Another uneven priming thread - No dip tube = Uneven priming?

[lolcats]

Hey guys,

First let me say I've been doing about 20 batches and never had an issue before.

My process has always been the exact same EXCEPT on my latest batch:
I switched from using a siphon hooked up to the wand; to just use the bottling bucket with spigot (WITHOUT a dip tube).

The process was the same and is what I read from everyone else
-Take carboy out of fridge about 6 hours before bottling
-Make priming solution (boiling the sugar down) then put in fridge
-Make sure priming solution and beer are not to far off in terms of temperature
-Put priming sugar in bottling bucket, and siphon over it
-Gently stir for about 10/20 seconds

However, my latest batch I used the bottling bucket and the beer residue remaining was awfully sweeter than the rest of the beer.

The ONLY difference between this bottling and the others I did is that using the spigot I didn't bottle from the bottom of the bottling bucket (whereas before i was siphoning to the wand which was touching the bottom).

I can't find any other reason for the Uneven priming. Perhaps, when bottling from the bottom of the bucket instead of a few inches higher it's more effective at keeping a more even carbonation?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Revvy]

How many weeks in the bottle has it been? Not having a diptube doesn't cause people to have uneven carbing, before I came up with the idea of putting one in mine, and then posting it BILLIONS of bottles of homebrew were primed on this planet in a bottling bucket with a spigot without one, and billions continue to be.

Usually when bulk priming with priming solution, the ONLY reason for some bottle being carbed and others not, is simply that the person opened them too soon. And carbing hasn't happend across the board...had they waited another week or 2 they never would have noticed.

Think of each bottle as a mini fermenter, each one in it's own little world, each one impacted by the environment around it. Let's say they're in a closet.... and that closet has an exterior wall. And the beer case you have them in is against that wall.... and it's winter... those few bottles against that wall are actually going to carb a tiny bit slower than the ones at the other end of a case, where it's 1 or 2 or more degrees warmer. Those few degree may not mean anything to us, but at a molecular level they may mean a lot to the yeasties doing their job... eventually all of them will catch up... but if you hadn't opened any during this period...let's say you were out of town for 2 months, and the temps were above 70... they all would have been carbed fine and you never would have necessarily noticed.

You did everything right in the above process there's no reason other than time for them not to be evenly carbed eventually. You stirred... that's the biggest clue.

If you were doing dry sugar either in the bucket or in the bottle, it's understandable for you not to have even carbed. But you did everything right. Priming/bottling is really not all that complicated. I don't stir and never had uneven carbonation, but you went the extra step and stirred....

The ONLY thing I can see is the timeframe. How long have they been in bottle?

 

[lolcats]

Hey Revvy, thanks for your response and helping out!

It's been about 10 days, I haven't opened any yet (I have 27 bottles from a 3 gallon batch Chinook APA)

I drank the last bottle I filled right after filling, because it was half full. Than I collected the residue from the bucket and drank that, i had a direct comparison. I didn't think of taking a gravity reading. But I'm sure the residue was about 1.040 from how sweet it tasted. Had I bottled that...Definite bomb

The batch wont necessarily be ruined, but will definitely have different carbonation levels. I put all bottles in a box fearing for the worst

I'm just trying to understand what went wrong as I have a White IPA to bottle soon. And may just return to Siphon + Wand

 

[Revvy]

Hey Revvy, thanks for your response and helping out!

It's been about 10 days, I haven't opened any yet (I have 27 bottles from a 3 gallon batch Chinook APA)

I drank the last bottle I filled right after filling, because it was half full. Than I collected the residue from the bucket and drank that, i had a direct comparison. I didn't think of taking a gravity reading. But I'm sure the residue was about 1.040 from how sweet it tasted. Had I bottled that...Definite bomb

The batch wont necessarily be ruined, but will definitely have different carbonation levels. I put all bottles in a box fearing for the worst

I'm just trying to understand what went wrong as I have a White IPA to bottle soon. And may just return to Siphon + Wand

You haven't opened any yet and you're saying they're going to be unevenly carbonated... WHAT????

You drank a half filled bottle and the sludge at the bottom of the bottling bucket, and for that reason you're positive there's a problem?

HUH?!?!

I must be misreading things because nothing is making any sense...




I think you just need to relax, walk away from your bottles for another 3 weeks, and you'll find that everything is fine and you worried for nothing.

 

[lolcats]

:fro: haha sorry RDWHAHB

I'm pretty sure it will be uneven, or not carbed enough, i'll report back

There was about 6oz at the bottom of the bottling bucket, is it always that sweet?

 

[sportpak]

I think you need another 2-3 weeks of conditioning like Revvy stated.
Without the gravity reading your sort of flying blind. You really need to record your SG and FG if you ever want to solve a potential problem like this. If it stopped at 1.10 or above it could be adding to your sweet sensation.
If your worried about it, though, put that case in a rubbermade tub with a lid. If something goes critical it will be contained. After that, open the first few outside on the porch.

 

[lolcats]

Of course, i'll wait

I did take gravity readigns: OG 1.062 and FG 1.012

My concern was the significant sweetness difference between the last bottle filled and the 6oz residue at the bottom of the bucket

 

[Revvy]

My concern was the significant sweetness difference between the last bottle filled and the 6oz residue at the bottom of the bucket

Remember, as you said, you STIRRED the priming SOLUTION... What you tasted is really probably your imagination, your perception. Your sugar didn't magically fall our of solution.

You're totally over thinking/worrying about something that's NOT there. Probably based on your perception from your perception that carbing can be uneven to begin with, hence the title of the thread, ie. ANOTHER.

Like I said previously 99% of these threads about uneven carbing are from noobs who opened their bottles BEFORE the three week minimum (when at 70) that many of us recommend. (or dry sugar priming.)


I bottled for 7 years before kegging, and I still bottle on occasions, and I NEVER have had ANY of the problems that nearly EVERY bottling problem thread claims to have... never had "uneven" carbonation (and I've never stirred the priming sugar a day in my life) and except for my 19.75% abv 5 year aged barleywine (which we DID add fresh yeast to but at nearly 20% the yeast died) and NEVER had a beer batch that didn't carb eventually...whether it was 3 weeks or 6 months on big beers.

All I do when I bottle is as outlined in my sticky....nothing fancy...and like I said earlier having a dip tube doesn't matter.

It's not complicated....you boil your sugar, you mix it (in some way either by stirring if you feel the need or letting in NATURALLY integrate by putting it in the bottom of the bucket and racking on top) You bottle your beer...you make sure the temp of the place where your beers are is above 70 degrees if you have normal grav beers and want it to take around 3 weeks... And you Wait til they're carbed...however long that takes.


If it's a big beer, or maybe if you bulk aged it for 6 months or a couple years you consider add some fresh yeast at bottling....

But everything else, whether you chill the solution after boiling or not, whether you have a dip tube or not, any of those other things that people over analyze is superfluous.....

I made that thread, that became the sticky to help explain to people that it ain't rocket science, it's not a difficult process to do, and the reason people have problems with bottling is NOT bottling itself, it's usually their own impatience.... if they follow the simplest process.... boil sugar- add to beer- bottle- WAIT, then they'll have perfectly carbed beer IN ALL THE BOTTLES....

It's that simple...

I predict your beer will be fine in 3 weeks or so.