Flat beer bummer

[JeepGuy]

I've started drinking my 4th beer and have noticed some inconsistencies in my carbonation. I've been using 3/4 cups of corn sugar boiled in 2 cups of water to prime my brew before botteling. I add the sugar mix to the bottling bucket before racking the Brew into it. Some of the bottles will be hyper carbonated and others will be flat. I'm fairly certain that the caps are on tight, as SWMBO has actually broken a couple of bottles capping for me. I've been wondering if my sugar mix isn't getting evenly distributed through out the brew. Is there a good way to make sure it gets all good up in there before I bottle it with out aerating it? Could it be something else that I've missed?

 

[rcbrew]

Broke a couple of bottles? What type of bottles are you using? Screw on? Other than giving the beer a gentle stir with a sanitized spoon when you prime, that would even things out. Back to bottles, I have tried to use Heiniken Light bottles, and have them leak on me. Caps don't sit right. After letting them sit for a couple of hours after capping, I heard a hissing sound. Screw on bottles, I heard, have a bit of a failure rate.

 

[JeepGuy]

Yeah, I'll prolly just stir my next batch to make sure it gets mixed properly. I'm just using regular brown non-twist off bottles. Most are new belgium I believe, some warsteiner in there, and some that I just bought from the brew shop in a pinch. Also, what is too much sugar to use? I'm kinda afraid of bottle bombs but want some of my brews to have more carbonation. Is 1 1/4 cups too much? I'm still not certain how much the priming sugar will affect the carbonation levels. Thanks.

 

[Evan!]

Yeah, I'll prolly just stir my next batch to make sure it gets mixed properly. I'm just using regular brown non-twist off bottles. Most are new belgium I believe, some warsteiner in there, and some that I just bought from the brew shop in a pinch. Also, what is too much sugar to use? I'm kinda afraid of bottle bombs but want some of my brews to have more carbonation. Is 1 1/4 cups too much? I'm still not certain how much the priming sugar will affect the carbonation levels. Thanks.

I don't have firsthand experience here, because I've always erred on the cautious side, but Papazian sayeth to use 3/4 of corn sugar OR 1-1/4 cups of DME. He says, in no uncertain terms, thatwhen using corn sugar, never EVER exceed 1 cup, or you will get excessive carbonation. So, there you have it from a master. You could always ignore his pleadings, though, and see what happens. Just be prepared for bottle bombs.

 

[brewhead]

i've found that one cup of corn surgar is gives me the carbonation i am generally looking for.

 

[loopmd]

I used to dump the whole 2 cups at once and had inconsistent carbonation for years. Now when I'm wracking to my bottling bucket I'll put in a little at a time. At the 1 gallon mark...add about 1/3 cup priming sugar/h2o mix. At the 2 gallon mark another bit...and so on. I've achieved much more consistency in my carbonation since I've been doing this. I would not recommend stirring your beer up too much in your bottling bucket.

hth, Loop

 

[Evan!]

I used to dump the whole 2 cups at once and had inconsistent carbonation for years. Now when I'm wracking to my bottling bucket I'll put in a little at a time. At the 1 gallon mark...add about 1/3 cup priming sugar/h2o mix. At the 2 gallon mark another bit...and so on. I've achieved much more consistency in my carbonation since I've been doing this. I would not recommend stirring your beer up too much in your bottling bucket.

hth, Loop

I'll second that---unless you fancy the sweet, sweet taste of oxidation...

 

[JeepGuy]

Great, thanks for the help.

 

[Desert_Sky]

. I would not recommend stirring your beer up too much in your bottling bucket.

Its fine as long as you stir gently. I usually rack the beer onto the priming solution, then gently stir after each 6 pack. Ive had great results with this method.

 

[veggiess]

Back to bottles, I have tried to use Heiniken Light bottles, and have them leak on me. Caps don't sit right. After letting them sit for a couple of hours after capping, I heard a hissing sound. Screw on bottles, I heard, have a bit of a failure rate.

Have you consistently had a problem with Heinekin Light bottles? Just got some from a friend and haven't used them yet...won't try if there is some common issue with them. Anyone else??

 

[rcbrew]

the 12 pack that I had, the caps just didn't fit right, opening was just a little too large. I have a hand, two handle capper and I had to "force" it. I'm not sure if a bench capper would have help. Just my experience. To me, not worth the hassle so I tossed them.

 

[ajf]

Could it be something else that I've missed?

Too little headspace in the bottles - under carbonated.
To much headspace in the bottles - over carbonated, oxidized, or even bottle bombs if the FG is too high.
Right head space - just enough oxygen to reactivate the yeast to carbonate the brew to perfection without causing oxidation problems.

-a.

 

[Musthavbeer]

12 oz Warstiener bottles will not cap correctly. I tried a couple and will not use them.
The 19 0z Warstieners cap just fine.

 

[andre the giant]

My two cents worth....

3/4 cup of corn sugar is the maximum I would ever put in a 5 gallon batch of beer. 1 1/4 cups seems like a sure fire way to get gushers, or a glass of foam.

I take the 1/2 to 3/4 cup of corn sugar and boil it in a cup or so of water. I add that to the bottling bucket then rack on top of it. You must stir it to get it properly mixed. Even if you add the priming mixture to the top of the bottling bucket, its still not going to mix well enough on its own. Take a sanitized spoon and gently stir the beer. Do this for a while, making sure to gently "scoop" some of the beer at the bottom up to the top for proper mixing. As long as you're not splashing and creating foam, you're not adding sigificant quantities of O2.

As far as bottles go, are you using a wing capper? I've broken several bottles with a wing capper, but I only recall breaking one with my bench capper. Wing cappers put more stress on the bottle if you're not careful. I've used everything from Red Stripe bottles, to Orval, to Guiness bottles... they all seem to work fine.

 

[JeepGuy]

Yeah, I'm just using a standard wing capper. Thanks guys.

 

[Hanlan]

Only carbonation problems I've had before I think I ended up being able to blame on the bottles. I use a wing capper, which I think most of us guys (especially new to the hobby) have. I've used a lot of different kinds of bottles and I've figured out that you don't really get that snug of a seal using a wing capper on certain bottles because the lip under the lip, if that makes any sense, is too narrow. It's hard to articulate with a limited number of terms for the anatomy of a bottle. Look at a Heineken bottle then look at a Corona bottle and you'll see what I mean. I've had bad results using Heineken, Bass, and Warsteiner bottles because of that. Becks bottles work great. Twist-off bottles don't work at all.

 

[Exo]

I read (I think on here) that European bottles have a very slight difference in diameter when compared to US bottles. I can't confirm this, but maybe you can track the problem to that.

But, I've had good luck with my Pilsner Urquell bottles...but I don't know that it's actually bottled then shipped? Possibly shipped here then bottled and distributed?

 

[jcarson83]

I'll second that---unless you fancy the sweet, sweet taste of oxidation...

I thought oxidation wasn't bad unless it was hot?

 

[ga1ba2]

European bottles have slightly larger crowns then American bottles. With my Heinekin bottles I use a 29mm cap available from most LBS or mail order (NB has them) you might also need a 29mm bell to fit your caper. My 50 year old caper works fine with both sizes.

 

[pariah]

And get yourself a bench capper! They aren't that expensive, and it makes bottling a much better experience.

 

[Trappist Artist]

For what it's worth, I have been having trouble with the Heinekin Light bottles as well. Seems like the crown is too big and the neck doesn't go well with my wing capper.

 

[Evan!]

For what it's worth, I have been having trouble with the Heinekin Light bottles as well. Seems like the crown is too big and the neck doesn't go well with my wing capper.

Ummm...not to be too smarmy or anything, but who exactly is doing the drinking of these Heiney-kin light bottles? Talk about skunk-juice...the only thing skunkier than Heiney-kin is Rolling Crock...ugh.

You see? If you only let good craftbrew into your house, this wouldn't be a problem, would it? (well, unless, of course, you only drank cork-enclosed belgian 750's...)

 

[Muntzster]

I just read that first part, do you have to boil the sugar in boiling water first. I hope mine dissolved in just my bottling bucket.

 

[adamk222]

I just read that first part, do you have to boil the sugar in boiling water first. I hope mine dissolved in just my bottling bucket.

dme must be boiled so it wont clump up sugar dont need to be but its more of a safty thing to prevent an infection