Recapping at the very beginning of carbonation.

[Oaney]

I just bottled a 5 gal batch yesterday, just about 24 hours ago. This morning an order from Bottle Mark came in with caps I designed for this batch. In hindsight I should have waited for the caps to come in before bottling, but I had no idea when the caps were going to arrive and was getting antsy. I now know that letting the beer sit in the primary for an extra week is no big deal.

My question is if I could swap the caps out since the bottles have only been carbonating for about 24 hours? If its feasible, I plan on spraying all the bottles down with some star-san, soaking the new caps in star-san, then prying and recapping the bottles one by one. I used 5oz priming dextrose in about 4.2 gallons, so that might be a bit high, it might not hurt to open them right now to swap out caps (as quickly as possible).

Has too much carbonation already taken place after 24 hours? Can I uncap 1-2 to see if it still opens like a flat beer, no hissing? That should mean there is still yeast and sugar in the bottle getting ready to carb.

This is my first 5 gallon batch, and only my second batch in total (first batch was a Mr. Beer kit) so I am looking for some experience to guide me regarding recapping. Thanks

 

[SoonerDoc]

I think it would be more of a problem (potentially) than it's worth, but I'm sure you could do it. I just don't think you should. FWIW.

 

[cheezydemon3]

LEAVE IT YOU FESTERING IDIOT!!!!!

Lol, seriously, don't touch it.

I don't want to read your "my batch never carbed" thread.

 

[twistr25]

Yeah, not a good idea. It would suck to get an infection right after you bottled too. Now you just don't need to buy bottle caps for your next batch!

 

[amandabab]

the batch is done and bottled. leave it alone.

make it again and use the new caps.

 

[Stretch1991]

I would take one look at the caps and think "well, it was designed for this batch of beer, might as well make it again and use them"

its an excuse to brew more but not an excuse for risking oxidization, infection, no carbonation.

However if you do recap them let me know how well it works!

 

[Oaney]

After reading all your comments, but letting curiosity get the better of me I decided to try an experiment with 2 of the bottles. I mixed up new star-san, soaked the new caps, and soaked two bottles upside down for 5 minutes. I also soaked my bottle opener and capper in the solution. After wetting my hands I grabbed a new bottle cap and the opener. I did it so that as soon as I popped the top, my left hand slid the new cap into place loosely. Toss the opener back in the star-san, and grab the capper. One squeeze later and the beer had seen minimal atmosphere. There was a very slight hissing on the two bottles I tried so I decided not to continue. After thinking I decided to do a 6 pack with new caps, and leave the other 40 alone. I dont mind losing a 6 pack in the name of experimentation and curiosity, I'll call it part of the learning curve.

In summation I have a 6 pack with new caps after 24 hours of carbonation. I will test these at different intervals against my 'control group' and let you all know how the recapping went. For those of you that are interested, the type of beer in the bottle is a Red Ale. Basic recipe was 3.3 lbs of Muntons Hopped Light LME and 3.3 lbs of Muntons Unhopped Light LME, 1 lb of specialty grains steeped for 30 minutes, 1 oz of Liberty Hops half boiled for 30 min, half added at the last minute. Fermenter 9 days, 5 oz dextrose primer into 4.2ish gallons in the bottling bucket. I ended up with 45 twelve oz bottles.

Thanks for the advice and stopping me from recapping the entire batch!

 

[twistr25]

I think that was a fair compromise. Never know until you try it. Curious question, why did you add the hops at 30 min? Was it only a 30 min boil or was it a 60?

 

[Stretch1991]

He used 3.3 Muntons Hopped LME so my guess is the extra hops where just flavor hops. Never used liberty for an Irish Red though so now I think I am going to experiment too!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Shoulda waited, eh?

 

[Oaney]

I think that was a fair compromise. Never know until you try it. Curious question, why did you add the hops at 30 min? Was it only a 30 min boil or was it a 60?

I bought the entire thing as a kit in a box, everything ready to go. I followed the directions to the T since my Mr Beer kit wasnt spectacular.

The directions told me to do a 30 minute boil, most likely because of all the LME in there. According to the directions, "after steeping, remove the specialty grains, and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and add both cans of LME, stir to dissolve. Bring back to a boil and add half of the Liberty Hops. Add the remaining half during the last 1-2 minutes of boil.

As Stretch said, one of the cans was already hopped LME. This might account for the short boil time, and minimal hops addition.

 

[Oaney]

...Never used liberty for an Irish Red though so now I think I am going to experiment too!

This is only my first 5 gallon batch, and only my second batch in total. I am still in the phase where I am reading the directions 3-4 times, following everything to the T, and using exactly what is provided for me in the kit. I essentially bought the following box at my LHBS for $40. True Brew Red Ale Kit. I dont know enough yet, like whether this is an IRISH Red Ale or just a Red Ale, or what Liberty Hops or something else has to do with it. As I brew more hopefully I can become familiar with different extract qualities, raw malt qualities, and the different qualities of different hops. Again, thanks for the replies!

 

[Stretch1991]

No sweat Oaney,i kinda jumped the gun anyways on assuming it was an Irish Red (thats my personal favorite base malt style) so when I see red I instantly think Irish. Regardless though I have to say thank you on giving me an idea! I usually use East Kent Goldings and/or Willamette for my IRA but the greatest thing about homebrew is it is whatever you make it. No one can tell you youre making a bad recipe or anything because if you like it its great! Just like art.

Let me know how it turns out!

 

[Oaney]

Well it's been almost a year and a half since I've posted in this thread let alone the forum, I ended up taking the app off my phone and eventually taking a hiatus from brewing so sorry about that. I just brewed my first batch in about a year so I'll have to start another thread about that one.

It's been so long since I have thought about this brew, I don't have exact details, but I will update what I remember about it. Here goes:

• Having only been my second brew, I was very eager to both see how it turned out, and also see how it was progressing along. I was probably opening 1-2 bottles a week to see how it was maturing. I am also the type who takes a taste of straight extract, tastes the wort from the hydrometer OG and FG, tastes a hop pellet , etc... I think experiencing all phases of brewing is beneficial.
• The entire batch turned out sweeter than I had hoped; I believe I should have left it in the primary longer than 9 days, 14 probably would have been better. I remember seeing the bubbles through the airlock slow dramatically, from several bubbles per second to a bubble every several seconds. I figured fermentation was largely over and went to bottle (most likely prematurely).
• Carbonation was OK on most of them, especially with age. A few were over carbonated, but I do remember using a measuring spoon to measure out priming sugar into each individual bottle. I now know this is a bad idea, I should rack to a bottling bucket and dissolve my priming sugar into there, nice even doses into each bottle.

Regarding the 6-pack I had recapped, 1-2 months on I had forgotten what the new caps meant. Looking back on it, I distinctly remember leaving the 'different caps' alone and drinking most of the originals first. I also distinctly remember 2 of those 'different caps' popping like champagne and gushing all over the counter. The flavor wasn't bad, it mostly smelled normal and I ended up drinking them after the fizz had subsided with no ill effects. I'm pretty sure another 1 or 2 seemed over carbonated, but none of the 6 were undrinkable. They weren't very good, but they weren't poison. In hind sight, I don't think recapping is a very good idea.

After that red ale, I brewed another 5 gallon kit out of a box which was OK but forgettable, and I also decided to experiment a bit with two different 2 gal batches; I attempted a Jalapeno Pale Ale. One of them came out awful and I think I dumped it down the drain. The other one was really not that bad. I liked them a lot. I shared a few with family and close friends, but they weren't a big hit with them. The one thing I would change is the Citra Hops I used, the hops really clashed with the green, earthy, spicy pepper taste. Ill have to do a thread on that one too if there is any interest.

Anyways, I just put my first brew in almost a year and a half into the fermenter, and I'm hoping all goes well. The scary thing this time is the time frame I gave myself (3 weeks brew to glass) and the new keg system I just picked up to help expedite the whole process (hoping to cut a week off carbonation time with bottles.) The brew went in the fermenter at midnight, and I finished cleaning the kitchen around 1am so I'll have to post the details tomorrow.

 

[SEABrewer]

Yeah, if there was still sign of active fermentation when you bottled, it was definitely too early to bottle. You really want primary to be complete (as indicated by hydrometer readings) and then give the yeast some time to clean up after themselves before you bottle.