Difference in carbonation within same batch

[gurrback]

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned in a previous post I brewed and bottled my first two batches last month and am just now cracking open a bottle to enjoy the finished product. Batch number 2 is still bottle conditioning and carbing, but my question today pertains to batch #1.

I bottled batch number 1 approximately 3 weeks ago and sampled at the 6 day and 10 day mark, and each day after that. The change over as little as a 24 hour period was amazing to behold. All first time brewers heed the advice of many - have patience!

The strange thing is that there is a marked difference in carbonation between bottles within the same batch. I opened a bottle 2 days ago and the carbonation was impressive. I opened a bottle last night and the carbonation seemed fairly weak. I tested a few others and carbonation seems to be all over the place. What gives?

As an FYI - When I added the priming sugar I made sure to gently but thoroughly mix it with the beer. Did I mess this up?

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[juslod]

Did you dissolve and boil the priming sugar in water before adding it to the bottling bucket?

 

[Farley23]

I don't think you messed it up. What temperature is it being conditioned at?

 

[unionrdr]

I get that to a small degree. Flavor is good at 3 weeks at 70F,then 5-6 days in the fridge To even things up between carbonation & head retention. From what I've experienced. But carbonation seems to go up 4,5,6,even 7 weeks in. Color changes too,& flavor doesn't stay quite the same at 5-7 weeks as it was at 3. Strange things I've witnessed. Too much carbonation can mess up the flavor of an English style ale,as I've found. Damn...

 

[pwndabear]

here's the thing: when you rack the beer to the bottling bucket and then put the priming sugar in to mix it up, you are not going to have a completely even mix of primer throughout the batch. I did this once on accident and I had the same issue as you.

Here's what I usually do: I get the priming sugar all boiled and ready to go. just before I start to rack to the bottling bucket i turn the heat off. then i get to racking. as about an inch of beer is in the bucket, i slowly pour the primer right into the bucket. the beer will mix it up very thoroughly as it is swirling around and filling.

sounds to me like you had an uneven prime.

 

[jsweet]

My first batch is bottle conditioning now, but I've had lots of samples, and while the carbonation's been consistent, I've had some variation in how "green" the bottles taste. Someone said it could have to do with hot or cold spots where I am conditioning them.

As others have said though, most likely explanation in your case I would think is just that you stirred in the sugar solution instead of racking the beer on top of the sugar solution.

 

[gurrback]

Thanks for the response everyone. I dissolved the priming sugar in the prescribed amount and boiled for 10-15 minutes. I let it cool and then added it to the bottling carboy BEFORE racking from the fermenter. After this I gently but thoroughly stirred the beer and priming sugar together before bottling.

Well, seems like the process was correct. Maybe I just need to wait a little longer to let things even out?

 

[Revvy]

Approximately 3 weeks ago and over three weeks ago at temps above 70 degrees are two different things.

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 3weeks, then the beer hasn't fully carbed yet.

Inconsistant carbonation, simply means that they are not ready yet. If you had opened them a week later, or even two, you never would have noticed. Each one is it's own little microcosm, and although generally the should come up at the same time, it's not an automatic switch, and they all pop on.

But they all will pop on when the time is right.

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

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."


A tiny difference in temps between bottles in storage can affect the yeasties, speed them up or slow them down. Like if you store them in a closet against a warm wall, the beers closest to the heat source may be a tad warmer than those further way, so thy may carb/condition at slightly different rates. I usually store a batch in 2 seperate locations in my loft 1 case in my bedroom which is a little warmer, and the other in the closet in the lving room, which being in a larger space is a tad cooler, at least according to the thermostat next to that closet. It can be 5-10 degrees warmer in my bedroom. So I usually start with that case at three weeks. Giving the other half a little more time.

Bottom line, it's not that the sugar's not mixed, it's just that they all haven't come up to full carb yet....Three weeks is not the magic number for finality, it's the minimum time it takes....

 

[pwndabear]

woah. deja vu rev...

 

[jsweet]

As far as "the sugars not mixed", I as well as I think other commenters had gotten the false impression from some of the phrasing that he racked it and THEN poured in the sugar and tried to gently stir it up. I agree that with the ordinary process of racking on top of the sugar solution -- which it turns out he did use after all -- there's pretty much no way it could not be thoroughly combined.

 

[gurrback]

Thanks a lot Revv and others. A few weeks later and everything seems to have equalled out. Man, it takes some getting used to this delayed-gratification thing

 

[unionrdr]

Welcome to the wonderful world of home brewing!

 

[Revvy]

Thanks a lot Revv and others. A few weeks later and everything seems to have equalled out. Man, it takes some getting used to this delayed-gratification thing

Toldja so Honestly, these things are the same all the time. If you add sugar the beer will carb- the sugar will mix, and the beer will carb...with time.

That's what I tell folks all the time, if you don't even bother opening them til at least 3 weeks- or even later, you NEVER Notice that they aren't all carbed at the same rate.