Beer darkening

[Mstudens]

My home brew IPAs will not carbonate! The other odd observation is that I bottle a nice light colored beer but after sitting for a week or so, the beer gets very dark and does not carbonate. I have done two batches with slight differences in the grain bill and hops but both turned out the same way. Following the initial batch I tried adding more bottling corn sugar and bottles using caps rather than the swing tops but still did not get any carbonation. Any suggestions? Everything looks and tastes great pre bottling but come out flat. The taste is good but with no pop. The attached picture shows the pre-bottled beer on the right and the final on the left.

 

[day_trippr]

Greetings, Mstudens, and welcome to HBT!

There may be more than one problem here: that dark pour is rather badly oxidized - and that could have been induced any time post-fermentation, so understanding your post-fermentation process will be helpful. The lack of carbonation could be due to a few things but unless your capper is completely shot I don't think the two issues are related...

 

[BrewInspector]

I'll do it....

More information please.
Recipe
Procedures
Times...

 

[Jag75]

As Brewinspector says need more info of your whole process. Sounds like oxidation is part of your issue as trippr said. You have got to really minimize the o2 after fermentation , especially in hoppy beers. This is a great place to learn and help your brewing process. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

Use this for future priming amounts .
https://www.northernbrewer.com/pages/priming-sugar-calculator

 

[Mstudens]

Thank you guys for the input and oxidation could definitely be the issue. Post fermentation I transferred the beer into a bottling bucket where I mixed it with dissolved corn sugar. I then moved in into a secondary bucket in order to filter out some of the hop residue from the dry hop. The back and forth probably introduced a good about of oxygen. From these replies, if I am to transfer like this, it seem like it should be done gently to reduce the amount of oxygen introduced into the beer. Also, I stirred the beer in the bottling bucket to ensure that the sugar was well mixed. I should probably have minimized the amount of stirring. As for the recipe:

5 gallon batch; Grain bill = 11 lbs 2 row malt, 1.5 lbs wheat malt and 1 lb oat. I first wort hopped with 0.25 oz of Columbus hops, boiled for 1 hour adding 0.25 oz each of amarillo and citra hops with 5 min left in the boil and then an additional 1.25 oz each during the hop stand after the boil. I transferred this into my bucket fermenter and added a package of California Ale yeast. After 1 week I dry hopped with 2.5 oz of amarillo and citra and 1 oz of simcoe. I let this sit for about 4 days before the bottling procedure I described above. I used 1.5 cups of dextrose as bottling sugar.

Thank you again for your suggestions!

 

[isomerization]

1.5 cups of dextrose sounds like double the amount needed for a 5 gal batch, FYI.

 

[RPh_Guy]

What temperature do you keep the bottles during conditioning? They need to be warm to carbonate.

How are you adding the priming sugar? Just dumping in dry sugar? You need to dissolve it in hot water.

You should

• Add the dissolved priming sugar to the bottling bucket.
• Gravity transfer the beer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket with tubing that reaches all the way to the bottom and curve so it creates a whirlpool while filling.
• You may gently stir with the tubing. No splashing.
• Bottle from the bottling bucket with a bottling wand. No extra transfers.
• Use oxygen-absorbing bottle caps.

Cheers

 

[BrewInspector]

Yes, too many transfers and aeration.
Only move it from fermentor to bottling bucket (with priming sugar) then to bottles.

Yes, to much priming sugar. You should have attained the famed bottle bomb status with your priming sugar amount. If they are not carbed it is likely a matter of leaking caps, time or temp. Too cold or too soon to allow carbonation. 3/4 cup of corn sugar is typical volume measurement for a 5 gallon batch (your sugar option should be similar. Use a priming calculator) dissolve in water, add to bottling bucket, transfer beer into bottling bucket in the swirled tube method already described.

Store them in a warm area (70s) for 2-3 weeks. I find 3 weeks best allowing for earliest carbonation, settling and melding of flavors when bottling. Crown caps are more reliable than swingtops for carbonation. Use them until you have a reliable method.

How are you transferring?

 

[Mstudens]

Thank you for the help! Yes, I do dissolve the priming sugar in hot water (and then let it cool) before adding the beer from the fermenter. Also, I do not think temperature is an issue. I live in South Florida so the bottles are kept at 70+ degrees until I cool them. The first bottles were cooled at 2 weeks, which might be too soon for a higher gravity beer. I am waiting to see what happens with the rest to see if any carbonation occurs in the next few weeks. From the replies, I am almost positive that I simply aerated the beer way too much. When I transferred, I did not use a tube, I basically dumped the beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket and back again (through a strainer). I am also using oxygen absorbing caps on the bottles. Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

[jjw5015]

Thank you for the help! Yes, I do dissolve the priming sugar in hot water (and then let it cool) before adding the beer from the fermenter. Also, I do not think temperature is an issue. I live in South Florida so the bottles are kept at 70+ degrees until I cool them. The first bottles were cooled at 2 weeks, which might be too soon for a higher gravity beer. I am waiting to see what happens with the rest to see if any carbonation occurs in the next few weeks. From the replies, I am almost positive that I simply aerated the beer way too much. When I transferred, I did not use a tube, I basically dumped the beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket and back again (through a strainer). I am also using oxygen absorbing caps on the bottles. Thanks again for the suggestions!

That's the problem right there. Just transfer from primary to bottling buck with an autosiphon and tubing.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Post fermentation I transferred the beer into a bottling bucket where I mixed it with dissolved corn sugar. I then moved in into a secondary bucket in order to filter out some of the hop residue from the dry hop. The back and forth probably introduced a good about of oxygen.

Way too many transfers. Even one might be too many for a really hoppy beer. When I used to bottle I had major issues with my beer's shelf life. It would be good for a week or two tops and then would begin the darkening and flavor change. I was transferring to a bottling bucket with autosiphon and then bottling with a bottling wand.

 

[balrog]

Get a siphon before you do anything else.
Autosiphon is my fav, but siphon. Try to xfr without any bubbles from AIR. If your beer is like most beer, fermented with yeast to create alcohol and CO2, there will be dissolved CO2 in the beer and siphoning will cause a little to come out which is often viewed as "air" but is really harmless CO2. If you have a leaky connection of hose on siphon and it sucks in air, that's another very bad story. But siphon. No to the pouring. Pouring bad.