Yet another carbonation question...

[markley]

Sorry..i've read a dozen or so threads on this but have not found what i'm looking for.

Anyway, i brewed my first batch (american pale extract kit) about 2 months back..fermentor for 2.5-3 weeks, bottled (boiled the priming sugar and let cool and added but did not stir) and let sit at room temp (~70-75) for 3 weeks. After that i took our first 6 pack camping and it was AWESOME..nice carbonation..maybe even a little high.

However, since then 10 or so are almost without carbonation. I've tried rolling the bottles to rouse the yeast last week and let sit for a week and still mostly flat??

It seems unlikely that the first 6 could be so good, and the next 10-12 flat. I don't think I have any leaks..is there anyway to check this? Any other suggestions on my technique?

Thanks!

 

[woozy]

Were you camping in the mountains?

 

[dozer5454]

You say you added the sugar at bottling but did not stir it. Did you put the sugar in first and rack the beer on top, or did you have the beer in the bottling bucket and then just put in the sugar? The first option should have allowed the sugar to mix in the beer nicely. The second option my be a bit more hit/miss. I generally add my sugar after filling the bottling bucket. I will then gently stir it to mix everything up. As to how to correct it. There may not be a way other than time in the bottles. This hobby is like experimental cooking. Our mistakes made today are the great beers of tomorrow.

 

[markley]

Yeah, we were camping in the mountains..but not much elevation difference from where we live. I did wonder if the 2 hr drive in the cooler shook up a bit??

As far as the sugar, i did not stir. I added about halfway thru racking the brew.

 

[woozy]

"I did wonder if the 2 hr drive in the cooler shook up a bit??"

only if you opened it right away. Then it'd foam over and settle to flatness quickly. Quite different from good carbonation.

I'm inclined to go with dozer5454.

 

[dkeller12]

I am thinking that since you added it midway in the racking process and didn't stir it at all the sugar didn't get mixed too well. Next time pour the sugar solution into the empty fermenter and rack the beer on top of it. Try and get a good swirl going from the racking tube. This we no doubt get the sugar mixed in evenly and hopefully solve the problem on your next batch. Cheers!

 

[KeystoneHomebrew]

If you didn't get a good mix of sugar to beer, some bottles would be foaming up like crazy upon opening, while others were flat. You would notice "bad" bottles at both ends of the spectrum.

I'm wondering what types of bottles you used. Are they all crown caps? Or are there some flip-top or recycled bottles in the mix?

 

[markley]

The bottles are all crown caps...a mix of a variety of recycled bottles.

 

[LogicBomb]

I now rack ontop of half the sugar solution, then add it again half way through racking, then give it a gentle mix with the auto-siphon.

 

[KeystoneHomebrew]

As long as they are all standard pry-offs then it would be hard for me to diagnose it from here. It is possible though that some of them don't have a tight seal due to bottle design. One for instance I can give is Anchor Brewing bottles. The upper ridge does not play with a lot of the cappers on the market.

 

[markley]

Yeah..i have a random variety of bottle uses..although Anchor was one of them. Just cracked a bottle (new belgium) and barely any carbonation. Over the weekend I had one out of 6 that was carbonated??? I guess i should start keeping track of the bottles that are carbonated.

This is really frustrating as the entire first 6 pack was perfect, then about 1 for 20 since?

 

[markley]

OK..so i read in another thread that the beer had to be put in the fridge a few days to fully carbonate (of course after at room temp for a few weeks)..Is that so? I basically have been putting them in the fridge for a few hours prior to drinking..t

 

[biggmatt]

When I bottle I stir the sugar in slowly in the bottling bucket, so it gets just a bit of air. Was your brew cold when you bottled it? It can take a bit of stirring to get the sugar mixed well when its cold. Just like tea, all the sugar will fall to the bottom if it is cold

 

[dkeller12]

OK..so i read in another thread that the beer had to be put in the fridge a few days to fully carbonate (of course after at room temp for a few weeks)..Is that so? I basically have been putting them in the fridge for a few hours prior to drinking..t

Yes, this is total true. Most if not all of the CO2 in the bottle sits in the headspace of the bottle until you place it in the fridge. The cold forces the CO2 into the beer. Only putting your bottles in the fridge shortly before you drink them will cause your beer to have inconsistent carbonation. The longer in the fridge before you drink them the better. I usually do at least 2 days before drinking them. Some do a week or more.