The bad batch

[JC Mendyka]

I tried making a Kolsch, and well, I learned more about priming sugar. Too little sugar can skunk the batch. Also, bottle cleanliness needs to be stepped up. Live and learn, new brewer.

 

[day_trippr]

Too little sugar can skunk the batch.

Say what now?

 

[JC Mendyka]

Say what now?

I only used one once of sugar. There is little to no carbonation. If I did something else wrong please give me a hint.

 

[day_trippr]

Actual "skunked" beer is the result of exposure of certain hop compounds to the part of the light spectrum ranging from visible blue through UV. It has a character literally reminiscent of skunk "juice".

Under-carbonation isn't going to skunk a beer, it's just going to leave it flatter than desired. Something else must be going on...

Cheers!

 

[JC Mendyka]

Thanks @day_trippr, that's a better explanation and expands my verbiage. Totally undercarbonated.

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, but the beer can be saved (hopefully you didn't dump it!) Just do a legit carbonation again and fix whatever got messed up the first time. Reference a carbonation priming calculator like https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

Cheers!

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Don't dump all the bottles just yet! Chill 'em down, close to freezing, then, one at a time, uncap, add a half teaspoon of table sugar, and re-cap.

 

[JC Mendyka]

Thanks a lot to both @Hoochin'Fool and @day_trippr. I didn't dump it, so I will go ahead and try this out. Please cross your fingers and pray, lol.

 

[fluketamer]

how long have they been conditioning. sometimes it just takes more time.

 

[JC Mendyka]

how long have they been conditioning. sometimes it just takes more time.

I have been sitting on her for about two and a half weeks, letting her sit and periodically opening one, but I'm finding no discernible change.

 

[day_trippr]

Next batch you bottle, include one 16 ounce resealable soda bottle, and treat it just like the rest of the "bottles", including the same amount of primer and headspace. After a week or so try squeezing the soda bottle: you're looking for it to get hard enough you can't really squeeze it much. This will help you avoid premature uncapping...

Cheers!

 

[worlddivides]

You said you only used 1 ounce of sugar, but in how much beer? If it's 5 gallons, that would definitely be severely under-carbed. You'd probably want between 3 and 5 ounces of sugar in a 5 gallon batch (I'd use the priming sugar calculator Day_trippr posted).

Also, what did you mean about bottle cleanliness? I'd normally assume over-carbonation from infection in that case.

 

[BrewZer]

Also, bottle cleanliness needs to be stepped up. Live and learn, new brewer.

Sanitation prior to filling will kill a lot of what might ruin your brew. I put my eyeball-clean bottles in a utility sink with about a quart of bleach in cold water and let them sit at least 2 hours, rinsing them twice with hot water and storing upside-down in a FastRack until ready to bottle that morning. I siphon out the sink into my bottling bucket to sanitize it, the transfer hose and the bottling wand.