Flat IPA - Infection?

[Thunder_Chicken]

I brewed a Brooklyn Brewshop Everyday IPA kit and bottled it 3 weeks ago. I primed with honey in a bottling bucket, but I've gotten some inconsistent results with a couple of the bottles and I wonder if I had an infected bottle.

Last week I cracked my first one after 2 weeks in the bottle - very fizzy but not fully carbonated, good start at a head and some lacing, and it tasted OK. Definitely not ready, but on it's way.

Today I cracked a second, 3 weeks in the bottle. This particular bottle had a ring of debris of some sort at the neck, and I decided to open it figuring that I'd rather crack a potentially infected one young and leave the others for later. When I cracked it it was hardly pressurized. Nice and crystal clear, but just the barest hint of carbonation, no head or lacing at all. Looks like apple juice. Taste is pretty darned good, very dry, no sweetness so I'm pretty sure the priming honey was consumed. It actually would have been really good if it were carbonated properly.

So what happened with this one? Likely an infection? I thought that maybe the cap didn't seal properly but I didn't see any evidence of a leak. I checked through the remaining bottles and they look clean and very clear.

 

[phuff7129]

It could have been a dirty bottle. If I were using honey as my priming sugar I would mix it in with some boiling water to make a less viscous solution so it would mix better with the beer. Also you want to gently stir your priming sugar into your beer for even mixing. If it isnt mixed well you will definitely get some bottles over carbed and some not carbed enough.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I dissolved the honey in hot boiled water and cooled it before I put it in the bottling bucket. Thought I did a decent job of mixing, but maybe not. I have exactly two data points for this batch, so it may turn out the rest are fine. This one bottle was the only one that had a ring of funky stuff in it. It didn't smell bad or off in any way.

If if were an infection, wouldn't I still get gas buildup?

 

[thaworm69]

Maybe the bottle wasn't cleansed enough, or the seal on the cap was not secure? Either way...."Man Down"! Gl figuring this out!

 

[phuff7129]

I dissolved the honey in hot boiled water and cooled it before I put it in the bottling bucket. Thought I did a decent job of mixing, but maybe not. I have exactly two data points for this batch, so it may turn out the rest are fine. This one bottle was the only one that had a ring of funky stuff in it. It didn't smell bad or off in any way.

If if were an infection, wouldn't I still get gas buildup?

It sounds like your process was good. A dirty bottle certainly could have something to do with it. I have certainly had a bottle or 2 go bad in some of my batches and my guess is a bottle didnt get cleaned well. Hopefully that was the only one.

 

[olefattguy]

"If if were an infection, wouldn't I still get gas buildup?"
Yes you definitely would IMHO. More so than without infection.
Seems it hasn't fermented in the bottle (but it wasn't sweet), or there is a leak somewhere.
My 2 Eurocents

 

[harrymanback92]

I don't know if it was infected, it seems like you would have had way to much carbonation if it was infected. I'm more probe to saying loose cap or the honey wasn't mixed properly. The ring of funky stuff could just be left over from not cleaning properly, but if you sanitized it should be fine.

What's your cleaning/sanitation procedure?

 

[RM-MN]

I've had that probem. Yours has the same symptom. It was a bad job of capping and it didn't seal properly so instead of the carbonation going into the beer, it formed a mine-krausen leaving you with a mini ring in your bottle.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I've had that probem. Yours has the same symptom. It was a bad job of capping and it didn't seal properly so instead of the carbonation going into the beer, it formed a mine-krausen leaving you with a mini ring in your bottle.

That sounds possible. The ring rubbed off easily and didn't smell like much of anything.

At least I think my sanitation routine is OK. I cleaned all the bottles in cleanser, rinsed them out and ran them through the dishwasher on the hot settings, and dipped the cap and the bottle neck in starsan solution prior to filling and capping. I started the siphon by filling the hose with starsan solution and letting it draw the beer through. I'm not sure how else I could have kept things cleaner.

Will simply flipping the bottle upside down after capping be enough to test/verify the seal, or is it just crap luck that it pushed open?

 

[olefattguy]

Will simply flipping the bottle upside down after capping be enough to test/verify the seal, or is it just crap luck that it pushed open?

That's pretty much how I do the testing of my caps, every now and then there is one that came on tilted or sideways or something.
I just pop it off, and grab a new cap to put on.

It's not foolproof, I still have had a few bottles that are flat, but it's good enough for me.

 

[thaworm69]

Will simply flipping the bottle upside down after capping be enough to test/verify the seal, or is it just crap luck that it pushed open?

I would say no myself. A bad seal may not appear right away, given this was only 1 bottle my guess was it was just not capped right. After the CO2 builds it could "blow a gasket"?? You can screw a cap on a soda bottle while its loose and still not get a leak, but that doesn't mean anything is air tight. My $.02