Bottling day!

[Anubis]

So I will be bottling my first batch today (kolsch) and I am very nervous about carbonation problems. I REALLY dont want this to end up over carbed. I bought a pre-measured package of corn sugar from the LHBS and the guy there wasn't as supportive as you guys always are. I searched for the answers but only pulled up horror story after horror story.

So my concerns are....

What if I dont have an exact 5 gallons (lost plenty in blow off) and I mix in the package that has been measured for that volume?

Should I use a couple table spoons less?

Lost AC so it will not be a very controlled room and may get up to 75-78, would that change how much I use?


I know there are premeasured carb drops but I want to be able to do it without those first and get all the traditional ways under my belt. That and the LHBS is closed and I have no way of getting there for a couple weeks, so I'm stuck with my corn sugar.

As usual thanks for your support.

 

[MetallHed]

How much volume are you at now? Are you a LOT under 5 gallons, or just a bit?

How much corn sugar do your instructions/recipe call for? I use 5 oz. on a 5 gallon batch.

Personally, if it's not much under 5 gallons, I would use the corn sugar and bottle that brew!

The temp should be fine too, BTW, you want it to be a little warmer so the yeast can eat that sugar!

this is all my opinion.

 

[DrZaius]

I am extremely new to brewing so use only for consideration. I bottled last night and like you I did not have 5gal plus I only bottled 4 just out of curiosity. I applied CS to each bottle in the amount of 1/8tsp per. 16oz bottles. I read this somewhere and went with it.

 

[Anubis]

MetallHed-
I think almost 1-1.75 liters, I wont know until I get it in the bucket that has exact markings.
The recipe called for standard 3/4 cup
Good to know about the temp, Thanks.

DrZaius-
I have heard of that method but I worry that the sugar wont have as much dissolving time, also if I measure incorrectly I would rather it be a little of the whole batch than a few bottles that will explode.

 

[passedpawn]

3/4 cup (4.5 oz) is right for 5g. It's pretty easy to adjust for a smaller batch, so where's the problem? I almost always use the whole 3/4c. I've even done so on 4g batches (they probably were slightly overcarbed, but not badly). I've never had a single bottle explode in thousands of bottles (I bottled 200 bottles this weekend!).

75-80 is fine for bottle conditioning. Cooler than 70 will greatly extend the time for carbonation.

 

[tvtoms]

I bottled yesterday for only the second time, but the first time priming the whole batch. Mine was a 6 gallon batch, so I used 6 ounces, by weight, of corn sugar. I did a lot of reading around and basically the standard 4.5 or 5 ounces for a 5 US gallon batch seems to be designed to achieve a medium level of carbonation. So there is leeway over/under anyway, even if you were at exactly 5 gallons.

There is a very specific formula based on the temperature of your beer, the desired level of CO2 for your style beer (based off amounts of C02 observed in commercial beers of the style) and the volume of beer being primed, that gives you the amount of priming sugar in grams to achieve the target level of co2.

I didnt bookmark it or I'd paste a link, but search for carbonation formula or priming formula or similar, and you'll turn up results.

 

[Anubis]

Well everything turned out ok... I think. I was at 5 gal after adding the priming sugar (used a tad more water). I did taste it before bottling and noticed a very dry finish, almost that of a dry wine. The tounge cleansing type. Is this something that will fade with time and what could be causing it? I'll do more research to find an answer, maybe squeezing the grain bag, for what I did wrong. If I cant find an answer I forsee myself posting a new thread titled, "WHY SO DRY?".

 

[MetallHed]

did you taste it before or after you added the priming sugar?

I just bottled a weiss and I took a gravity reading and tasted before I added the sugar and it was fine. After I was done bottling what I could, I had a little left over that I just poured into a glass and drank and it was really dry, like you said, "tongue cleaning." I wouldn't worry about it until you give it a few weeks in the bottle and then taste it.

 

[TheWeeb]

I bottled as well, used 5 oz of Honey instead of the recommended 4.5, and I had probably 4.75 gallons instead of five. I am new to this, but I sense that there is a bit of a safety range in the recommended amounts. I really think the people who have problems with bottle bombs are those who bottled too early, while there was still sugars to be eaten by the yeasties.

What would be cool - and maybe this has been done before - is to do a test. Set aside 10 12oz bottles, and add priming sugar to each one individually. First one, recommended amount, second, 10% more, third, 20% more, and so on up to the last, which would be double the amount.

Metallica's Garage Inc. while bottling, by the way. . . I read that loud music helps agitate the yeast.

 

[BeerJorge]

I wouldn't worry about bottle bombs unless you are using like twice the amount of sugar you're supposed to be using...

Temperature does have an effect on carbonation... the warmer the temperature the more sugar you'll need to carbonate...

For a Kolsch beer you'll want to get about 2.4 to 2.7 volumes of CO2 which you can get by adding about 3.8 to 4.6 ounces (dry weight) of corn sugar to a five gallon batch and store at 75 F.

Dry, mouth-puckering tastes usually come from tannin extractions... on a beer like Kolsch off-flavors are more easily noticed... but flavor does improve with time as it bottle conditions... unless you are experienced I wouldn't judge the final outcome or flavor of the beer by a taste during bottling...

 

[brewagentjay]

You'll be fine with the 5oz bag from LHBS. I have bottled 3 gallons with that amount & I have bottled nearly 6 gallons with that amount. All have turned out fine.

Key is to stir every 10 to 12 bottles so to keep sugar even for the entire batch.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

When I bottled my first batch I racked on top of priming solution in which I had used the entire 5oz package that came with my kit but then only got about 4 gallons of beer from my fermenter due to issues I had with the siphon. That beer turned out okay (no bottle bombs or anything.) It was slightly over carbbed, but wasn't horrible (well, the oxidation was horrible, but that is another story.)

 

[sdufford]

I've done two batches now using the "standard" 5 oz, and I feel that I've had just a tad too much carbonation. Here's my recent post on it:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/slight-over-carbonation-187982/

I'm definitely gonna try a bit less next time. And if you're under 5 gallons by a small amount just top of with some water.

 

[Anubis]

I did taste it before adding to sugar, although when I tasted it a week ago that finish wasn't there.
I was worried because I didn't know if tannins faded with time or if you are just stuck with them.

As usual I feel better after hearing your feedback. Thank you, this place is magical.

 

[Homercidal]

If it's tannins you are stuck with them. It could be a drier beer, which might not be a big deal for a kolsch, but it could change as it carbs too.

Squeezing the bag is generally not considered good practice, but if done at the right time, in the right way, can produce amazing results. (there's your sig line...)

 

[brewagentjay]

Good ole sack squeezing sig line.

 

[MetallHed]

hmm.. i did squeeze my sack a lil, hehe heh, but I did not have the "dry" taste when taking gravity samples, are the tannins something that come out over time? I had a sample the day before bottling; fine. Day of bottling; dry.