First Batch Problem

[cheesewiz6]

Ok so just bottled my first batch. I put the priming sugars into the bottleing bucket then put my ferminted beer into the bucket so the sugars would mix well with the beer. Then bottled let sit for a few weeks at room temp in the bottles. I just went through a six pack the first 3 where awsome the other three where flat. What did I do wrong? Its a stout if that matters. The tast was pretty consistant.

 

[erkwist]

1. How long is "a few weeks" and 2. Sounds like a capping issue if some were fine and others were flat but tasted fine.

 

[thedude00]

When you put the priming sugar in did you give it a little mix. Some time if you dont give the beer a mix when you added the sugar you may get inconsistency in carbonation thought out each bottle. The best way to make sure you have good carbonation in all bottles is to mix the beer alittle when u add the sugar. You dont want to go crazy when you are mixing you dont want to get and air mixed in.

 

[mojotele]

When you put the priming sugar in did you give it a little mix. Some time if you dont give the beer a mix when you added the sugar the carbonation may not be consistant.

I've had this problem more times than I care to admit. Some bottles end up flat, some are fine, and some gush like a geyser.

You have to gently stir the beer after racking on top of your priming sugar or it is bad times!

 

[fatmoose]

I've had this problem more times than I care to admit. Some bottles end up flat, some are fine, and some gush like a geyser.

You have to gently stir the beer after racking on top of your priming sugar or it is bad times!

My approach was to get about 1/4 of the sugar syrup I had made in the bucket and rack in about 1/4 of my beer and gently stir and then repeat that by about 1/4 each time with a last few gentle stirs to try and make sure everything was mixed. I haven't cracked my first bottle yet, might do so this weekend if I think to get a couple in the fridge, so I can't report this is bullet proof but it seems like a good way to go.

 

[cheesewiz6]

So what if I mixed the sugar in a small amount of hot water first so it desolves. Then put it into the bucket and put the beer ontop of that? Then mixed it would that help?

 

[fatmoose]

So what if I mixed the sugar in a small amount of hot water first so it desolves. Then put it into the bucket and put the beer ontop of that? Then mixed it would that help?

This seems to be the general recommendation and it's what I've done. Boil about a cup of water, add the sugar to form a simple syrup and allow your syrup to cool to about the same temp as your beer. This should make things blend a lot better in the bottling bucket.

 

[NyQuil_Driver]

Yeah, dissolving the bottling sugar in water makes for some more peace of mind and more consistent carbonation. Do remember to boil the water first, though. It would be a real shame to go and contaminate things so late in the game.

 

[Revvy]

So what if I mixed the sugar in a small amount of hot water first so it desolves. Then put it into the bucket and put the beer ontop of that? Then mixed it would that help?

You mean you didn't? That's the best way to get consistant carbonation. Dry sugar will not easily mix with the beer. Have you ever made lemonade or Koolaid where you added dry sugar water and the flavoring? Have you ever noticed the dryish layer of chunky sugar undissolved at the bottom. That's not in the drink nor is in your bottled beer.

Boiling the priming sugar in 2 cups of water and adding it to the bottling bucket, and racking the beer on it will insure that it is integrated.

Also what did you mean by "a few weeks" and "room temp?" And what is the gravity of the beer? Specific info helps us to help you.

Storage Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer.

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

Even a few degrees under 70 will translate into more time needed for the yeasties to do thier job.

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.

But if you are not getting the sugar consistantly mixed to begin with, then all the time in the world won't help. And if you stir the liquid and the dry sugar as you need to with a pitcher of koolaid or lemonade, you would oxydize your beer immensely, and end up with liquid cardboard. Not a good thing.

With the priming sugar in liquid form it integrates effortlessly, with the natural flow of the beer racking into the priming liquid you poured into the bottom of the bucket, in fact if you put your autosiphon hose in the bucket in a way that it follows the curve of the bucket, the beer will swirl around on it's own, and you don't even have to stir it at tall.

Sounds like you need a short primer on bottling. This thread as a lot of good info. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

And also this chapter in How to Brew as well- http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11.html