issues with low carbonation consistently

[FierceCoaster]

So it is hit and miss but more often then not I have very low to not carbonation in my beers. I also make sure to clean and maintain temp, any suggestions?

 

[Shred]

What are you priming with? What is your process? I boil corn sugar in a couple cups of water then rack over it into the bottling bucket and try to wrap the siphon hose to create a whirlpool.

 

[FierceCoaster]

Same corn sugar 1 cup water boil then into the bottling bucket then add beer and angle hose to self stir

 

[Shred]

I assume you're using enough sugar. Are you letting them condition at 70F for 3 weeks? I'm out of ideas if so.

 

[JuanMoore]

What carbonation levels are you aiming for? How are you determining how much sugar to use?

 

[FierceCoaster]

I normally allow 10 to 14 days for conditioning, and use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup corn sugar. Temp it's maintained at around 70° or as close as I can get to it.

 

[FierceCoaster]

Well I just brewed a stout and it has almost no carbonation at all.

 

[cheesehed007]

Having the same issue with the last 2 beers I've made. Both are kits from NB. Used the 5 oz of priming sugar that came with the kits...

 

[harry_the_face]

I use 1/2 cup per 5gal batch and up. 1/4 seems really low.

It also depends on the yeast you are using and how much is out of suspension (flocculation) when you bottle. If you are racking to secondary then you have even less yeast in the bottle so it will take longer to carb.
This is a good article on yeast flocculation:
http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/homebrew/beginners-attenuation-and-flocculation-definitions

 

[JuanMoore]

First, the MINIMUM time the average beer takes to fully carbonate is 3 weeks at 70°. That's the minimum, many beers will take longer. The higher the abv, the longer they will take to fully carbonate. Big beers can take months. And at colder temps it will take considerably longer. Even one day at cold temps can drop enough yeast out of suspension to cause the carbonation to take much much longer.

Second, to accurately measure your priming sugar, you really should be doing it by weight. The volume of 4oz of sugar will vary considerably depending on how fine grained it is, and how tightly packed it is.

Third, 1/4 cup of corn sugar will likely weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.8 oz, certainly under 2 oz. Assuming a 5 gal batch size, this is only going to result in ~1.5 vol of carbonation. That's cask ale levels, and most people would consider that very flat. There's nothing wrong with lower carb levels, and a lot of people prefer lower levels for stouts, porters, and a lot of English ales, but if you want something similar to what you'd find in the vast majority of commercial beers, you should be shooting for 2.4-2.7 vol. Even your batches with 1/2 cup are likely only going to end up at around 2.2 vol, which is pretty light carbonation.

There are numerous calculators online that will tell you how much sugar you need to reach a specific carbonation level. They'll even adjust for different types of priming sugars. Here's one-
http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

 

[FierceCoaster]

So more sugar/time is what your saying?

 

[Shred]

It seems like too little sugar is your issues. Play with the calculators. A quick Google search for "priming sugar calculator" will give you plenty to choose from.

On a side note, if you're doing kits - I never trust the yeast that comes in the kits. You just don't know what they've been through in shipping and storage. Always worth the extra $5 to go to the LHBS and grab a fresh pack.

 

[FierceCoaster]

Yes they are kits but the yeast is liquid, stored chilled and separate from the kit itself