Bottling Today and Need Help!

[EmptyGlass]

So I am bottling an Irish Red Ale that should be about 5.5% when all is said and done. This is a three gallon batch. I am using Priming Sugar. For many of my beers I have brewed in the past, they become over carbonated after a couple months. Would someone be able to give me a good amount of priming sugar, how much water, and how long to boil. The more detail the better. My beers have been great aside from the shelf life. Much appreciated!!!! Cheers!

 

[EmptyGlass]

I also would like to mention any calculator I use calls for waaaay too much sugar so sending me to a link won't help. Thanks!

 

[soccerdad]

You have to at least calculate at some level - based on how much beer you are packaging ( in gallons ) and how many volumes of CO2 you desire.

Are you getting 'gushers'?

 

[EmptyGlass]

Some have been explosions. Some have just been a full glass of carbonation

 

[jlinz]

Northern Brewer's priming calculator is good. It always works fine for me.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

 

[Moose_MI]

How much priming sugar have you used previously? Bombs after a couple months may not have anything to do with amount of priming sugar....just a thought

 

[soccerdad]

If you have been using a calculator and you are getting bottle bombs and foamers, you may have a sanitation issue (bottles not fully and completely cleaned), you may have nucleation sites in the bottles ( bits of hops maybe), or you may be be bottling before you get to final gravity. You can try using a calculator and backing off some on sugar, but you also need to settle the other issues to be 100%

 

[Gerhardt]

2/3 cup table sugar for 5 gallons is a pretty good way to start before using a calculator. So a heaping 1/3 cup would be appropriate. Or if using corn sugar, 3 oz dextrose for 3 gallons.

If this seems like how much you are using and still getting gushers or bombs, the issue is that you are either bottling before fermentation has finished or your beer is infected and bacteria are consuming the saccharides or starches that the yeast couldn't convert.

 

[CJ-3]

To determine how much priming sugar you need, you have to have 3 pieces of information.

How much beer are you priming (gallons)
What level of carbonation are you looking for (either by style or CO2 volumes )
What was the highest temperature your beer reached during fermentation.


As for your bottles turning into gushers over time I think you may have a different issue. A gusher would typically be a sign of infection. Before you bottle this batch you may want to replace any tubing you use as well as give all of your equipment a thorough cleaning and sanitizing.

 

[jschein]

What soccerdad said.

 

[seabrew8]

So I am bottling an Irish Red Ale that should be about 5.5% when all is said and done. This is a three gallon batch. I am using Priming Sugar. For many of my beers I have brewed in the past, they become over carbonated after a couple months. Would someone be able to give me a good amount of priming sugar, how much water, and how long to boil. The more detail the better. My beers have been great aside from the shelf life. Much appreciated!!!! Cheers!

If they became over carbonated you used to much sugar. Why are you waiting a couple of months to drink a small amount of beer if your having "shelf life" issues?

Beer is not wine.

 

[Moose_MI]

If they became over carbonated you used to much sugar. Why are you waiting a couple of months to drink a small amount of beer if your having "shelf life" issues?

Beer is not wine.

Packaging to early and/or infection can result in over carbonation ... I would not assume it's to much priming sugar

 

[ninjazx7r]

bottled my first batch today
But, think I messed up as I left about 2 " head room at the top
( half way up the neck )
Did i just pooch my first batch and make flat beer ?

 

[slym2none]

Use 1/2 tsp. sugar per 12oz bottle. Boom, done.

 

[ninjazx7r]

correction i just took a measurement. I have 2-3/4 " head room .
Should i pop the caps off them and fill them up ?

 

[slym2none]

correction i just took a measurement. I have 2-3/4 " head room .
Should i pop the caps off them and fill them up ?

They'll be fine, if possibly slightly over-carbonated. You are short maybe an ounce, your bottles aren't ruined.

 

[soccerdad]

If it's up to the neck, leave it.

 

[ninjazx7r]

well. I just finished filling up and re-capping 60 bottles and now wondering If I filled them up too much ? lol
I have 7/8 " head space
these are 330 ml bottles.

 

[slym2none]

Stop. Stop what you're doing.

 

[ninjazx7r]

Stop. Stop what you're doing.

too full now ?

 

[slym2none]

Just leave them alone at this point.

 

[Gerhardt]

No, it's just really not going to matter. You're talking about a difference of like 2-3 cubic centimeters. In any given batch I bottle, some are just to the neck, others are almost to the cap.

This is home brewing, not factory bottling.

Your problem may very well be contamination, so limit your contact with the beer as much as possible in future batches and make sure to thoroughly sanitize everything.