Inconsistency from bottle to bottle.

[Monstar]

Hey everyone! I have been having an awesome time brewing a couple times a week, getting as many under my belt as possible. I'm sitting here mashing my 15thish brew, and enjoying an amazing IPA that I made my damn self.

My question is... sometimes Ill crack open a bottle, and its not nearly as good as another bottle from the same batch. Any ideas? Carbonation seems to stay consistent, but every once in a while I get a black sheep that just is not good.

Anyways, love these boards, I learn from em every day. Thanks for your time!

 

[Dogphish]

i'm guessing that the bad bottle was not cleaned and sanitized correctly, or you splashed the beer into that bottle, and it got oxidized/stale.

can you describe the bad taste?

 

[Harvestsmiles]

You may have a sanitation issue. I have found that you have to be sure to soak bottles for a good bit (maybe 15-30 minutes) in a sanitizer of some sort. I use a bucket filled with water and 2 oz unscented bleach. Then be sure to rinse bottles, even if using a "No-Rinse" sanitizer...I dump out bleach solution then rinse twice and set bottles upside down to drip dry. There are red plastic bottle trees that you can hang bottles on to dry them. I have not invested in one although I think it would make life a little easier. Also if you are reusing bottles be sure to clean them as soon as you empty them, don't let them sit over night with a little bit of beer in them. I do a quick rinse of bottles as soon as I empty them and then sanitize before filling. I think this will offer better results if you are not already doing this.

 

[HItransplant]

I had the same issue (still am) with my very first batch. But, that batch was a extract with grain IPA, that I learned some lessons doing.

the reason I say this is, my sanitation was really OCD. I cleaned the bottles with baking soda, washed them with dish soap, rinsed and rinsed, then sprayed with starsan, swish, then hot rinsed in the dishwasher... Im very confident I didnt have any dirty bottles, but I still have lots of variation in those bottles.

are you mixing in your priming sugar?
was this an AG batch? or extract? if extract, when did you add the extract?

 

[dvdanny]

even though your sanitation sounds good, how long are you waiting between dishwasher and bottling?

 

[HItransplant]

even though your sanitation sounds good, how long are you waiting between dishwasher and bottling?

just as long as they take to cool.

If they stay in the closed dishwasher upside down.. does it matter?

 

[Monstar]

I suspected it was a sanitation thing. I use Grolsch bottles and they can be a ***** to clean. Thanks for the advice guys, you all rule! As far as describing the taste... its really hard to describe. Stale but carbonated I suppose.

 

[Monstar]

Also, yes it was all grain, and yes I lightly stirred in the priming sugar. BARELY stirred after racking on top of the dissolved sugar... could that be a problem as well?

 

[HItransplant]

Also, yes it was all grain, and yes I lightly stirred in the priming sugar. BARELY stirred after racking on top of the dissolved sugar... could that be a problem as well?

theres a lot of discussion on here about that very question.. do a search and you can decide for yourself.

Personally--I stir after racking, very gently, but I try to hit the whole bucket and make sure that sugar is well mixed in. (just dont make any bubbles if you do choose to stir). It makes sense to me that just racking on top of the sugar doesnt do the job, but thats not the consensus.

again, everyone has a different answer on most issues here.... thats what makes it so fun.

oh, also... have you had this problem consistently, or just in that one batch?

 

[Monstar]

(just dont make any bubbles if you do choose to stir).

Thats exactly the rule of thumb I try to follow.

oh, also... have you had this problem consistently, or just in that one batch?

I think this is the 2nd of quite a few batches that have had the problem. I'm pretty convinced that I need to sanitize the bottles better. I've got 4 more batches to bottle in the next couple o weeks, Ill make sure to update you guys if it gets better