Too low carbonation

[trentar]

Hello fellow homebrewers,

I have brewed my first batch of Czech Pils made from malt extract from the Master Pint company from UK. After 14 days of primary fermentation I have bottled 21 liters (5,55 gallon) of beer in 0.5 liter (0.132 gallon) bottles and I have used a dose for sugar from the beer kit but I have used dextrose instead of sucrose. Since I have used dextrose also for primary and I have read that I should use the same amount as for sucrose (so 1 kg or 35.27 oz.), I thought that I can use the same enclosed dose for table sugar for secondary in the bottles, but with dextrose instead. Yesterday evening, after 11 days of secondary fermentation in bottles, the beer was good, however the carbonation level was seemingly low. The foam head was very thin and also the beer itself didn't had so many bubles as I would expect in the pilsner. The capping was performed with two-hand tools so I think that part was properly done.

Do you think the carbonation level would rise further in the next days or weeks or would I have to use higher amout of dextrose than the amount I would be using if priming it with sucrose?

 

[myndflyte]

What temp are you letting them carb at? If it was a little lower, 11 days may be a bit too early. If that's the case, you could just wait or move them to a warmer spot and give it another week.

 

[ncbrewer]

It takes more dextrose than sucrose. You can use one of the on-line calculators for this. Here is one: Homebrew Priming Sugar Calculator
For beer volume, use the amount in the bottling bucket - not the fermenter. You will have to estimate this. Mine average 0.38 gallons of trub for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[doug293cz]

Hello fellow homebrewers,

I have brewed my first batch of Czech Pils made from malt extract from the Master Pint company from UK. After 14 days of primary fermentation I have bottled 21 liters (5,55 gallon) of beer in 0.5 liter (0.132 gallon) bottles and I have used a dose for sugar from the beer kit but I have used dextrose instead of sucrose. Since I have used dextrose also for primary and I have read that I should use the same amount as for sucrose (so 1 kg or 35.27 oz.), I thought that I can use the same enclosed dose for table sugar for secondary in the bottles, but with dextrose instead. Yesterday evening, after 11 days of secondary fermentation in bottles, the beer was good, however the carbonation level was seemingly low. The foam head was very thin and also the beer itself didn't had so many bubles as I would expect in the pilsner. The capping was performed with two-hand tools so I think that part was properly done.

Do you think the carbonation level would rise further in the next days or weeks or would I have to use higher amout of dextrose than the amount I would be using if priming it with sucrose?

Did you really prime your 21 liters of beer with 1 kg of dextrose (as your post implies)? If so, you are severely overprimed, and in danger of having bottle bombs if all of that priming sugar eventually ferments.

Most dextrose is actually dextrose monohydrate which has a molecular weight of 198.18 g/mol, and each mol of sucrose creates 2 mol of CO2 at 44.01 g/mol, or 88.02 g. 1 kg of dextrose monohydrate will create 1000 * 88.02 / 198.18 = 444 g of CO2. 1 volume of carbonation is equal to 1.977 g/L of dissolved CO2, so in 21 L, 444 g will create 444 / (1.977 * 21) = 10.7 volumes. This level of carbonation is dangerous!

I suggest you get protective gear (leather gloves, face shield, arm, chest & neck protection) and un-cap those bottles immediately - before they become bottle bombs.

Dextrose has a slightly lower CO2 yield than sucrose, when it is in the monohydrate form. 1 g of dextrose monohydrate produces 0.444 g of CO2, whereas 1 g of sucrose produces 0.514 g of CO2.

Brew on

 

[trentar]

Did you really prime your 21 liters of beer with 1 kg of dextrose (as your post implies)? If so, you are severely overprimed, and in danger of having bottle bombs if all of that priming sugar eventually ferments.

Most dextrose is actually dextrose monohydrate which has a molecular weight of 198.18 g/mol, and each mol of sucrose creates 2 mol of CO2 at 44.01 g/mol, or 88.02 g. 1 kg of dextrose monohydrate will create 1000 * 88.02 / 198.18 = 444 g of CO2. 1 volume of carbonation is equal to 1.977 g/L of dissolved CO2, so in 21 L, 444 g will create 444 / (1.977 * 21) = 10.7 volumes. This level of carbonation is dangerous!

I suggest you get protective gear (leather gloves, face shield, arm, chest & neck protection) and un-cap those bottles immediately - before they become bottle bombs.

Dextrose has a slightly lower CO2 yield than sucrose, when it is in the monohydrate form. 1 g of dextrose monohydrate produces 0.444 g of CO2, whereas 1 g of sucrose produces 0.514 g of CO2.

Brew on

No, sorry, I haven't explained myself clearly obviously. I used 1 kg of dextrose for my primary fermentation of 21 liters of wort. Then I have used the dose (measuring scoop) which was enclosed with the beer kit for dosing the right amount of sugar to every bottle seperately. On the video from the seller of this kit they use regular table sugar with this scoop, but I have used dextrose instead.

So my question was actually if I have put too low amount of dextrose in every bottle with this scoop?

 

[trentar]

What temp are you letting them carb at? If it was a little lower, 11 days may be a bit too early. If that's the case, you could just wait or move them to a warmer spot and give it another week.

It is actually warm - between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius, that is 71.6 - 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[doug293cz]

No, sorry, I haven't explained myself clearly obviously. I used 1 kg of dextrose for my primary fermentation of 21 liters of wort. Then I have used the dose (measuring scoop) which was enclosed with the beer kit for dosing the right amount of sugar to every bottle seperately. On the video from the seller of this kit they use regular table sugar with this scoop, but I have used dextrose instead.

So my question was actually if I have put too low amount of dextrose in every bottle with this scoop?

By weight, dextrose (corn sugar) will produce ~15% less carbonation than sucrose. Since about 1/3 of the final carbonation is from the CO2 contained at the end of fermentation, you will end up about 10% low on carbonation vs. using the same weight of sucrose.

Accurate levels of carbonation are best obtained by weighing the priming sugar vs. dispensing by volume. Packing density can vary, and thus so can the weight of sugar in any specific volume. Also, dextrose and sucrose may have different packing densities, so without packing density data on both the dextrose and sucrose, no definitive statement can be made of the effect of equal volumes of sucrose vs. dextrose.

Brew on