A question about bubbles

[iwwj]

Hi,

I'd like to begin by thanking everyone in advance for answering a question from a newbie that's probably been ansered a thousand times before.


I've now made 2 batches (a nut brown and a kolsch) and both seem to have been less carbonated than commercial beers AND the bubbles themselves seem to be more along the lines of what you'd find in champagne than in beer. Am i doign something wrong? Is it the amount of priming (corn) sugar I'm using? I admit I've kind of just assumed 3/4cup sugar in 2 cups water as the standard for a 5 gallon batch.

Advice?

Thanks again.

 

[Brewham]

Have to see your recipes but basically:

1. I have found that steeping 1 pound of grain before the boil really helps with head retention and keeps the beer from being carbonated like a soda pop - lots of initial foam that dies.

2. The amount of sugar to use on bottling is complicated. The warmer your beer has been before bottling, the less CO2 it has in suspension. Conversely, the lower the temp, the more residual CO2 and the less you need to add. There are formulas and charts to help you determine the right amount of sugar to add. Generally it is less than you think and less than the kit suppliers give you. Here's one website http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?12509635#tag

 

[McGarnigle]

Personally, I would consider lower carbonation and champagne-like bubbles to be advantages over commercial beer, which to me is often overly fizzy. Commercial beers are typically force carbonated, which right there is different.

As mentioned above, temperatures matter. Also, you can try measuring your sugar by weight rather than by volume. Weight is more accurate.