Flat Beer

[phinnsfotos]

My beer's flat, grrrrrrr

Put down a chocolate stout, fermented fine, and I thought I might put this into glass. Well I had various glass stubbies 330ml-375ml so I thought I might give this bulk priming caper a go. I figured I'd aim for 2.2 volumes of CO2, for 22 litres, that was sitting at 24C. I used the Beer Recipator and that told me to use 120gm of sugar. So I boiled up my 120gm of dex in 200ml of water and poured it into an empty sanitised fermenter and racked 22 litres of beer into it. All good.

I started bottling, and felt quite pleased with my self. Now honestly it probably took me a good hour to get through all the bottles and I noticed that the yeast was starting to reactivate on the bottles at the end ( I could hear some burbling before I sealed the bottle top down).

Left them for two weeks and thought I'd give one a crack. Opened it up, and flat! Damn it! Well I thought it was only 16C in the garage, maybe the yeast didn't get a chance, so I took one of the 330ml bottles and put it next to the computer which meant it had 24 hours a day of about 24 degrees. Left it for another week, opened it up and flat again. Grrrr.

So they're not completely flat there's the slightest sense of fizz on my tongue, but I would not call it carbination, not by a long shot.

Any thoughts or theories on what might have gone wrong, and any suggestions on re-carbinating the beer I'd apreciate it.

Cheers,
Finn.

 

[seemax]

120g sounds about spot on.

Give it another few weeks and see how it goes, 16C is probably the highest temp during the day but at the average daily temp in a garage would be something closer to 10C.

 

[manticle]

I'd wait. All sounds good assuming that everything was sealed properly. I've had bottle carbomnation happen in less than 3 days during warm weather and more than 3 weeks in cold weather. It's as variable as fermenting without a fridgemate (and I don't have a fridgemate).

Buy some slabs of carlton daruaght, crack an HB stout in 3 weeks and thank the beer gods you don't have to drink carlton draught anymore.

 

[reVoxAHB]

Next time you bulk prime, sanitise a long spoon or mash paddle and gently stir the beer after racking onto priming liquor for equal distribution. It also helps to stir every 6 bottles or so during the bottling process. Try not to aerate the beer which can lead to oxidation; just a gentle smooth stir for 5 or 6 seconds will suffice.

I do agree with others 16C tad cold, and 2 weeks tad short. Leave 'em at warmest room temp in your house 22-24C(?) for another two weeks and try again. Also, try a bottle from the other side of your bottling run (if you didn't stir) which may have more priming agent and therefore carbonation.

Cheers
reVox

 

[michaelcocks]

My beer's flat, grrrrrrr

Put down a chocolate stout, fermented fine, and I thought I might put this into glass. Well I had various glass stubbies 330ml-375ml so I thought I might give this bulk priming caper a go. I figured I'd aim for 2.2 volumes of CO2, for 22 litres, that was sitting at 24C. I used the Beer Recipator and that told me to use 120gm of sugar. So I boiled up my 120gm of dex in 200ml of water and poured it into an empty sanitised fermenter and racked 22 litres of beer into it. All good.

I started bottling, and felt quite pleased with my self. Now honestly it probably took me a good hour to get through all the bottles and I noticed that the yeast was starting to reactivate on the bottles at the end ( I could hear some burbling before I sealed the bottle top down).

Left them for two weeks and thought I'd give one a crack. Opened it up, and flat! Damn it! Well I thought it was only 16C in the garage, maybe the yeast didn't get a chance, so I took one of the 330ml bottles and put it next to the computer which meant it had 24 hours a day of about 24 degrees. Left it for another week, opened it up and flat again. Grrrr.

That temp is a bit low , does your yeast work that far down?
Did the dextrose get mixed thoroughly? If not watch out for those last bottles ,they could be over primed

wait a while and re visit in another couple of weeks


So they're not completely flat there's the slightest sense of fizz on my tongue, but I would not call it carbination, not by a long shot.

Any thoughts or theories on what might have gone wrong, and any suggestions on re-carbinating the beer I'd apreciate it.

Cheers,
Finn.

 

[phinnsfotos]

Didn't think about mixing. When I racked the beer made a bit of a whirl pool as it mixed in, so I thought that would be sufficient. We'll see how we go.

 

[jzani]

Didn't think about mixing. When I racked the beer made a bit of a whirl pool as it mixed in, so I thought that would be sufficient. We'll see how we go.

Same thing happened to me with a batch of Irish Red after about 5 weeks, bottled in a mix of 750, 500 and 330mL bottles.

Not to worry, though, I cracked all the 750 and 500mL bottles and added a quarter spoon of dextrose, two days later and they were perfect. Not sure if I can face cracking all the little 330ml Bottles though.

Thinking about mixing a strong sugar solution and adding a small amount by syringe to avoid bottle bombs.

 

[Ryder]

Hi,

Finished making my first homebrew about 3 weeks ago, I bottled it into 750ml bottles. It tastes reasonable, and I know it's pretty young, but it doesn't have a lot of fizz.
I followed the kit instructions and used a teaspoon of white sugar in the bottle of each bottle - I did it using a teaspoon measure, so it should be bang on the reccomended ammount.

I tried a bottle when it was a week old (yeah I was impatient) and had a few bottles in the last few days (3 weeks old), and the ammount of carbonation appears exactly the same.

Also, I bottled my second brew, an alcoholic ginger beer, a week ago - I cracked one last night and the result is the same.


So I have 3 questions;

1. Is white sugar the right thing to use to prime the bottles?
2. How much of it would you guys reccomend to use in 750ml bottles?
3. Can I repair the brews I've already made by adding some more sugar and recapping them? Or is it too late to fix?

Thanks

 

[manticle]

It's not too late to fix but it is too early to tell. Wait longer - the weather's cold and carbonation slows down in cooler weather. Maybe bring a few inside

You could probably put more than one teaspoon in depending on how fizzy you like your beer - two would be a maximum. White sugar, dextrose, brown sugar and even malt are sometimes used. White sugar and dextrose will be approximately the same amounts but you'll need to check the others in a recipe calculator if you are interested in using them.

A week and even 3 weeks can be too early to tell (although the right beer in the right weather might only take three days). As long as they are not completely flat then excercise patience.

 

[Ryder]

Ok thanks for that. They are all inside now.

I'll leave it for another week, but I think I'll put another half teaspoon of sugar in 2 of them to compare them in a weeks time, just for the sake of experimentation. I'll give that a crack tonight sometime

 

[Ryder]

Adding more sugar was a bad idea...

Sterilised some new caps, a funnel and the measure, took the old cap off, added the extra half teaspoon of sugar.
Within about half a second, the bottle looked like a 14 yo schoolboy who'd just been touched by his girlfriend for the first time - it started gushing a stream of white foam about a foot into the air. When it finished it was half empty and almost totally flat.

Lol, looks like I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll improve by itself!

 

[manticle]

Just saw this. I would have warned you about the gushing.

Next time use a syringe full of sugar solution (boil it and let it cool). from each bottle pour out about 10mL and replace with sugar solution then re-cap immediately.

Hopefully there is no next time though

 

[jyo]

Adding more sugar was a bad idea...

Sterilised some new caps, a funnel and the measure, took the old cap off, added the extra half teaspoon of sugar.
Within about half a second, the bottle looked like a 14 yo schoolboy who'd just been touched by his girlfriend for the first time - it started gushing a stream of white foam about a foot into the air. When it finished it was half empty and almost totally flat.

Lol, looks like I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll improve by itself!

If there was this much carbonation when the sugar was added, surely it will drink ok? I never bulk primed when I bottled, but that kind of reaction from the sugar has me hoping for you that they may be alright.

 

[manticle]

That will/can happen if you add carbonation drops to unprimed finished beer in a bottle which is why it's usually recommended to add drops, then bottle.

 

[jyo]

That will/can happen if you add carbonation drops to unprimed finished beer in a bottle which is why it's usually recommended to add drops, then bottle.

Ofcourse. Don't worry, I have beer brain.

 

[jzani]

I tried a bottle when it was a week old (yeah I was impatient) and had a few bottles in the last few days (3 weeks old), and the ammount of carbonation appears exactly the same.

Hey Ryder, just thought I would check how you are cleaning your glasses? Is the issue no head on your beer, or does it taste really flat?

 

[Ryder]

Cheers - I did 2 of the bottles with the syringe idea, it went in without fizzing up I'll give it a week, then try one of the modified ones and one of the unmodified ones.

Hey Ryder, just thought I would check how you are cleaning your glasses? Is the issue no head on your beer, or does it taste really flat?

The beer gets a small ammount of head, which dissapears within a minute. If you dont drink the glass within 5 min, it does taste so flat it's barely drinkable.
I wash the bottles with detergent and a bottle brush, rinse, sterilise with the pink crystals then rinse again. The glasses usually go though the dishwasher. Does the way you wash them affect the beer?

 

[jzani]

I wash the bottles with detergent and a bottle brush, rinse, sterilise with the pink crystals then rinse again. The glasses usually go though the dishwasher. Does the way you wash them affect the beer?

Not so much the beer as the head you get. I'm sure there is info and opinions on this in other threads. When I used the dishwasher on my glasses I got little head, so now I just rinse them straight away in warm water and now I get better head on my beer.

 

[nifty07]

Cheers - I did 2 of the bottles with the syringe idea, it went in without fizzing up I'll give it a week, then try one of the modified ones and one of the unmodified ones.



The beer gets a small ammount of head, which dissapears within a minute. If you dont drink the glass within 5 min, it does taste so flat it's barely drinkable.
I wash the bottles with detergent and a bottle brush, rinse, sterilise with the pink crystals then rinse again. The glasses usually go though the dishwasher. Does the way you wash them affect the beer?

i was always taught by the old timers never to wash a beer glass with detergent as it would leave the glass "dead" ie no head
you can get away with dishwashers but i have found it does depend on the powder or tabs used
best to do as suggested and rinse and wash in hot water only
if absolutly neccessary use low suds detergent and rinse really well
see if this helps cheers

 

[manticle]

If you use detergent just rinse again with vinegar then rinse clean until the water tastes like water.