What to do after under-priming?

[goestoofast]

Hi all,

I think I under-primed a 13 gallon batch of Cooper's Dark Ale extract. I can't remember exactly how much white sugar I used to prime but I do remember questioning myself a few times during the process.

I really don't understand the whole volumes of CO2 thing except a bigger number means more CO2...and I think I went for about a 2.7. I just checked the Brewer's friend calculator and it said I should have used about 13 oz (about 3.5 cups?) of table sugar to prime.

I fear for some reason that I may have only used about half that, although I am not sure...I probably won't bottle such a big batch again after drinking all afternoon

So I've had about 50 one liter bottles of this stuff sitting in the dark room for about 8 days (since bottling) and I decided to try one out today. I was quite disappointed with the lack of PPSSTTT when cracking the bottle. Now I know it can take up to 3+ weeks for full carbonation, but I am worried I might end up with 50 liters of not so pleasant beer.

What can I do? I know 99% of you will say wait it out...but let's say I wait it out (3 or 4 weeks) and I'm still unhappy with the level of carbonation.

Can I very carefully (and cleanly) open all 50 bottles and add a minute amount of sugar? Would that be a bad idea? or could the outcome of properly carbonated beer out-weigh the risks?

Any and all suggestions welcome!

Thanks guys!
Jeff.

 

[iijakii]

Yes, you can open each one, add sugar and recap. Definitely wait a couple weeks before you try anything though so you don't overprime and have 50 potential grenades in your closet. Then make sure you do the math and carefully measure out each bottle.

 

[JawZziff]

that may be doable but really hard to get right. I recommend for next time to really record your process and keep track of volumes, measurements, etc for this very reason. it allows you to look back and really pinpoint where you may have gone wrong on any given batch. if we knew how much priming sugar was added and to what volume we could give you a little better direction.

I'll drink an underprimed beer any day but that's cuz im used to sipping on my SG samples lol.

 

[p_p]

If you feel it may be too much hassle to weight out the additions for each bottle, you can always get some carbonatin drops. I believe they come in different weights so you can choose the ones that will give you a safe level of co2

 

[goestoofast]

Ok...2 weeks (18 days) after bottling and these things still don't have the pop that I'm looking for. Carbonation level 2 of 10. Like drinking a day ol' beer.

I like JawZz's comment...and I've been trying to teach my brain that flat beer ain't so bad...but it ain't great...and I'm a sharer, and I don't like sharing not great beer.

So I have an idea and would really like some input. I picked up this Dr. Pepper extract that says 9 grams of sugar per 10 ml of syrup, (18% sucralose)

How many mls of syrup would you add to each bottle? 2? 6? would you wait another week before adding? How long would it take before all the yeast was dead and adding priming sugar would be useless?

I fermented in primary for 3 weeks. Lowest temp about 52. Highest 70. Racked to seconday for a week before bottling with average temp of whole process being about 65. Pacific Northwest basement so a little on the cold side.

Anyone wanna throw me some suggestions? I guess what I really wanna know is how long is too long to re-up on the priming sugar? weeks? months?

Cheers and thanks!

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Just off the top of my head, it seems like your sugar amounts aren't that far off. Are you using swing tops? If your gaskets are brand spanky, you could have problems with swingers.

 

[goestoofast]

You know what....I just did the math like 30 times in a row and I've convinced myself there is no way I underprimed this badly...I mean this beer is flat and I for sure put in what a few different calculators have agreed with. These are swing tops but jeesh....Ive only used them about 3 or 4 times since new...and they feel stiff. I'm leaning towards low temps being the culprit...but really not so sure. I moved about 40 of them to the upstairs bedroom for a bit more warmth.

 

[Craftfan]

13 gallons for 2.7 vol Co2 should be around 1.5 cups of table sugar. So if you put in half (1.75 cups) it should be about right. What temp are your bottles being stored at? If it's less than 70 degrees, try moving them to the warmest spot in your house for a week or so and see if that helps.
To answer your Dr. Pepper question, the answer is no one knows. You would have to know what your carbonation level is at currently to be able to tell you how to adjust it. And the amount you would have to add to the bottles would be so small as to be practically unmeasurable. I would think the carb tablets would be the next best idea. But some and add a half tablet to one bottle and see if that's what your looking for and add from there. Best of luck!

 

[goestoofast]

Hey thanks very much...I did just put 2.5 ml of that syrup into 2 bottles and we'll see in a week what happens. Bottles were being stored way less than 70...more like 60...They are in a room about 73 now.

What about the yeast question? how long will those little creatures stay hungry in there? Can I open a bottle in 3 months and decide then to add a few mls of syrup? or will the little critters be dead by then?

 

[goestoofast]

Ok...my stomach just sunk thinking the lack or carbonation at this point is due to me absent-mindedly omitting the priming sugar...ahhhh. I hate waiting. But I'm taking notes all along so this doesnt happen again.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I love the EZ-Cap swing top bottles. They look so cool and are really aesthetically over the top for that homebrew feel and ease of use, but after fighting it for 2 batches I came to the cold hard realization that unless you are ready to deal with a couple dead bottles every time as well as replace your gaskets every batch, swing tops are inferior to bottling with caps. Here is the HBT thread that got me off the wagon and helped me quit pulling my hair out.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=300009

 

[Auger]

I've tried bottle-conditioning with the same swing-tops, with the same issues with flat beer. If you have a bench capper you can put a crown cap on them, but the wing cappers won't work.

Someone should develop silicone rubber gaskets for these things, I bet they'd work a lot more consistently.

 

[Aristotelian]

Hey thanks very much...I did just put 2.5 ml of that syrup into 2 bottles and we'll see in a week what happens. Bottles were being stored way less than 70...more like 60...They are in a room about 73 now.

What about the yeast question? how long will those little creatures stay hungry in there? Can I open a bottle in 3 months and decide then to add a few mls of syrup? or will the little critters be dead by then?

The yeast will stay alive for a very long time. You can add a few tablespoons of dregs to some wort and it will come back to life. That is how people culture yeast from commercial beers that have been bottle conditioned.