I'm getting inconsistent carbonation. Some bottles are great; others flat.
Here's the formula:
1. Gallon glass bottles of unfiltered organic apple juice, pectic enzyme, yeast (tried EC1118, M02, S04), yeast nutrient, airlock.
2a. Either ferment 20 days, rack into gallon glass, ferment 40 days, bottle.
2b. Or ferment 30-40 days, bottle.
3. Bottle (500ml) with 2 tsp dextrose, 1 tsp lactose, 1 tsp xylitol.
4. Bottle age 30-40 days.
There's a lot of other things I've tried, like champagne method sediment disgorging , addition of apple essence, malic acid etc, but the above is the standard brewing method I use, with good results.
Starting SG is 1.050 +- 0.002, brix 11.0-13.8, pH 3.4-3.6. Fermentation typically at 68 degrees. After fermentation before bottling SG 1.000 brix 4.0
I've tried adding a touch of yeast when bottling and it did not seem to make any difference. I've also tried using yeast nutrient for more recent batches.
2 tsp of dextrose is a lot for a 500ml bottle - around 4.5 volumes depending on what my teaspoon measure is (I'll check this tonight). I'm using flip top bottles but I have no indication that the caps are leaking.
Any ideas about why the carbonation is not happening?
Here's the formula:
1. Gallon glass bottles of unfiltered organic apple juice, pectic enzyme, yeast (tried EC1118, M02, S04), yeast nutrient, airlock.
2a. Either ferment 20 days, rack into gallon glass, ferment 40 days, bottle.
2b. Or ferment 30-40 days, bottle.
3. Bottle (500ml) with 2 tsp dextrose, 1 tsp lactose, 1 tsp xylitol.
4. Bottle age 30-40 days.
There's a lot of other things I've tried, like champagne method sediment disgorging , addition of apple essence, malic acid etc, but the above is the standard brewing method I use, with good results.
Starting SG is 1.050 +- 0.002, brix 11.0-13.8, pH 3.4-3.6. Fermentation typically at 68 degrees. After fermentation before bottling SG 1.000 brix 4.0
I've tried adding a touch of yeast when bottling and it did not seem to make any difference. I've also tried using yeast nutrient for more recent batches.
2 tsp of dextrose is a lot for a 500ml bottle - around 4.5 volumes depending on what my teaspoon measure is (I'll check this tonight). I'm using flip top bottles but I have no indication that the caps are leaking.
Any ideas about why the carbonation is not happening?