Inconsistent Results

[stonersloth]

latest batch ready to drink: coopers lager, 1kg dex, kit yeast (yes, i know....)

6 weeks after bottling, results are inconsistent: some are perfectly matured & carbonated (as much as this recipe will allow), and others have a very fruity/cidery tang to them, as if they where fermented at too high temps.

i bulk primed (dex), bottles stored in same conditions, so the only thing i can think of that is inconsistent from one bottle to the next is the levels i filled them up to during bottling, which i remember was inconsistent.

how much affect can the level of the beer in their respective bottles have on results? what is the best height?
(i've always filled until they just start frothing over)

or is it something else entirely that i've missed?

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

get your self a " Little Bottler " plastic thing about $2.00 in supermarket. It fits ether in the tap on your fermentor or in the end of your racking tube, fill bottle to top remove little botteler and your levels are spot on and all the same.

Also stops frothing, I'm no wiz but maybe the others can shed some light , if your just pooring it from the tap into bottles it could be oxidisation ??

:beer:

 

[mika]

I use the bottle filler as mentioned by FNQ Bunyip, so I get pretty persistent fill levels.
If you're filling right to the top, that may be some of the problem. There's a line of thinking that suggests you need to leave some airspace in the top of the bottle to allow for carbonation. And carbonation can have an affect on the rate a beer matures.
The wa I fill my bottles now, I end up with some froth but have not experienced the inconsistencies you're mentioning.
Are they all fizzy enough ? Or is carbonation down on the cidery tasting bottles ?

 

[stonersloth]

back in oz, used a 'bottler' also - did the trick. here (finland), have just installed a 'tap' (it's an outlet actually - to which i connect a hose and clamp it shut). when bottling, i've been 'riding the clamp' (like riding the clutch) - so the beer comes out at different speeds due to the varied pressure i apply on the clamp. i'll just have to be more consistent next time (or make my own bottler).

carbonation is slightly varied from bottle to bottle, but it's moreso the fruity/cideryness that is the problem - it's about say 3/10 which turn out quite raw... the carbonation & rawness don't seem to be related

i'm stumped...

"pooring it from the tap into bottles it could be oxidisation ??" oxidisation really happens that easily?

 

[Screwtop]

The frothing beer worries me. Does your hose reach the bottom of the bottle like an aussie bottler. Check sanitisation, use a non rinse Phosphoric Acid and sterilise bottles overnight (12hr night) if possible. Try bulk priming using LDME (light dry malt extract) as you have already used sugar/sucrose adjuncts for enough of a cidery taste.

 

[mika]

Would have thought that oxidation was another of those things we try not to do, but wouldn't show up so early in the life of the beer ? Would have thought it would only come into play after months in the bottle and affect the life of the beer.
Gut feeling only, no evidence to back it up.
Whenever I've had a failure in a batch it's either the entire batch (bottled too early...ooops) or 1 in 60 bottles (must have missed the cleaning regime, or something like that)
Otherwise I'm like you...stumped.