Should I be ok?

[cyclops]

Good evening everyone,

Rookie here and I've got a question about my bottling. I have done a few batches of wine a number of years ago but this was my first attempt at beer. I got a Cooper's Mexican Cervesa from my local brew haha store and followed all the directions. After 6 days in the primary with my temp raising slightly from 70 on day one to about 76 on day 6. My hydrometer readings the last couple of days were steady at about 1.012 to 1.011. I then proceeded to bottle as the instructions list. My big question is that it took me about an hour to bottle. I put the Coopers conditioning/carbonation drops in before filling the bottles. It took me so long since I was trying to be careful and all. Once done I then capped them all. Will my carbonation be ok since it took so long before I got them capped? It seemed to be tasting ok at this stage before I bottled. (A little cloudy of course and a little yeasty) I chalk this up to still needing time to condition in the bottles for another couple of weeks.

Any advice or reassurance would be great to hear.

 

[Parker36]

Don't worry about how long it took you to bottle, THat was a very quick fermentation though.

 

[jdinger29]

You should be fine. I tend to let the caps sit without crimping for a little while so the CO2 can push out any oxygen that may be in the headspace. Since carbonating doesn't happen in an hour you will be fine...

 

[cyclops]

Their instructions say 4-6 days depending on temps when in range of 70-80 degrees. My hydrometer readings were steady though the last 2 days.

 

[cyclops]

Oh yea one thing I forgot. I think I missed putting the carbonation drops in about 3 12oz bottles. I suspect these will just end up a little flat?

 

[BillyBroas]

Feel reassured :>) I haven't used Cooper's but I understand their "drops" are just a form of priming sugar. If, so then you don't have anything to worry about taking an hour to bottle. That won't hurt the potency of the sugar. One hour is not even that long a time to bottle assuming you are doing a 5 gallon batch.

Start planning out your next brew in the meantime, and let me know how it turns out.

- Billy

 

[Parker36]

1) Wait longer until bottling next time. 3 weeks is a pretty safe minimum you will get less yeast/cloudiness/sediment in your final product.
2) 70-80 is pretty warm, especially for a style like this.
3) I've never heard of anybody letting the caps sit on without crimping to let oxygen escape. Not sure how much science there is to that.

 

[jdinger29]

I don't know that there is any science... I read this on a different brewing website.

HINT: Instead of crimping the caps immediately after filling the bottles, place the caps loosely on the bottles and wait 15 minutes before crimping the caps down with the bottle capper. This will allow CO2 to fill the space at the top of the bottle and will help to purge the oxygen from the bottles. Oxygen absorbing bottle caps will also improve the quality and shelf life of the beer."

 

[bonzombiekitty]

3) I've never heard of anybody letting the caps sit on without crimping to let oxygen escape. Not sure how much science there is to that.

Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to me either. When you put the beer in the bottle, it foams, pushing all the air of the bottle. When you remove the bottling wand, it leaves some head space, but I'd expect any air in that headspace to quickly be replaced by the co2 escaping from the foam. This is what commercial brewers do when bottling.

 

[Revvy]

3) I've never heard of anybody letting the caps sit on without crimping to let oxygen escape. Not sure how much science there is to that.

It's pretty common, including iirc in Papazian's book....Where I'm pretty sure I learned about it.

What happens is that any co2 being formed will push out any oxygen still left in the head space. That way you won't oxydize the beer.

The way I have my process down, as outlined in here; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/revvys-tips-bottler-first-time-otherwise-94812/, I now cap an entire case of beer at once instead of twelve, starting with the first ones filled and working to the last ones...they all spend about 15 minutes voiding co2 and o2.

Even Palmer mentions it, though doesn't go into detail as to why you do it.

The next step is filling the bottles. Place the fill tube of the bottling bucket or bottle filler at the bottom of the bottle. Fill slowly at first to prevent gurgling and keep the fill tube below the waterline to prevent aeration. Fill to about 3/4 inch from the top of the bottles. Place a sanitized cap on the bottle and cap. Many people will place the caps on the bottles and then wait to cap several at the same time. After capping, inspect every bottle to make sure the cap is secure.

Many of us have had caps pop off during that time, which illustrates that stuff is escaping.

 

[BillTheSlink]

I tried setting my caps on the bottles, but I am all thumbs and end up knocking them off and having to resanitize them and the whole nine yards. Now I just fill up all the bottles and when finished cap them one by one. 1 hour ain't bad at all. I'd say it's pretty good for a first time..

 

[Richabt]

You sound like you are right on track. Like others said, an hour for bottling is fine. If you are lucky, the 3 bottles you missed with the carb tablets will at least produce a little carbonation, if not you can mix it with one that did carbonate. Of coarse, that will force you to drink two beers, but sacrifices must be made. Enjoy!