Undercarbonated bottles?

[Piruz]

Hi! I have now done 3 batches of homebrew, and while first batch was under carbonated because of not enough priming sugar (DME), and second batch went well, my third batch seems to be under carbonated.

Aimed to 2.5 vol CO2, let bottles to sit on 24C temp for 2 weeks and its completely flat. (5% abv)

Maybe it's my capper? I have very old Inart capper which I got from dad, and while it seems to seal fine, some caps seems to be tilted? Just 0.5mm or so, but you can see the one edge being upper than other. But I can't flip them open by hand.

But is it possible that they leak CO2 but not the beer itself? Have flipped the bottles to see if liquid comes out but they seem to hold it.

Thanks if anyone knows how to solve this.

 

[ncbrewer]

I had a capper problem a while back. I set a couple of bottles upside down in a bucket of water overnight, but couldn't see any beer leaking out. I later found the problem with the capper (my method, actually). So I believe it's possible for the caps to leak CO2 but not leak beer.

Also, are you basing the priming sugar addition on volume in the fermenter or volume in the bottling bucket? As far as I can tell, the calculators are based on actual volume being primed (bottling bucket volume).

 

[kh54s10]

I do think that you caps can leak co2 without leaking beer. At least if the beer is not against the cap when there is some co2 pressure. It may also be that the bottles need more time. 2 weeks should show some carbonation, but sometimes it takes longer.

Get a new capper. The 2 handled ones are not too expensive.

 

[flars]

How much DME do you use for 5 gallons of beer? Do you hear any hiss of escaping CO2 when opening a bottle that has been chilled at least three days?

Same problem with bottles that have been conditioning for four to six weeks?

 

[GoeHaarden]

How much water are you dissolving your priming sugar in?

I boiled my sugar in way too little water once, making a syrup almost. Most (~90%) of those bottles did not carb, and I believe was due to the sugar not thoroughly mixing with the beer in the bucket. Now I add the sugar mixture to the beer and stir to make sure it mixes well.

 

[Piruz]

Thanks for replies. I primed with dextrose 64g to 9 liter (2.5 gallon). I dissolved it to about 3 dl water (over 1 cup) and poured on to beer and mixed gently.

I couldnt hear any hiss from opening 2 of those.

I used DME only once, calculated too little (70g to 10 liter) and they have little CO2.

I see sediment on bottles so there is yeast too. I hope.

 

[flars]

If I input the right numbers in this calculator, used 20°C for the highest temperature of the beer in the primary.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/
80 grams of DME would be needed for 2.5 volumes of CO2 in 2.4 gallons of beer.

It is possible the caps could be leaking if they are not on straight. The bottles may not be centered under the bell when capping. The bell could also be worn and needs replacing. The bottles and caps in combination could be the problem. I have some very old German pint bottles that the standard 26 mm caps will have a crease after capping. The caps still seal the bottle though.