Why do I continue to have inconsistent carbonation?

[JeffoC6]

The thing then is that you to tells us what you're doing. Step by step at bottling and beyond. Everything else is irrevelent. It doesn't matter whehter you primaried three weeks, secondaried, or bottled the minute fermentation halted...all that is wiped clean on bottling day. None of that in most cases is relevent.

How are you delivering piming sugar to beer? What kind of bottles are you using? What Temps are you Storing them at?

For 99.9% of beers, bottling if done right (which isn't hard) is foolproof. You add sugar, you cap it, the yeast eats it and farts co2, which goes into the beer over a period of about 3 weeks if the beer is kept above 70 degrees. That's it....For all of gmcastil's mcat addled overly complex breakdown (which was great by the way) it really is a simple process.

So if it's not working, then usually the brewer is doing something wrong...or the yeast is exhausted if it's a big beer.

But if it's a normal beer the reasons are pretty simple if it's not carbed or inconssitently carbed..

1)The brewer is impatient (you ruled that out apparantly)
2)The beer is too cold for the yeast to work (I'm assuming you have kept them above 70 for this time)
3) The method of delivering beer and sugar to bottles is faulty. (Bulk Priming and boiling prevents this, as does adding priming tabs)
4) You're priming with something other than sugar (like maltodextrine or lactose)
5) You have capping issues.
6) You somehow have killed the yeast (but if you have inconcistant carbing, then that's incongruous.)

There really is a limited range of conditions that can cause a nearly foolproof process to fail...abd beyond those mentioned above I can't think of. So Somewhere on this list is your problem.

Ok...So let's break down t hose 6 points:

1) Originally (first 2-3 beers), I was impatient, yes. However, I bottled a Red Rye IPA on 4/24/12 that I actually remember very specifically that you told me to use the style as "American Pale Ale." Following your directions, I racked onto the amount of priming sugar calculated, and waited. At 3 weeks, I tried one. Flat. Then I waited another week and tried another. The bottle gushed. I figured, alright, maybe I should put another in the fridge and wait a week. A week later, I opened it...Flat. I STILL have them sitting at 70+...I tried one a few nights ago and it was flat. The OG was 1.052 and the FG was 1.013. Are you telling me that when I bottled on 4/24/12, they may STILL be flat? If that's the case, I could literally be wasting my entire 1 gallon batches on simply testing beers to see if they're carbed. That doesn't seem right to me. Should I be waiting 2+ months on ALL of my normal gravity beers for consistent carbonation?

2) My bottles are sitting in a room that is 80 degrees 90% of the time. The "coolest" it gets is 75 degrees.

3) I add about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of spring water to a small pot. I turn on the flame, add my weighed priming sugar to the oz to the water, stir like crazy, and then boil it for 5 minutes. I then let it sit and cool down. Then I take it and pour it into a 1 gallon carboy through a sanitized funnel. I then rack my cold crashed beer ontop of it. I wasn't stirring, but now, I do.

4) I prime with corn sugar. I've never primed with anything else

5) My caps are sealed. I have a small "dent" in the top of them after I cap them. When I open them, they hiss. There's obviously a seal.

6) As you said, how could the yeast be killed if some beers are perfect, others are flat, and others are overcarbed?

 

[emjay]

What I mean is for your next batch, bottle prime everything instead. Coopers carbonation drops or something like that. If carbs up with no problem we know the issue is with your priming technique or method. If it doesn't, then there are other issues. Plus bottle priming a 1 gal batch would take less time than the priming solution.

I'd have to agree with this, though I would go further to suggest that you should still batch prime *HALF* the batch. If the batch-primed ones are inconsistent, but the bottle-primed ones are good, than it's a problem with your process. If they're all inconsistent, then it's something else (storage problem, infection, etc). If they're all good, try it again on your next batch, and if they keep all being good, your problem is probably solved anyways.

Given that it's inconsistent carbonation rather than simply poor carbonation, I wouldn't usually think it's a storage problem (ie time or temperature), though I'd suppose it's still possible if there was variation in the way different bottles were stored (mostly time and temp, again), if the bottles were of different sizes, or if they were filled with drastically varying amounts of headspace.

Another possibility you may want to take a look at is the seal itself; it's possible carbonation could be escaping. This could be caused by a flawed capper (or capping technique), or bad caps/seals (either just bad ones, or from reuse). What kind of bottles and caps are you using? Among other possibilities, I've heard of people having issues with oxygen-absorbing caps.

 

[Revvy]

I'd have to agree with this, though I would go further to suggest that you should still batch prime *HALF* the batch. If the batch-primed ones are inconsistent, but the bottle-primed ones are good, than it's a problem with your process. If they're all inconsistent, then it's something else (storage problem, infection, etc). If they're all good, try it again on your next batch, and if they keep all being good, your problem is probably solved anyways.

Given that it's inconsistent carbonation rather than simply poor carbonation, I wouldn't usually think it's a storage problem (ie time or temperature), though I'd suppose it's still possible if there was variation in the way different bottles were stored (mostly time and temp, again), if the bottles were of different sizes, or if they were filled with drastically varying amounts of headspace.

Another possibility you may want to take a look at is the seal itself; it's possible carbonation could be escaping. This could be caused by a flawed capper (or capping technique), or bad caps/seals (either just bad ones, or from reuse). What kind of bottles and caps are you using? Among other possibilities, I've heard of people having issues with oxygen-absorbing caps.

This is good, but one thing. There's no infection that would cause flat beer. It would cause normally carbed beers in some bottles and gushers in others, but not prevent carbonation.

 

[emjay]

6) You somehow have killed the yeast (but if you have inconcistant carbing, then that's incongruous.)

It's not necessarily incongruous. There may be just a bit of viable yeast that have been on the threshold of being enough to properly carb, possibly causing a bigger difference through more yeast being racked at the end. And coupled with sanitation problems (I know, I don't like attributing things to multiple coincident problems, but it's possible), an infection could be responsible for the more highly-carbonated ones.

 

[emjay]

This is good, but one thing. There's no infection that would cause flat beer. It would cause normally carbed beers in some bottles and gushers in others, but not prevent carbonation.

I know, read the last part above... that's what I meant.

 

[emjay]

5) My caps are sealed. I have a small "dent" in the top of them after I cap them. When I open them, they hiss. There's obviously a seal.

It's possible (though unusual, due to the physics of a crown cap) that the seal only leaks at a certain amount of pressure, thereby allowing it to retain some pressure.

A lot of people get those dents, and I haven't previously heard of them causing a problem (but notice how you don't see them on commercial brews)? However, I'd imagine that cappers that do this could actually cause the outside/lower part (the part that gets crimped) to flare outwards a bit, potentially compromising the seal in severe cases.

Again, what kind of bottles and caps do you use? Do you ever reuse caps? And just for the sake of interest, how long did you wait until bottling this batch (from pitching yeast to capping bottles)?

 

[JeffoC6]

It's possible (though unusual, due to the physics of a crown cap) that the seal only leaks at a certain amount of pressure, thereby allowing it to retain some pressure.

A lot of people get those dents, and I haven't previously heard of them causing a problem (but notice how you don't see them on commercial brews)? However, I'd imagine that cappers that do this could actually cause the outside/lower part (the part that gets crimped) to flare outwards a bit, potentially compromising the seal in severe cases.

Again, what kind of bottles and caps do you use? Do you ever reuse caps? And just for the sake of interest, how long did you wait until bottling this batch (from pitching yeast to capping bottles)?

I use these bottles: http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/sho.../bottles/12-oz-amber-beer-bottle-24-case.html

I use regular caps? They're gold. Not sure else how to describe them.

I never re-use caps.

Here's my process for the Bavarian Hefe that I just had a gusher on, and the other night, had an overly sweet and flat beer. With the very first one, being nice, and perfectly carbed:

Brewed 4/29
Target OG: 1.054
My OG: 1.057
Target FG: 1.013
My FG: 1.013
Fermented 3 weeks at 68.
Bottled 5/21/12 (22 days after brewing) here are my notes:
Bottling. Per priming calculator:
Style: Bavarian Weizen
Amount to be bottled: 0.85 gallons
Warmest Temperature achieved: 76
Corn Sugar needed: 1.5 oz
Using: Spring water
Due to overcarbonation problems, I'm bottling using 25% less than 1.5 oz, or 1.125 oz (31.89 grams). Used 32 grams.
Will let condition for 3 weeks and try one. Date to put first in fridge is 6/11/12

On 6/13/12, my first one was really nice.

On 6/25/12. My 2nd was way flat and sweet

On 6/29/12, tonight...I had a gusher.

 

[gmcastil]

5) You have capping issues.

You aren't using twist off bottles by any chance are you?

 

[JeffoC6]

You aren't using twist off bottles by any chance are you?

No

 

[gmcastil]

How do you clean your bottles?

 

[JeffoC6]

How do you clean your bottles?

As soon as I pour a beer I rinse them in hot water. Usually I leave some hot water in the bottle and then pour it out later. I then put my bottles upside down in the box they came in, to dry. When bottling, I take the amount of bottles needed, fill my sink up with 3 gallons of hot water, add 3 tablespoons of b-brite and stir until it's dissolved, and then I submerge my bottles completely in the hot water for a minimum of 1 hour. Afterwards, I cold rinse them very well, store them upside down in a 6 pack holder, and then get everything else ready. When I'm ready to rack to my bottles, I put them right side up and use a sanitized funnel to add some starsan to. Then I shake the star san into them, dump it, and rack into each bottle with a bottling wand.

 

[emjay]

If the flat one really WAS sweet (and you're not just imagining or making it up), it has to be yeast-related. But after just a month, that seems odd, ESPECIALLY for a hefe. Which yeast did you use?

Generally, this would be a problem of either dead yeast, storing the bottles too cold, or racking TOO perfectly off a compact yeast cake (not allowing enough yeast into the bottling bucket and/or bottles)... and you can probably see why that last one would be a bit odd for a hefe.

But I don't see how that can also be compatible with gushers, leading me to think you're probably mistaken about it being sweet (possibly due to the lack of carbonic acid).

 

[JeffoC6]

If the flat one really WAS sweet (and you're not just imagining or making it up), it has to be yeast-related. But after just a month, that seems odd, ESPECIALLY for a hefe. Which yeast did you use?

Generally, this would be a problem of either dead yeast, storing the bottles too cold, or racking TOO perfectly off a compact yeast cake (not allowing enough yeast into the bottling bucket and/or bottles)... and you can probably see why that last one would be a bit odd for a hefe.

I used Wyeast 3068.

I will say, that I don't let the priming sugar solution cool down to room temp. If anything it's a little warmer than "warm"...Am I perhaps killing my yeast?

If the answer to that question is "yes" then why is it that other beers are carbed fine...And with some batches (my Simcoe IPA)..ALL beers are carbed perfectly? I'm being consistent every time I bottle.

 

[emjay]

I used Wyeast 3068.

I will say, that I don't let the priming sugar solution cool down to room temp. If anything it's a little warmer than "warm"...Am I perhaps killing my yeast?

If the answer to that question is "yes" then why is it that other beers are carbed fine...And with some batches (my Simcoe IPA)..ALL beers are carbed perfectly? I'm being consistent every time I bottle.

Read the last paragraph of that post, I made an edit.

And given the volume of the priming solution, you could technically rack onto it still at boiling temp and it shouldn't affect the yeast.

 

[JeffoC6]

Read the last paragraph of that post, I made an edit.

Ok..Not sure, but it was the last beer I bottled. It was only 3/4 of the way full. I opened it, it hissed a little, and when I poured it, I had no head. There was a tiny amount of carbonation, but when I drank it, it was overly clovey, sweet, sugary, and just made me sort of shiver. I figured it was because it was the last beer, and it had all of the priming sugar solution in it. Which didn't make sense to me, since I stirred really well.

 

[emjay]

That one being flat makes sense, given the headspace. But being sweet does not -again, I think it's at most just perceived that way due to a lack of carbonic acid.

Can you describe exactly how you're racking on to the priming solution? Do you have a hose sitting on the bottom of the bottling vessel, or it the wort falling from the top?

Also, how long are you boiling it for, and are you doing it on a stovetop?

 

[JeffoC6]

That one being flat makes sense, given the headspace. But being sweet does not -again, I think it's at most just perceived that way due to a lack of carbonic acid.

Can you describe exactly how you're racking on to the priming solution? Do you have a hose sitting on the bottom of the bottling vessel, or it the wort falling from the top?

Also, how long are you boiling it for, and are you doing it on a stovetop?

I fill up a little pot with about a cup to a cup and a half of spring water. As I heat it up, I pour my corn sugar into it and stir it until it dissolves. Then I bring the water and sugar to a boil and let it go for about 3-5 minutes. After that, I turn the heat off and let it sit for about 10 min.

I then take a sanitized jug and put a sanitized funnel ontop of it. I pour the solution down into the jug, and then swirl it around the sides of the jug. I then put a carboy cab onto the jug, insert a hose all the way down to the bottom, and then use my autosiphon to rack from the primary into the bottling jug, ontop of the solution. It doesn't splash, foam up, or anything like that. After it fills up, I pull the hose out, take the carboy cap off, and have recently been gently stirring. Then, I put a piece of sanitized foil on top while i get my bottles ready.

 

[emjay]

Hmm, I'm really lost here. If everything you've said is true, it doesn't make any sense.

Do you cold crash your primary or secondary? Does the hefe look cloudy or clear?

 

[JeffoC6]

Hmm, I'm really lost here. If everything you've said is true, it doesn't make any sense.

Do you cold crash your primary or secondary? Does the hefe look cloudy or clear?

I've cold crashed all of my beers. No longer than 48 hours. The Hefe is nice and cloudy as it should be

Sigh...Thanks for your help. I really don't know what to do.

 

[heckler73]

what about the headspace issue? did you only ever have one bottle that wasn't filled enough? The bottling wand should be filling the bottle to almost overflowing, then the wand is removed and leaves the perfect head space in the bottle.

 

[emjay]

I've cold crashed all of my beers. No longer than 48 hours. The Hefe is nice and cloudy as it should be

Sigh...Thanks for your help. I really don't know what to do.

All I can do is recommend this again:

I'd have to agree with this, though I would go further to suggest that you should still batch prime *HALF* the batch. If the batch-primed ones are inconsistent, but the bottle-primed ones are good, than it's a problem with your process. If they're all inconsistent, then it's something else (storage problem, infection, etc). If they're all good, try it again on your next batch, and if they keep all being good, your problem is probably solved anyways.

I know that doesn't save the latest batch, and there are ways to attempt it, but they tend to result in oxidized and/or explosive beer.

 

[BuddyWeiser]

Then, I put a piece of sanitized foil on top while i get my bottles ready.

Is this before or after the bottles soak for an hour in B-Brite and hot water? I've found that after mixing priming sugar into a batch, if I set a timer for 20 min and wait until that timer is up before I very gently agitate the beer and start filling bottles, then my bottles seem to carb more evenly.

 

[MMJfan]

I boil my sugar water for 10-15 minutes and then cool it in an ice bath and then just dump it in to my bottling bucket. I've yet to have any issues carbing... (knocking on wood

)

 

[JeffoC6]

HELP!!!!

So to continue this thread... I just opened my C&C Hop Factory IPA. Very disappointed...

Here are the beer notes:

1 Gallon All Grain batch based on 70% efficiency:
Brewed 5/10/12
Malts and Fermentables
American (Pale 2-Row) 2.30 lb
American Munich Dark 20L- 0.20 lb
American Caramel/Crystal Malt 40L- 0.10 lb

Hops
Chinook- .10 oz @ 60 min.
Cascade- .20 oz @ 20 min.
Chinook- .20 oz @ 10 min.
Cascade- .20 oz @ 10 min.

Misc.
1/5 Whirlflock Tablet @ 15 min.

Yeast
Safale US-05- Per MrMalty, pitch 0.2 packets (rounded to .5)

Dry Hop
Chinook- .10 oz for 7 days
Cascade- .10 oz for 7 days

(Based on 70% efficiency)
Target OG: 1.067
My OG: 1.067
Target FG: 1.019
My FG: 1.015

Strike temp 156.7
Mash temp 152

I fermented at 64 for 2 weeks to FG, then dry hopped as outlined.

On 5/31/12, I cold crashed until 6/3/12
Bottled using the following info from Tastybrew:
*Note that when I tasted it at bottling time, it was nice, bitter, and tasted like a flat IPA should taste like*

Bottling. Per priming calculator:
Style: IPA
Amount to be bottled: 0.85 gallons
Warmest Temperature achieved: 78 (this was the temp the beer achieved when dry hopping after 2 weeks of primary fermentation)
Corn Sugar needed: .5 oz
Using: Spring water

Due to prior overcarbonation problems, I'm bottling using 25% less than .5 oz, or .38 oz 10.77 grams). Used 11 grams.

Will let condition for 3 weeks and try one. Date to put first in fridge is 6/24/12

I put my first in the fridge on 6/28/12 (25 days of bottle conditioning at 75+ degrees), and cracked it open tonight, 6/30/12 (a full 48 hours after putting the beer in the fridge). Here are my tasting notes:

Appearance: Nice hiss when opened the bottle. Seemed a little aggressive. Was waiting for a gusher but didn't happen. The beer poured a nice fluffy, full finger creamy head. Dark amber copper color in the glass. Not clear, but not cloudy. Looks very nice in the tulip glass. Nice lasting head and some minimal lacing.

Aroma: Aroma smells kind of "clean", a little metallic and a tad bit sour in the nose. A very smalll hint of grapefruit, but not a whole lot coming through. Not a powerful aroma at all for an IPA.

Taste: Taste is fizzy, clean, sharp, and bland. When I burp, I have the same aftertaste as I normally experience. Nothing impressive at all about the taste. Just tastes like a bland, carbonated IPA with some hints of seltzer.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and fizzy. Almost has a seltzer-like quality to it. Tangy, sharp, and a little sour on the sides of the tongue.

Overall: Taste is non-existent. Mouthfeel is sharp and twangy. Unfortunately, not very good.

 

[JeffoC6]

Just opened the 2nd one.

Beautiful, billowy creamy head. Sticks around for a few minutes. Retention is awesome.

Aroma is sharp, crisp, almost spritzy and in your nose. Hardly any hop aroma. If anything, a very small amount of citrus.

Taste is exactly the same as previously outlined above.

So the beer is obviously carbed. It obviously has a great head, and the head retention is awesome. There's a little bit of lacing. Yet the beer itself tastes spritzy, tangy, sour, gassy....Why?

 

[emjay]

Sounds like an infection, actually. Either that or you threw Beano or amylase in the beer.

 

[JeffoC6]

Sounds like an infection, actually. Either that or you threw Beano or amylase in the beer.

What do you mean about beano? What's amylase? I use fermcap S during fermentation.

What about my process would cause an infection?

 

[JeffoC6]

For the record, because I do 1 gallon batches, I DO pour back my hyrdometer samples. Very carefully. I try to pour them against the fermenter so they drizzle back in, but there have been times that it's gently splashed back into the fermented beer. Could this be an issue? I'll be completely honest, it doesn't SPLASH, it simple drizzles in...and oftentimes, it just drizzles down the side of the carboy.

 

[JeffoC6]

See post #1.

I just opened another Bavarian Hefe. It poured a nice soft 1 finger head. Lingered around. Perfectly carbed. Perfect clove flavor.

Again...Inconsistent.

 

[zev8910]

As soon as I pour a beer I rinse them in hot water. Usually I leave some hot water in the bottle and then pour it out later. I then put my bottles upside down in the box they came in, to dry. When bottling, I take the amount of bottles needed, fill my sink up with 3 gallons of hot water, add 3 tablespoons of b-brite and stir until it's dissolved, and then I submerge my bottles completely in the hot water for a minimum of 1 hour. Afterwards, I cold rinse them very well, store them upside down in a 6 pack holder, and then get everything else ready. When I'm ready to rack to my bottles, I put them right side up and use a sanitized funnel to add some starsan to. Then I shake the star san into them, dump it, and rack into each bottle with a bottling wand.

Approach it scientifically, changing one variable per batch.
Try a different capper one batch (if you're using a wing capper, try a bench capper).
Are you reusing the bottles from batch to batch? Are the same bottles giving the same results? Mark which bottles are flat and which gush, maybe there's an imperfection in the glass.

 

[BrettFitz]

From my rube standpoint, this has been an interesting and sort of confusing thread.

I have to ask, innocently I promise, why don't you jump up to a 5 gallon brew? I only ask because I don't take the great notes you do, I put a recipe together and follow it sort of. I carb with honey, measure it out (more or less) and boil it (for "a while"), then dump it into the bottling bucket. I think I stir it most of the time but to be honest I can't say for sure. I bottle in bombers and stick 'em in the guest room, wait a couple weeks (or so), chill the lot and pluck 'em from the fridge willy-nilly. I don't ever recall having a carb issue.

I make my friends that don't brew think it is some kind of magic. Those that do brew say "so what, your beer is doing what it should."

My point is - or I guess my question to you and the rest is - why do I have it so easy and you suffer? I am feeling guilty reading your pain when I am a half-asser compared to you yet my beer carbs very evenly. (There have been plenty of other comedic errors if that makes you feel better, but no carb problems.)

Is it possible that working with the smaller 1-gallon batch amplifies certain issues, while a larger 5-gallon mass of beer evens them out?

Regardless, good luck. You certainly have a bunch of very brew-smart folks thinking hard about your troubles so I'm sure you will get it nailed. Hopefully sooner than later. I'll be following the thread for sure to thanks to all who contribute.

 

[JeffoC6]

Update....

So I just opened one of my Simcoe IPA's. This is an IPA that I've experienced perfect carbonation with over the last 4 beers. Head retention, excellent. Aroma, very nice.

Brewed 4/21/12...Bottled 5/14/12.

Been drinking this one over the last week. Every beer I've had has had perfect head retention, lacing, etc.

I JUST opened my 6th one 5 minutes ago....Flat.

Revvy...You out there? Are you saying that I didn't wait long enough (6 week for an IPA)? How is that possible, considering that the last 5 I've had have been "perfect."...Please, enlighten me.

 

[JeffoC6]

Update...

Just opened another Simcoe IPA. Poured it. Head is wonderful. 2 fingers of thick, creamy head. Carbonation is wonderful. Aroma is awesome. Perfect carbonation.

Why is is that 6 out of 7 of these brews have been PERFECT, and 1 has been absolutely flat?

 

[oldtrucker]

Although I'm not one off the beer pro's I have been homebrewing 8 are so years. Every time I have under carbing problems, it is in the spring, right after we start the air conditioner. I move the beer outside, on the back porch for several days. It is warmer there. Soon the bottles are hard (pet bottles) and back inside they come. Looking at your time line makes me wonder is this your problem.

 

[JeffoC6]

Although I'm not one off the beer pro's I have been homebrewing 8 are so years. Every time I have under carbing problems, it is in the spring, right after we start the air conditioner. I move the beer outside, on the back porch for several days. It is warmer there. Soon the bottles are hard (pet bottles) and back inside they come. Looking at your time line makes me wonder is this your problem.

My bottles stay at 70 plus for a minimum of 3 weeks. Then I check one thereafter..

 

[kc1123]

Jeff, I also brew one gallon batches. My thoughts from reading your posts are: 1) try not cold crashing, 2) hot rinse your bottles after the B Brite soak (also, no mention of a bottle brush... you could be leaving some residual B Brite or other things in your bottles), 3) rack into a container with a wider base, not a jug (I use the pot I boil my wort in... I feel like the sugar solution wouldn't mix enough in a jug). Just my two cents. I'm far from an expert, but my beer has been pretty consistent in carbonation except for my Coffee & Donut Stout.

 

[JeffoC6]

Jeff, I also brew one gallon batches. My thoughts from reading your posts are: 1) try not cold crashing, 2) hot rinse your bottles after the B Brite soak (also, no mention of a bottle brush... you could be leaving some residual B Brite or other things in your bottles), 3) rack into a container with a wider base, not a jug (I use the pot I boil my wort in... I feel like the sugar solution wouldn't mix enough in a jug). Just my two cents. I'm far from an expert, but my beer has been pretty consistent in carbonation except for my Coffee & Donut Stout.

Interesting points. I do not use a bottle brush. I rinse each bottle very very well though, but I suppose I could be leaving some residue. Do you think its possible that my cold crashing is taking the yeast out for when I bottle?

I see your point on the jug, but I have stirred the priming solution (after racking on top of it). I can't imagine that it wouldn't mix in with the beer.

I don't let the priming solution cool to room temp, in fact, I would say that more times than not, I do rack the beer onto it while its still hot. However, if I'm killing the yeast, why are some beers carbed perfectly, others flat, and others gushers?

 

[kc1123]

I have only cold crashed once, and it was the only batch that did not carbonate properly, however that issue I attribute to oils from coffee. Cold crashing *should* leave enough yeast in suspension not to cause a problem, but it's one of the variables that stood out to me. I don't cool my sugar solution either, so I don't think that's the problem. I highly suggest a bottle brush and a hot rinse!

 

[oldtrucker]

OK, my temperature is supposed to be 72. The point is after moving my beer outside into much warmer conditions (like 85 to 90) it carbs nicely.

Kent

 

[jbaysurfer]

Yea, I but I like to share. I give a few bottles to my dad and 1 to my beer geek cousin.

And different debate entirely, but those growlers are not rated for pressure.

Some folks have carbed in them with no problems, some have had very large and dangerous bottle bombs.