Undercarbonated

[lucas]

ive done two brews and both have been very lightly carbonated. im bottling the third next week and dont want it to happen again.

first brew was a coopers lager brewed with brewing sugar, bottled in the coopers PET bottles, 2 carb drops per bottle. lids were screwed on tightly, bottles are firm to touch. been conditioned for around 5-6 weeks and definately been warm enough for the yeast to do its thing

second brew was a coopers ginger beer with brew enhancer 2. bottled in glass bottles various sizes (355, 375, 700, 750 and 800ml). 355ml bottles were crown seal, rest screw top. capped with a bench capper. 6 of the 355ml bottles were primed with carb drops, everything else was primed with table sugar measured with a brigalow priming scoop (small scoop for the small bottles, big for the big). conditioned for about 4 weeks, definetly warm enough.

the strange thing is, all the beer seems about equally carbonated. i would have thought the 355 crown seal bottles would possibly even been over carbonated since the scope is calibrated for 375ml bottles, but it was about the same as the 800ml bottles which theoretically should have been under-primed.

any ideas as to why this is happening? i intend to bulk prime the current brew, but am concerned that there may be some other issue im overlooking

lucas

 

[lucas]

anyone?

 

[peas_and_corn]

I'm not exactly sure about what's causing it, really- as you said, you have added twice as much sugar as really necessary, so there should be no reason to why it is undercarbonated.

What sort of bubbles do you get (ie are they like standard beer bubbles or are they soft-drink size)? Are there any off flavours in the beer?

 

[vlbaby]

Thats very strange, are you sure that the priming sugar has fermented. ie does it taste sweet? If it doesnt taste sweet and your 100% sure its still undercarbonated, then there must be some leakage from your bottle caps or something.

Is there any carbonation at all? Are you mistaking the lack of head for under carbonation? The lack of head is usually a completely different issue to under carbonation.

cheers

VL.

 

[lucas]

I'm not exactly sure about what's causing it, really- as you said, you have added twice as much sugar as really necessary, so there should be no reason to why it is undercarbonated.

What sort of bubbles do you get (ie are they like standard beer bubbles or are they soft-drink size)? Are there any off flavours in the beer?

[post="111209"][/post]​

the first beer was really fruity (id consider that an unwanted flavour) but im pretty sure that was due to the high ferm temps (28 degrees) and use of coopers "brewing sugar". the second beer tasted fine.

the bubbles i get are very small, they give a very different feeling in the mouth than a comercial brew

 

[lucas]

Thats very strange, are you sure that the priming sugar has fermented. ie does it taste sweet? If it doesnt taste sweet and your 100% sure its still undercarbonated, then there must be some leakage from your bottle caps or something.

Is there any carbonation at all? Are you mistaking the lack of head for under carbonation? The lack of head is usually a completely different issue to under carbonation.

cheers

VL.

[post="111213"][/post]​

thats sort of hard to gauge, i dont think that either beer is any sweeter than i would have expected. i guess there's a possibility that the priming sugar didnt ferment but i cant imagine why with the weather we've been having.

the carbonation that exists is very mild, small bubbles. the beer just feels not quite right in your mouth. there's no head either, but i thought i'd leave that worry until i had everything else up to scratch

 

[peas_and_corn]

Is there a possibility that the temperature was too high and the yeast died?

 

[lucas]

i guess it's always a possibility, but for it to happen with two seperate batches seems unlikely. how hot a temperature would kill your standard kit yeast

 

[Stuster]

Mysterious. :unsure:

What did you sanitise with? How well did you rinse?

Are the bottle caps firmly on? No leaks? (My first batch I stuffed this up. )

How hot does it get where the bottles are stored?

Seems strange that both lots are equally low on carbonation.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Greasy bottles would be my pick.

 

[Bobby]

grease and oil would hinder head formation not carbonation.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Read his post his assuming because there is no head that it aint carbonated.

 

[Stuster]

there's no head either, but i thought i'd leave that worry until i had everything else up to scratch

[post="111222"][/post]​

Perhaps you should have read the post DC. That is not what he is assuming.

 

[lucas]

Mysterious. :unsure:

What did you sanitise with? How well did you rinse?

Are the bottle caps firmly on? No leaks? (My first batch I stuffed this up. )

How hot does it get where the bottles are stored?

Seems strange that both lots are equally low on carbonation.

[post="111306"][/post]​

i used sodium metabisulphite to sanitise these two batches, i intend to get something that actually works soon. bought the stuff because it was recommended at a brew shop that shall remain nameless.

i think the caps are firmly on. the bench capper i used is quite old but it seemed to work. when opened the bottles do produce a "psssht" sound. is there a way to check if the seal might be leaking under pressure?

exact temps where the bottles are stored is something i couldnt give you. i would assume it got no hotter inside the shed than the ambient temp (its always felt cooler inside to me), and the hottest days we've had since brewing would have been 40 to 43 degrees.

my plans to bottle the current brew tommorow are looking unlikely now (many unexpected things occured at uni), ill probably bottle friday and just hope for the best. i was sort of hoping this would be a common newbie problem

 

[Stuster]

Sounds like the temperature where you store them may be the problem. You can hope for cooler weather, put something wet over the bottles to cool them down, or just buy a kegging system with dedicated brew fridge. I'd go for the first one if I were you. At least for now.

 

[kc_ksom]

Howdy doodee


I brewed up a Coopers heritage larger, brewed at aprox 20 deg, carbonated with coopers drops (in crown seal stubbie bottles)
After 1 week there was carbonation, but there was a real fruity taste, kinda sweet.
After 2 weeks, started to get a little better, but still a fruity taste, still kinda sweet.

After 1 month, I drank majority (Xmas time) all though it was still very sweet and fruity, and un carbonated some what, So I swore I was NEVER going to do another one again.

As I had NO beer left on the weekend I seen the 4 left over on the shelve, so I thought I MAY ASWELL drink em,,,, ABSOLUTE BLOODY BE UTE I FULL!!!!!

I could not believe the difference near 3 months made.. Carbonation was spot on, NO SWEET FRUITY FLAVOUR, head was great. My mate does not and has not liked home brew, I gave him a little sip just to try, He grabbed MY other bottle in a second and commented it was just like BOAGGS, I dont know what that tastes like as its 60+ a carton..... Anyway.. Give it 3 months and DONT TOUCH.. I bet its great...

OHHHHHH
Watch that you dont taint the fermenter with GINGER BEER, its taste will hinder in a few beers down the track, its very hard to get it out, unless you are using GLASS, the plastic seems to keep the smell of the ginger.

If I was you, I would start to look into BULK PRIMMING for your next brew...

Casey

 

[mika]

I wouldn't say that my bottles condition at a great temp, measured at 49
degs. But I've never had a problem with under-carbonated beers.
If the bottle is releasing gas when you crack the cap, should all be working and all be good. All of mine crack with a much sharper crack than commercial beers.
Maybe like Casey suggests just leave it longer ??