Under primed & bottled

[Pyg]

Last week (sat) I bottled a cream ale 4.5 gall.
I had 1 bottle sitting in my dining room cabinet and decided to toss in the fridge.
Today I cracked it and it was barely carbed, only a few bubbles.
I went back over my notes and realized I read the conversion chart incorrectly and only added 7 tbs of sugar, which according o any number of charts is only 3.5 oz.
Most of my bottles are sitting in a heated cooler around 66f.
The bottle I opened was in a room with inconsistent temp.

Is the low carb because it had been a week?
Or because I did not as enough sugar?

And if the latter is there anything I can do k fix it?
Or should I just R&HAHB?

 

[eadavis80]

Normally takes 3 weeks @ 70 degrees to reach good carbonation, though each batch is different. 3 @ 70 is the rule of thumb.

 

[slym2none]

I have an amber I just bottled yesterday, & one was one of the 16-oz aluminum "bottles" (a shorty, like Coors & Miller Lite use - I want to see if they are any good). The can is already almost hard-as-a-rock today, but I know better, from reading on this site.

Three weeks for carbing to undertake fully.

*thumbsup*

 

[Pyg]

My last batch was nicely carbed after 2 weeks. It was drinkably carbed after 1.
I guess I jumped the gun on this one .
I will wait another 2 weeks!

So I should not be as worried about adding 1 oz less of prime sugar than I should have?
I will still get some foam, instead of a few bubbles?

 

[slym2none]

From what I understand, some can be ready in 2 weeks, but going three seems to assure that it will be done.

It might be that while all the carbonation that is going to be formed is present, it just isn't yet diffused into the beer fully.

I am a green noob, though, so IDK if I am totally right on this.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Drink one for the first four weeks and learn about it!

 

[Yooper]

Is the low carb because it had been a week?
Or because I did not as enough sugar?

Both of these. Even when fully carbed, it will be undercarbed. It will still be drinkable, but not as carbed up as if you had used the proper amount of priming sugar.

 

[cobrem]

If you used table sugar, you should be in the ballpark for priming amount. Low carb at one week at 66° is not surprising.

 

[Pyg]

Both of these. Even when fully carbed, it will be undercarbed. It will still be drinkable, but not as carbed up as if you had used the proper amount of priming sugar.

That is unfortunate, because I like almost too much head on my beer.

Originally I had 8 TBS in the a cup of boling water and second guessed myself because I felt it was too much.
In retrospect I should have just used a measuring cup to measure out 4 oz of sugar.

I guess we learn from our mistakes, but as long as there is some head on it and drinkable, it should not be all that bad.

 

[Yooper]

That is unfortunate, because I like almost too much head on my beer.

Originally I had 8 TBS in the a cup of boling water and second guessed myself because I felt it was too much.
In retrospect I should have just used a measuring cup to measure out 4 oz of sugar.

I guess we learn from our mistakes, but as long as there is some head on it and drinkable, it should not be all that bad.

No, you can't use a measuring cup for 4 ounces. I mean, you can, but if it's 4 ounces by weight, that isn't the same as 1/2 cup. Weight measurements don't translate to "cups".

 

[Pyg]

No, you can't use a measuring cup for 4 ounces. I mean, you can, but if it's 4 ounces by weight, that isn't the same as 1/2 cup. Weight measurements don't translate to "cups".

Thanks @Yooper
I think I realized this just after I typed it.
I have been using 2TBS= 1 OZ, Instead of weight.

That is a huge blunder on my part.
SO I may or maynot be under primed and just may have opened 1 up too soon.
I have some extra sugar sitting at home I will go measure.
However I am starting to fear what the answer would be, especially if I am grossly under primed!

 

[Pyg]

I came across Brewers Best instructions (I dont read instructions) and at the bottom it indicated:

1 oz. of priming sugar is equal to 2.5 tablespoons.

So I filled an entire sheet with this text along with :

4 oz. of priming sugar is equal to 10 tablespoons.

I printed it up and stuck a bunch of these in my kitchen and my basement/brew storage. I know that TBS does not = weight, but this little reminder is better than the boner of a mistake I made!!!!!
I am still kicking myself over this one.
I want to make sure I never make this mistake again.
I dread popping a bottle of my mistake this weekend!

 

[m00ps]

you should use a priming sugar calculator to figure out how much sugar you need for the style you want. You can even use stuff like honey and maple syrup
http://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/resources/priming-sugar-calculator/

 

[Zekk]

I bet in another 2 weeks you'll be carbed up. I used just over 3 oz for my IPA and am kinda hoping its a little undercarbed. My personal preference is for less carbonation though. Definitely better to be under carbed than have gushers or bottle bombs.

 

[standpoint]

The important part is the tempereature you are carbing at - 66 is low, you really want to get it up to 70-74F. At 66 it will take a lot longer to carbonate.

 

[Pyg]

The important part is the tempereature you are carbing at - 66 is low, you really want to get it up to 70-74F. At 66 it will take a lot longer to carbonate.

I have had beer carb perfectly at 66 in 2 weeks
& bottles from the same batch at 62 in 3 weeks. Of course these batches were all primed with atleast 1 oz of sugar per Gallon, if not more.

I am cooking this weekend, so i am just going to drink what I have made and concentrating on the the next batch.
But like I have said it is so frustrating to have made such a blunder!

 

[slym2none]

I am carbing my first batch, the warmest place I can get right now might hit 70° F, most of the time it is around 67-68. I have one 16-oz aluminum bottle as a test (both for carbing and to see if they are feasibly usable) and that "bottle" is hard as a rock. My beer has been carbing for exactly 7 days.

I think it is one of those "it depends" situations. I do realise that while all of the CO² might already be produced, it might not have dissolved into the beer completely.

 

[brew_darrymore]

I read the conversion chart incorrectly and only added 7 tbs of sugar, which according o any number of charts is only 3.5 oz.

I think you'll be just fine. Did you use table sugar (sucrose) to prime with?

According to the northernbrewer priming sugar calculator, http://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/resources/priming-sugar-calculator/

to achieve 2.6 CO2 volume (average for cream ales), you need 3.84oz of table sugar. Playing around with the calculator, you will achieve 2.45 CO2 volume if you used 3.5oz table sugar. So, RDWHAHB.

I won't be able to tell the difference b/w 2.6 and 2.45 CO2 level.

 

[Pyg]

I think you'll be just fine. Did you use table sugar (sucrose) to prime with?



According to the northernbrewer priming sugar calculator, http://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/resources/priming-sugar-calculator/



to achieve 2.6 CO2 volume (average for cream ales), you need 3.84oz of table sugar. Playing around with the calculator, you will achieve 2.45 CO2 volume if you used 3.5oz table sugar. So, RDWHAHB.



I won't be able to tell the difference b/w 2.6 and 2.45 CO2 level.

I used corn sugar.
After 2 weeks it had some head, not as much as I like, but more than I had anticipated due to my blunder.
I will say even under carbed , it is tasty!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1430516564.292198.jpg

 

[Pyg]

For some reason the most recent bottle of this batch is more carbed than the rest!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432339786.650456.jpg

 

[brew_ny]

call it cask ale and you are all good