Added sugar to bottles, think they'll blow up??

[autonomist3k]

So I brewed a raspberry wheat, it was undercarbed because I followed the recipe instead of using a priming sugar calculator.
I used 4 oz of priming sugar originally and they were undercarbed.
So today I did some math and figured I should have used around 1.3 oz more for what I wanted.
I originally had 53 bottles so I figured 1.3 X 53 = .024 oz per bottle.
I added sugar to 6 bottles so .024 X 6 = .14 oz.
So I weighed out .14 oz and divided it into 6 equal portions and added it to the bottles.

Think this will work?

 

[501irishred]

Interesting idea. I've never attempted what your doing but in theory it should work. A possible pitfall I can see is the moment you pulled the cap, you released an undetermined amount of CO2 from the original conditioning. It's conceivable that you've added enough new primer to bring it back to original carbonation level.
Would love to know how this experiment ends. It would be nice to know there is a "plan B" out there....

 

[autonomist3k]

I kinda figured that, so that's why I used the number 1.3 oz vs the 1 oz I was originally thinking. That's a total guess tho, we'll see how it turns out.
I'll definitely give an update when it's finished recarbonating.

You have to be real quick with putting the new cap on btw, the sugar makes it fizz up a lot.
I could have, but didn't bother making a priming solution to prevent that.

 

[unionrdr]

Interesting experiment. Def let us know how it works out. Maybe before & after pics to supliment this experiment?...

 

[autonomist3k]

Before and after pics next week once they're done recarbonating.
But I found this article, I wonder if under pitching is the culprit, I used a wyeast smack pack with no starter.
http://byo.com/stories/item/693-getting-good-beer-foam-techniques

We'll see.

 

[501irishred]

Before and after pics next week once they're done recarbonating.
But I found this article, I wonder if under pitching is the culprit, I used a wyeast smack pack with no starter.
http://byo.com/stories/item/693-getting-good-beer-foam-techniques

We'll see.

Looking forward to it.

Using a smack pack (if done correctly by giving it time to "swell" after smacking) is like a mini starter in and of itself. There should have have been plenty of viable yeast left to carbonate, baring some catastrophic event, even if it was originally under pitched.
BTW - Did I miss something in the article you linked? Didn't seem like they were pointing at under pitching as a key to poor head or head retention......

 

[autonomist3k]

It did mention under pitching for a second, didn't elaborate on it though.
My understanding of smack packs was that they just get the yeast's metabolism going, not that it causes them to reproduce, I'm no microbiologist though.

 

[unionrdr]

Well,the yeast nutrien packet is intended to proof the yeast,but for a gravity of 1.060 on down,pitching it directly worked for me.

 

[autonomist3k]

To follow up, no before and after pics required, it didn't help at all, probably just made up for the co2 that escaped when popping the caps off.

 

[ElCid79]

Try it again with more sugar? I would do it to just one bottle though to see what happens...

 

[boydster]

Looking forward to it.

Using a smack pack (if done correctly by giving it time to "swell" after smacking) is like a mini starter in and of itself.

It is actually very different than a starter; it doesn't grow any new cells. It just gives the existing cells some nutrients to bring them out of dormancy.

Still, even though underpitched, the yeast would have been able to grow enough of a colony to ferment & carb the beer if given adequate priming sugar and enough time to fully carbonate. The amount of priming sugar you used should have given you a decent amount of carbonation. How long did you let the bottles sit before opening, and at what temp? It sounds like patience might be the issue.

Your best bet now might be just to vent them all and add a carb tab, but it is tough to guess how much CO2 might be in solution given how much you have played with it.

 

[autonomist3k]

I did the standard 21 days at 70*.
I would try it again but I drank all of them lol.
On my next batches I fixed my carb problems.
I was just giving an update for any future readers of this thread.
My suggestion is to not put all your trust in a LHBS recipe, find a carbonation calculator online and verify that ****.
Northern brewer has a good one.