Carbonation Issues?

[mechanic_23]

Hi Guys,

This is my first time so go easy :unsure: .

I bulk primed a spiced pumpkin ale I made around two and a half weeks ago. I used 120 grams of cane sugar to do this after using a calculator. The other day I figured I could probably test one of the out to see how it was going. Only problem was that when I opened it, it fizzed all over the place - nothing too hectic but enough to loose all the beer to foam :angry:

So I was (maybe?) naturally worried I had over primed the whole batch. BUT when I opened another it was fairly flat and almost had no head to it - shame 'cause it tastes really good!!

I remember giving the beer a gentle stir with the siphon after i'd finished racking to the bottling bucket - but is it possible that what's happened is all my priming sugar has "stratified" to one area of the bottling bucket?

Is there any possible way to rectify this in the other bottles or should I put it down to a lesson and stir better next time??

Cheers,
mechanic

 

[philmud]

How long have they been in the bottle? I've had similar concerns about beers I've bulk primed, but always because I get antsy and want to check on the progress. They have always evened out over time. I blame Coopers for my misguided expectation that beers are ready to drink after 2 weeks in the bottle, mine always benefit from a good month. Try agitating each bottle to rouse the yeast and leave them alone for a while.

Afterthought: was the gusher at room temp? It should froth less when cold. However, how long was your FG stable when you bottled?

 

[jaypes]

Agreed with Phil, rouse the yeast into suspension once a day and leave for 2weeks.

Your gusher may have had a few nasties in before bottling, how did it taste?

 

[JDW81]

I remember giving the beer a gentle stir with the siphon after i'd finished racking to the bottling bucket - but is it possible that what's happened is all my priming sugar has "stratified" to one area of the bottling bucket?

It is possible, especially if the stir you gave it wasn't terrific. I always put my priming sugar into the bucket and then rack the beer on top of it, I generally let it sit for 10 minutes or so the make sure the sugar is dispersed well throughout the beer.

Other possibility mentioned above is a few bugs in the bottle that have had a good old time.

JD

 

[yum beer]

Check your sanitation regime. Have a mate has gusher problems with about 30% of bottles in one batch, the rest are fine. Possible he missed a few when cleaning.
120gm in a full batch will not overcarb, so gusher not from that I wouldn't think, unless you haven't dissolved sugar properly.
Use dextrose instead of cane suagr...did you boil the priming solution before adding making sure it is all dissolved?

 

[Ross]

Highly unlikely to be bad sanitation, the beer was only made 2.5 weeks ago, sounds like poorly mixed priming sugar to me. One of the reasons I hate bulk priming.

Cheers Ross

 

[mechanic_23]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!!

Sorry when i said made 2 and a half weeks ago I actually meant bottled!! The beer was made about 2 and a half weeks prior to that.

My FG had been stable at 1013 for about a week before I bottled it so it had almost certainly fermented out.

I boiled the water in a pot and added the sugar and boiled for another couple of minutes to kill off any bugs and then wrapped foil over the lid while it was still super hot and set aside to cool. This was added to the bottom of the bottling bucket then the beer was racked on top of that.

I don't think it was a sanitation issue as i double checked every bottle as i was going.

Also I know the gusher was one of the last bottles to be filled.

What is the benefit of using dextrose rather than other sugars? And @Ross what is your alternative to bulk priming.

Cheers,
Mechanic

 

[JDW81]

Highly unlikely to be bad sanitation, the beer was only made 2.5 weeks ago, sounds like poorly mixed priming sugar to me. One of the reasons I hate bulk priming.

Cheers Ross

Ross,

Out of interest, how do you recommend people prime their bottles? Carb drops and sugar scoops are a useful tool, but there isn't much control over carbonation levels with them. Are you a proponent of the syringe method?

Cheers,

JD

 

[micblair]

This issue sounds familiar, popped the cap of an ale which did exactly the same thing, whilst the rest of the bottles were fine, there was however varying degrees of carbonation. I did taste the over-carbed bottle and it wasn't particularly pleasant (acetaldehydey?) - unsure if this was infection related or just incomplete sugar metabolism, All conjecture aside, it doesn't bring that bottle of beer back.

Re. Syringe method, the last batch I individually dosed bottles with dextrose solution via a syringe which was 135 g in 150 mL of water (based on as dextrose monohydrate's solubility is 0.92g in 1 mL of water at 20C). The final volume of the solution was 235 mL, which is a 57% w/v solution or 0.57 g/mL of dextrose. I then back calculated the dose required based on the carbonation of a 1L solution at 2.5 volumes (15C) which is ca. 7 g/L or 12.2 mL of my dextrose solution. This is then scaled relative to the vessel size i.e. for a 650 mL bottle, 7.9 mL is required. Jury is still out though, still waiting for the bottles to prime!

 

[micblair]

Should point out that, that by knowing the %w/v of a given dextrose solution, it doesn't rely on an approximation of the bulk volume of beer you're carbonating rather just the volume of the vessel you're priming into. This is important in case you over/under estimate the amount priming sugar based on the total volume of beer in the fermenter or bottling bucket. In my case this is a glass carboy (no graduations), and the bottling bucket is a corny keg (which I fine with gelatin and cold crash for about 5 days prior to bottling).