randomly carbed bottles

[brn14me]

so tonight i fully got into my first batch of beer

it's an extract brew sitting in the bottles for a full 3 weeks as of yesterday - been in the fridge since yesterday morning

the beer itself is 'ok' - the fact that it's mine makes it greatly enjoyable but i'm man enought to admit it's not the best tasting beer around - regardless i'm loving it

what i noticed tonight was that it was a little flat - not too bad but not a big head when pouring, and the warmer it got the less it tasted carbinated - the third beer i opened had a great head - it was almost too carbed - tasted considerably better from start to finish and i was sure that that was due to it being colder......my next two - undercarbed -- last one of the 6 pack was super carbed - each drink i took it would re-foam - it was a bit rediculous - seriously

i've been trying to retrace my steps and during the bottling process what i did was put approx half the priming sugar in the bottling bucket then siphon in half the beer - then pour the rest of the priming sugar (mixed with water of course) with the rest of the beer. i did not mix the beer, which i assume was my problem, but would like all y'alls experience and knowledge to know for sure -- i just brewed my second batch yesterday and don't want this to happen again.. thanks

 

[nickmv]

I bottled my Summit IPA (7.5%) on July 9th, and am experiencing the same problem as you. I ALSO took the same route as you (1/2, then other half later) with priming sugar, as I had some loss of volume to evaporation and high gravity. I gave a friend two 6packs, and every one he's opened so far are carbed great. Mine, on the other hand, are not at all, and it's a crapshoot. I think in the future I'm going to stir it in well, making sure not to aerate the beer.

 

[AluminumGerbil]

I've only done a handful of brews so I'm by no means an expert, but it definitely sounds like it wasn't mixed thoroughly. I was instructed by a very experienced friend to dissolve 3/4 cup sugar into water, allow to cool, and then pour into my bucket. Then siphon my beer in, but to put the hose at the bottom and situate it so it whirlpools while filling. This is how I've done it and never ran into an issue.

 

[brn14me]

the priming sugar i got came in a kit from austin home brew - it's 4.5 oz sugar and i boiled that with 8 oz of water and cooled in an icebath - added half and siphoned- second half and siphoned - - should i use more priming sugar?

 

[brn14me]

@nickmv - i'm glad i'm not alone with this - i'm curious - do you think your buddy might not be discriminating as much as you? as brewers we're working on honing our skills - tasters might think of it from a different perspective. not sure - i just wish i had the consistency

also how much did you lose? my beer wasn't high gravity and worked out to 4.9% but I only got 1 case and 3 sixers in the bottle - i left quite possibly more than i should've in the bucket but I was getting some yeast sediment towards the end and didn't want to mess with that

 

[tvtoms]

I think that if you do it the way AluminumGerbil said that you should have no troubles with it being mixed well. Adding half then half later doesnt really seem to make sense.

You're getting half of it mixed with half the beer, then dumping more in, then mixing the existing already-mixed first half, and the not at all mixed remaining beer.. seems like a recipe for a poorly mixed batch to me.

 

[blkandrust]

Do as you did with boiling it in water,cool it down and pitch it all at once,shake it up..Problem solved..And ummm,btw,did you get that DVD yet?..

 

[Yooper]

Do as you did with boiling it in water,cool it down and pitch it all at once,shake it up..Problem solved..And ummm,btw,did you get that DVD yet?..

I wouldn't shake up my beer! I've never even stirred the priming sugar solution in, but I know that some others do.

I boil the priming sugar solution, and put it into my bottling bucket. Then I rack the beer into it. One of the keys is to have long enough tubing to reach the bottle of the bottling bucket, and then lay the tubing in a circular pattern on the bottom of the bucket. As you rack, the beer will flow to the bottom of the bucket into the priming sugar "swirling" around to mix well. You want that mixing, without any aeration. Some brewers will use a long handled sanitized spoon to mix it gently at that point. But I never have.

Dumping the second half in would mean that it would fall straight to the bottom. I don't see the advantage in adding 1/2 and then the other 1/2. It'll sink anyway.

 

[blkandrust]

I wouldn't shake up my beer! I've never even stirred the priming sugar solution in, but I know that some others do.

I boil the priming sugar solution, and put it into my bottling bucket. Then I rack the beer into it. One of the keys is to have long enough tubing to reach the bottle of the bottling bucket, and then lay the tubing in a circular pattern on the bottom of the bucket. As you rack, the beer will flow to the bottom of the bucket into the priming sugar "swirling" around to mix well. You want that mixing, without any aeration. Some brewers will use a long handled sanitized spoon to mix it gently at that point. But I never have.

Dumping the second half in would mean that it would fall straight to the bottom. I don't see the advantage in adding 1/2 and then the other 1/2. It'll sink anyway.

By shake it up,I meant a simple swirl..Back in my bottling days I used to gently stir with a sanitized long handled spoon.I should have been more specific as aeration is obviously a concern whenever a swirl or a shake is involved..I agree that adding half by half doesnt seem to be beneficial..

 

[Revvy]

You just need more patience. If a beer isn't ready at three weeks, there's nothing wrong.

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.

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.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them ore time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.

 

[smata67]

I have successfully completed one batch (Brewer's Best Summer Ale, came out fantastic!), so I think I can expertly contribute something here. It is possible you did not cap consistently and tightly, this could account for the variation. I checked each cap after capping, a few would twist, and were tightened some more. I did have 2 bottles with questionable carbonation and I attributed them to weak capping.

 

[brn14me]

thanks for all the great posts - and Revvy I greatly appreciate help - I put a 12 pack in the fridge this week (after 3 weeks) and still have the rest conditioning in my closet - I'll update with info next week to see how it tastes then

blkndrust - i got the vid - i'm going to watch it tonight - thanks a bunch

the caps....i never thought of that - they all seem to be on fine but i have not double checked that - i certainly will

and as far as adding half priming sugar then the rest....i talked to blkndrust on the phone when i was doing it and he questioned that method but i swear i saw it somewhere - this first time around was a bit stressful - i had youtube up, homebrewtalk.com, the instructions with the kit, my boy on speed dial..... the second brew day went one thousand times smoother - i'm just trying to hone the skills a bit for bottling day # 2 and honestly would like my beer to come out better.

 

[brn14me]

i bottled my second batch yestderday -- so i had to throw another sixer of my first homebrew in the fridge to check it out - 6 weeks in the bottle and they're pretty much fully carbed. i know the mixture of my priming sugar still was off as they're not even but each beer was fairly carbinated and easy to drink! this renews my addiction

i'm going to brew my 3rd batch next weekend and am already shopping on AHS to see what else needs to go into the pipeline.

 

[smata67]

I dropped all my priming sugar, not dissolved, directly into my bottling bucket, when it was about 1 gallon full and stirred. My carbonation appears fine. I did stir a couple of time while it filled up and there was no sugar when I completed bottling. Anyway, make sure you mix things up as you go along, in the end, you will make BEER! which is alright...

 

[Diver165]

I have successfully completed one batch (Brewer's Best Summer Ale, came out fantastic!), so I think I can expertly contribute something here. It is possible you did not cap consistently and tightly, this could account for the variation. I checked each cap after capping, a few would twist, and were tightened some more. I did have 2 bottles with questionable carbonation and I attributed them to weak capping.

R
Bingo!!! If the beer carbed at all then it was a good batch. If the carb level diminished through out the batch, I'd say the sugar wasn't mixed or something like that. But random bottles not carbed up makes me believe that there was a bad cap involved on some bottles or there was something contaminating a few of the bottles.

IMHO if it was something wrong with the beer you would see it throughout the batch. Since it is random, I'd lean more towords equipment or bottling technique.

 

[Diver165]

this first time around was a bit stressful - i had youtube up, homebrewtalk.com, the instructions with the kit, my boy on speed dial..... the second brew day went one thousand times smoother - i'm just trying to hone the skills a bit for bottling day # 2 and honestly would like my beer to come out better.

You'll make good beer. The people here are great about helping.

 

[smata67]

I visually inspect my bottles and place them in the dishwasher and run through a sanitize cycle. Bottles are not a problem if you do this. Capping is tricky. If using a butterfly capper like most beginners, you want to place the cap on the bottle and squeeze them WHILE PRESSING DOWN and then rotate them 90 degrees and REPEAT. Just like using shampoo. You should see a slight crimp on the top of the bottle where it pressed in all around the lip of the bottle. They should not be able to twist at all. Anyway, use good priming sugar mixing technique which involves mixing in boiling water and pouring in after you get 1 gallon or so of brew in the bottling bucket. I sometimes forget to mix in with water, but things still turn out ok, so I must be living a charmed life.

 

[AluminumGerbil]

If you have to crimp twice you may look at buying a new capper. I have a red metal capper I love(and actually prefer over a bench capper) and I've never had to crimp anything twice. Sounds like you've got a problem with the bell.

 

[brn14me]

R
Bingo!!! If the beer carbed at all then it was a good batch. If the carb level diminished through out the batch, I'd say the sugar wasn't mixed or something like that. But random bottles not carbed up makes me believe that there was a bad cap involved on some bottles or there was something contaminating a few of the bottles.

IMHO if it was something wrong with the beer you would see it throughout the batch. Since it is random, I'd lean more towords equipment or bottling technique.

it's not that some were not carbed at all - some had an insane amount of carbination (think alka seltzer) and some had little -- with how I have them stored I have no clue which was the first beer I bottled and which was the last - I just grab a sixer and throw it in the fridge when I'm ready to drink it. I bottled my second batch and double checked every cap and gently mixed in the priming sugar with my sanitized spoon. No issues with the capping - It's been a week so 2 more till I open the first of my second batch......or maybe this Friday when I brew up my next batch. We'll see

and yes this website is full of great advice - thanks everyone!

 

[renderit]

If you have to crimp twice you may look at buying a new capper. I have a red metal capper I love(and actually prefer over a bench capper) and I've never had to crimp anything twice. Sounds like you've got a problem with the bell.

The guy at AHS recommended doing the second also. The cappers are fine but that just makes sure. I have never had a bad cap this way (7 batches so far). I always check each by twisting hard after "double crimping" because they recommended it.

I only have had one batch so far with varying carbonation. A Pale Cream Ale. Some are fairly flat (you can still get a little carb tingle on them) and some are perfectly carbed. I took it as the primer did not get swirled in enough. I suspect because of the thicker body of these that carbonation is more difficult (as well as mixing).

 

[BubbaK]

I am going through the same thing right now and just replaced the cone on my capper. I'm hoping it will solve my issue, but the last 2-3 batches have had some caps that can twist. This is something I'll be checking from now on..