Under Carbonation

[nicklawmusic]

Just under two weeks ago, I batch primed an IPA for the first time (I normally prime each bottle with half a teaspoon of dextrose) using 137g of dextrose in 100ml of boiled and cool water (this went into 5.5 gallons of beer).

I poured it carefully into the secondary and gave it a gentle but thorough stir and left it for 30 mins.

Bottling seemed easier, but having opened one last night (11 days after bottling), although the beer has carbonated, it's nowhere near as carbonated as when I prime each bottle, and seems under carbonated in comparison to every other beer I've made or commercial beers.

They've been conditioning at room temp (which in my house is around 15-17C).

Will they become more carbonated or is that it? They're not bad, just a bit lacklustre. Can I do anything to help them on?

Also, does it sound like I did the batch priming right? Everyone raves about bottling buckets but the priming of each bottle seems to yield a better result.

Thoughts?!

 

[Gavin C]

11 days is too short a time in most cases for carbonation to occur. Ive had bottles take 5 weeks to reach their peak optimal carbonation. 3 weeks is the normal rule of thumb at 70F

Your described bottling technique is less than ideal

Better to prep the priming solution, add it to the bottling bucket and rack the beer on top of it, coiling the tubing in the bottom of the bucket to create a gentle swirl.

To minimize oxidation, no other mixing or stirring is advised.

Bottle immediately after racking the beer. Waiting is neither needed nor indicated. It is a bad idea.

 

[joshesmusica]

11 days is too short a time in most cases for carbonation to occur. Ive had bottles take 5 weeks to reach their peak optimal carbonation. 3 weeks is the normal rule of thumb at 70F

Your described bottling technique is less than ideal

Better to prep the priming solution, add it to the bottling bucket and rack the beer on top of it, coiling the tubing in the bottom of the bucket to create a gentle swirl.

To minimize oxidation, no other mixing or stirring is advised.

Bottle immediately after racking the beer. Waiting is neither needed nor indicated. It is a bad idea.

+1 to all of this.

i know it seems so completely strange to think about (since we typically want to ferment with ambients around 15-17C, but on your next batch do a little experiment: take half the batch and leave it at the 15-17 room temp, then take the other half and try to get them to "room" temps of about 21-22. you'll be amazed at how much quicker the warmer temp bottles will carbonate.

 

[nicklawmusic]

Thanks. I live in the north of England where the weather sucks at best, so getting a room temp of 21C without blasting the heating out in summer for several hours is impossible.

 

[joshesmusica]

Thanks. I live in the north of England where the weather sucks at best, so getting a room temp of 21C without blasting the heating out in summer for several hours is impossible.

poor insulation or what? i live in the southwest of norway, so very similar weather, and i have a problem convincing my wife that 22 is too warm... we live in a basement apartment, the only source of heating are wall, panel heaters, but they do the trick just fine and don't cost a ton at all. we pay more from all the hot water we use than heating up our living room/kitchen area.

weather the next 5 days for us:
cloudy, rainy, 11 high temps, 6/7 low temps...

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks. I live in the north of England where the weather sucks at best, so getting a room temp of 21C without blasting the heating out in summer for several hours is impossible.

My question would be that if the weather sucks at best, why do you still live in the north of England? Of course you need to take into account that I still live where the temperature ranges from -50 to +105F and we can get snow in November that is still on the ground in April. :cross:

You should have no trouble getting a room to 21, you just need to redefine room. A much smaller room. Like an insulated box with a small heat source and perhaps a controller so it doesn't get too warm.

 

[Gavin C]

They will carbonate at cooler temperatures, just takes a bit longer. There're lots of ways to rig up a warm room (box/tea-chest with a light bulb and a temp controller are some solutions). But it is not a problem if you have the patience to wait longer.

 

[monstervictor]

I agree with Gavin C on the bottling bucket.
Having that said, in my personal experience, I leave bottles carbonating at 20C for 2 weeks and they seem ready. I noticed that after 3 weeks they are better tasting, but 2 weeks is good enough for the carbing part. I would imagine that at 17C, it would take about 4-5 weeks.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[nicklawmusic]

I've moved them into the attic room, which is slightly warmer.