Stupid Priming Sugar Calculator!!! (Didn't use enough)

[comet909]

Well, I bottled my American Pale Ale this weekend. Looked at the priming sugar calculator on TastyBrew and in my haste instead of using the fermenting temperature I used the beer's current temperature. Since I'd just cold crashed it that was about 40 degrees.

Consequently I've gone back and with the priming sugar that I used at the temperature it fermented and the actual volume that I ended up with, I'm probably around 2.0 to 2.1 volumes of CO2.

I'm basically freaking out. I guess I've got a few options. I could pop the caps and add a little something something and re-cap.

I've got kegs so I could just dump them all in a keg and force carb

Right now I'm leaning towards the following. Grab each bottle. Shake it up. Move it to the garage where it'll be about 10 degrees warmer. Would this be a benifit over sitting in a cooler basement. About 67F in the basement.

I guess I should sit back relax and have a homebrew.

 

[commonsenseman]

I betcha you'll be just fine, as you already said RDWHAHB.

It should carbonate at 67, although a little bit slower than at 70. 10 degrees warmer is a little bit too warm. I'd give them a few weeks, put a bottle in the fridge for a few days, then try it. 2-2.1 volumes isn't that low.

Dumping the bottles in the keg could oxygenate your whole batch, better to give them a few weeks to see if it's to you're liking, then assess the situation & make a calulated response. Making quick judgements & trying to fix something that may not even be broken, could result in you ruining the whole batch.

 

[bad67z]

I would first agree with your last statement "Relax". I would not open all of the bottles, imho the risk/reward is to high to pick up a few decimal points. Get them in an environment as close to 70 deg and let them ride.

 

[bad67z]

I betcha you'll be just fine, as you already said RDWHAHB.

It should carbonate at 67, although a little bit slower than at 70. 10 degrees warmer is a little bit too warm. I'd give them a few weeks, put a bottle in the fridge for a few days, then try it. 2-2.1 volumes isn't that low.

Dumping the bottles in the keg could oxygenate your whole batch, better to give them a few weeks to see if it's to you're liking, then assess the situation & make a calulated response. Making quick judgements & trying to fix something that may not even be broken, could result in you ruining the whole batch.

^^^Yep, what he said. Good advice, and it's hard to argue with someone named "commonsenseman"

 

[ThePearsonFam]

Actually, you need to use the temperature the beer is at when you're adding the sugar and bottling... If you've cold-crashed the beer to 40 degrees, then there's naturally going to be more CO2 in solution. That's why the calculator said you need less sugar.

 

[comet909]

Thanks Guys. I'll bring them upstairs which should be about 70 degrees (a little warmer them the basement). Then I'll relax and have a homebrew.

 

[onipar]

Just out of curiosity, how much sugar did you use?

EDIT: Also (and forgive me, I'm new to this) but isn't 2.1 pretty standard for a lot of beer styles? I don't remember for sure but when I was using that calculator, I think the carb level for nut brown (the one I'm brewing) at the low end was 1.9 and the high end 2.3.

 

[flabyboy]

Actually, you need to use the temperature the beer is at when you're adding the sugar and bottling... If you've cold-crashed the beer to 40 degrees, then there's naturally going to be more CO2 in solution. That's why the calculator said you need less sugar.

This is incorrect. You take the highest temp you were fermenting at...not the cold crash temperature

 

[flabyboy]

I would let it ride too. I have had bottles that seemed undercarbed after 3 weeks turn out fantastic after a few more weeks of waiting.

I wouldn't recommend it, but I have also transfered beer from bottles into a keg. Mine was due to a problem with overcarbonated bottle bombs. I purged the keg with CO2 and slowly poured them into the keg (46 bottles!!!) I sealed, pressurized and purged several times during the process. It saved my beer and I have not noticed any oxygenation yet after 3 weeks or so

 

[comet909]

I used about 2.8 oz sucrose.

There's actually another factor that drove me into paranoid mode. Last night I tried my a beer that I'd bottled for the first time. (This is a different beer) It had been conditioning for 2 weeks so I figured it would be o.k. It's a Dry Irish Stout, so I knew that the calculation for that style would have the carb levels a little lower than the pale ales I've been drinking recently. However when I poured it out there was nothing. Zero bubbles and basically no head. But delicious none the less.

This got me into half freak out mode over the whole carbonation issue.

But I can actually explain what happened to the stout now that I've though things over. (again this is a different beer) I pulled it out of the box and threw it in the freezer for a quick chill. I then promptly fell asleep. Woke up shortly after eventually remember my beer and saved it from the freezer. It was not frozen but absolutely ice cold. Within seconds of coming out of the freezer there was a solid layer of frost on the bottle. Poured it out and no carbonation. I should have known better.

The beer was too darn cold and the CO2 stayed in solution. It makes sense now because I remeber that I was just finishing it off some bubbles were starting to form at the bottom of the glass.

So it was probably the paranoia from this stout that got me to worrying about the pale ale. My mishap with the temperature and the calculator left these two beers with similar volumes of co2. I could live with little to no carbonation in a stout, but the thought of the same for my pale ale seemed pretty scary.

Just a little background...