F - then chill 48-72 hours. It takes time for the CO2 to be fully dissolved.
If added to the bottom of your bottling bucket priming sugar will mix correctly if you rack the beer on top. No need to mix, stir, etc.
Look for one of Revvy's thread replies or the bottling sticky thread.
If carbonation is uneven, wait a week longer with your bottles at 70F - then chill 48-72 hours. It takes time for the CO2 to be fully dissolved.
If added to the bottom of your bottling bucket priming sugar will mix correctly if you rack the beer on top. No need to mix, stir, etc.
