Bottle Conditioning - Can't make sense of this.

[maffewl]

I'm sure the answer is simple, but I can't seem to figure out what's going on. I brewed a wheat beer from extract (my last before switching to all-grain) approx. the end of February. Let it sit in the primary for 3 weeks, then bottled. It's been conditioning for around 6 weeks now. Here's the question...

When I put a few in the fridge to cool for drinking... they have no head at all, and very little carbonation, the top of the glass looks like a glassy lake that I would like to ski on.

However, I test opened one that had not been cooled at all, and it had tons of head and very well carbed.

I used corn sugar for conditioning and even had a couple bottle bombs... so I really can't make sense why when I cool them, all the carbonation and head goes away...

Any thoughts?

 

[Xcorpia]

Weird...

 

[el_kirk]

It sounds to me like maybe the priming sugar didn't get mixed into the beer well enough, so some bottles got more priming sugar than others.
That would explain bottle bombs, bottle duds and beers that are in between.
Did you stir the priming sugar in when you put the beer in your bottling bucket?

 

[Revvy]

At what temp were you bottle conditioning it for during the 6 weeks? Was it below 70? Then your beer's never been truly carbed yet, an you're getting what many people get when they open a warm bottle- a gusher, but there's not enough true co2 formed to get absorbed when the beer is actually cool.

I personally believe the whole "priming sugar didn't get mixed" argument is BS, if you put the sugar solution in the bottom of the bucket and racked your beer, then it couldn't help but be mixed. You're putting 2 tiny cups of liguid into a vessel and dumping 5 gallons into it and the beer is rising as it fills the bucket...believe me, it is mixing.

Most of the time when a beer is acting weired, it's just that it's not fully carbed yet. And if you're below 70, or were below 70 for any period of time during the 6 weeks, then the beer hasn't fully carbed yet.

 

[maffewl]

Thanks for the ideas guys... to clarify...

The ambient temps in the room that I bottle condition in never get below 68. They stay a pretty consistent 72. As for the mixing... I place the two cups of sugar into the bottling bucket and rack on top of it. In addition, I place the hose in a pattern that forces circular flow.

I hope you are right Revvy, and that they just need more time, but this has me dumb-founded.

 

[Revvy]

Give them all a "shake" to resuspend the yeast and make sure they are in a warm place.

 

[SwampassJ]

Have the same issue with the Munich Lager, probably 8 weeks bottled and they are effervescent warm but just barely bubbling cold.

 

[maffewl]

Have the same issue with the Munich Lager, probably 8 weeks bottled and they are effervescent warm but just barely bubbling cold.

Is it getting better with time? I'm sure it must, but mine haven't changed a bit since week 3.

 

[Fozzie]

Thanks for the ideas guys... to clarify...

The ambient temps in the room that I bottle condition in never get below 68. They stay a pretty consistent 72. As for the mixing... I place the two cups of sugar into the bottling bucket and rack on top of it. In addition, I place the hose in a pattern that forces circular flow.

I hope you are right Revvy, and that they just need more time, but this has me dumb-founded.

Are you saying you rack straight onto the sugar? Or are you boiling the sugar up in a few cups of water, and racking the beer onto that solution?

 

[maffewl]

Lol... no, I boil 2 cups of water and mix the sugar with the boil. Then pour that solution into the bottling bucket and rack on top of it with a tube position that causes a swirl.