Bottle Carbonation Process

[kpj_brewer]

Hello everyone been learning a lot from the forum. Have a question.

I’m trying to figure out how the carbonation process works with priming sugar and bottles.

What I have gathered is once bottled and capped the yeast covert the sugar to alcohol and co2 and because they are capped the co2 will dissolve into the beer creating the carbonations?


When I bottled my beer I left 1 ½ inch of head space instead of the recommend 1 inch. Being curious and wanting to taste the various stages in the process to maturity I drank one at 1 week. Their was slight to no carbonation. In my previous or first batch I had carbonation week one.

What effect does having a larger head space than 1 inch have?

Does the larger head space reduce the pressure needed for the co2 to dissolve?

Thanks for the info

 

[Revvy]

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them more time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.

 

[Revvy]

There's not a lot of info on the role of headspace in bottling that I've seen. an inch to an inch and a half tends to be pretty standard. If you use a bottling wand, the "proper" headspace is automatically created by the displacement of the wand.

 

[vitrael]

My first batch was a small IPA and it was carbed in about 10 days. My second batch, a big fat porter, took almost a month to carb up decently at the same temps.

Just wait. Wait at least another week with bottles at 70F before you try again, and remember to fridge the bottle you test for a day or two before you try it--this helps more of the CO2 dissolve into solution.

 

[kpj_brewer]

Thanks for the info Revvy sounds like it will carbonite just longer this time and that its almost impossible not to work.

Vitrael, the day or two before drinking good to know. I will do that instead of just 3 hours for my two week test taste.

 

[grace1760]

I have a similar question. I'm about to bottle my first batch, and I can then stick the bottles in one of two places: a bedroom closet (with bags or something in case of bottle bombs) wehre it is 75-78 degrees, or in a basement, where it is 64 degrees. Will the beer condition okay in 64 degrees, but maybe just take a bit longer?

 

[RustyMusket]

well im on day 7 of my bottle conditioning and i popped a top it was pretty good could use some more time though. well i forgot to swish it around and get the yeasties off the bottom
so i decided to open anotherone. well needless to say on on bottle 5. I have no patience im a bad man

 

[bechard]

I can tell you that I've bottle conditioned two brews so far (just brewed my third batch) and they both have taken three weeks to carb up.

My first brew was a Hopped Up Wheat Ale, (Wheat Pale Ale) and due to being my first batch had a lot of yeast in suspension. I used a full 5oz dissolved corn sugar in my bottling bucket prior to racking and it had no carbonation at two weeks. I gave it a third week, and it was perfectly carbed up when I tried it.

My second brew is an American Brown Ale, and should be done carbonating later this week. I pulled two and chilled them on the weekend, and they had a little carbonation but not enough to create any head. I'm willing to bet that after this third week they will be ready to go.

TLDR; I've conditioned / carbed up @ 70F for three weeks for my last two batches before they were done. Give it more time, and have a beer while you're waiting.

 

[Maxkling]

well i forgot to swish it around and get the yeasties off the bottom
so i decided to open anotherone. well needless to say on on bottle 5. I have no patience im a bad man

Why most strive for the least amount of bottle trub to be in the beer? Leave the yeast behind in the bottle.

 

[RustyMusket]

Why most strive for the least amount of bottle trub to be in the beer? Leave the yeast behind in the bottle.

Well its a hefe so i presume there will be alittle bit in the bottle. Not only that but when you are priming/bottle conditioning your beer shouldnt you have a small amount of yeast in there to eat the sugars?

 

[Maxkling]

Well its a hefe so i presume there will be alittle bit in the bottle. Not only that but when you are priming/bottle conditioning your beer shouldnt you have a small amount of yeast in there to eat the sugars?

All that is happening during bottle condition is another small fermentation. Everything will drop to the bottom of the bottle, especially in the fridge. So when you pour the beer you tend to want to leave it behind, otherwise it will give you excess gastrointestinal discharges.

 

[RustyMusket]

otherwise it will give you excess gastrointestinal discharges.

ahhhhhh haaaaaaaa