Another carbonation question

Budgie · Apr 4, 2015

Happy Saturday folks. And Merry Easter!

I got round to trying my first brew the other day. It's a Coopers Lager which I left in the FV for 2 weeks before bottling. There was a sheet in the kit about the carbonation drops which said this kit comes with 500ml bottles as opposed to 740ml bottles. Use 1 carbonation drop per bottle.

I've since read that this isn't enough for a lager. It's been 2 weeks in a warm place then a few days cold and it's as flat as a fart!

So is there any way of increasing the carbonation? Would leaving it longer in a warm place help any or is it the case that one carbonation drop just isn't enough to do the job?

Would it be a bad idea to open the bottles and add more sugar? If this is an option would it be a good idea to replace the lids with crown caps rather than the plastic ones?

Any advice, or if anyone else has any other thoughts would be great.

Cheers.

Toonahfish · Apr 4, 2015

Use more sugar. What size of bottle are you using?

Budgie · Apr 4, 2015

500ml bottles. There was one carb drop in each so I would think about another 1/2 teaspoon per bottle would work.

Would it not have any adverse effect on the beer to open the bottles?

Cheers.

Covrich · Apr 4, 2015

Even with one drop it should have carbed up somewhat.. completeley flat you say? what are you using swing tops or crown caps?

Budgie · Apr 4, 2015

There is a very small amount of carbonation, but it is very very slight.

I'm using the Coopers PET bottles that came with the kit with screw on caps.
Just for the sake of experimentation I've opened a couple of bottles and added a bit more sugar. I'll leave them and see what happens.

clibit · Apr 5, 2015

Yes just add a bit of sugar, which is easy with screw caps. Quarter teaspoon should enough, half teaspoon max. You can release pressure easily with screwcaps if they get too gassy.

And wait, carbonation can sometimes take longer than two weeks to complete, like a month or more.

yeastinfection · Apr 5, 2015

Same here.. same coopers kit. Flat as a fart.
Really disappointed. ..I added 2 drops in a few bottles just to see if it made a difference. It did.
It's a shame cause I followed the instructions and they were wrong :-(

clibit · Apr 5, 2015

If your bottles have yeast and sugar in them, there will be gas. Be patient, it sometimes takes longer.

Budgie · Apr 5, 2015

That's what I was hoping to hear. :)
Patience is a virtue I guess!

joiner_8 · Apr 6, 2015

I too have had the same problem this is my first attempt at brewing beer (Coopers lager) so do you think I should do the same and add some more sugar to a few bottles and see what happens i also used the 500 ml pet bottles and added i carbonation tablet supplied with the kit.
any advice welcome

Budgie · Apr 6, 2015

joiner_8 said:
I too have had the same problem this is my first attempt at brewing beer (Coopers lager) so do you think I should do the same and add some more sugar to a few bottles and see what happens i also used the 500 ml pet bottles and added i carbonation tablet supplied with the kit.
any advice welcome

From what I can gather (and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong) one carbonation drop per 500ml bottle would give sufficient carbonation for an ale but it won't cut if for a lager.

I've opened mine and added a little more sugar to each bottle. It's a bit of a pain but hopefully it'll be worth it. Just make sure your caps are nice and tight when you put them back on. And once you add the sugar they'll fizz up a bit so get the cap back on sharpish or you'll have a nice sticky mess to clean up!! They're now sitting somewhere nice and warm so I'll wait it out. I'll report back once I crack another one open.

It's a real shame they're not quite ready. It's a lovely day for a few home brews in the garden!

joiner_8 · Apr 6, 2015

Did you turn the bottle upside down a few time after adding the sugar or just put the cap on a leave it to settle

LarryF · Apr 6, 2015

Budgie, when I had my Wilko Newkie Brown in the house for the first two weeks after bottling I noticed one of the bottles hadn't gone hard at all(I know, I know, relax, don't think about, it's never happened before). So I thought I'd add a half a tsp of light brown sugar to the bottle, seal it up again and see how it goes. I take the lid off, no fizz, I add the sugar in and..........BOOM. A third of the bottle shoots out the top in foam and I've got beer everywhere, went off like I'd just put a Mento into a bottle of diet coke. My advice is that if you do add sugar to a bottle, do it slowly.

Budgie · Apr 6, 2015

joiner_8 said:
Did you turn the bottle upside down a few time after adding the sugar or just put the cap on a leave it to settle

Yes, I upturned the bottles a couple of times after adding the sugar.

LarryF, that sounds like a nightmare to clean up! Adding a little at a time is definitely good advice. I the ill stick to batch priming from now on though. Less faff and (hopefully) better results.

joiner_8 · May 3, 2015

I have just opened a bottle of coopers lager that i was having problems carbonating and it is finally looking like lager with degree of carbonation so i will now move all the bottles to the cool garage for maturing, the only thing i would say is that it does not have a very strong lager taste but it is drinkable at last

Budgie · May 4, 2015

I've started drinking mine now too. It's a good couple of months old now, and it's much better for having more time.

There's a bit of fizz there now too - still not as much as I'd like for a lager, but it's turned into a decent drinkable pint. It's a shame there's little head retention, but for my first go I can't complain.

joiner_8 · May 6, 2015

I had another bottle of coppers lager last night or was ok but did not really had a strong lager taste never mind I will leave it a few months and see if it improves

Covrich · May 6, 2015

joiner_8 said:
I had another bottle of coppers lager last night or was ok but did not really had a strong lager taste never mind I will leave it a few months and see if it improves

Never done it but I think it comes with Ale yeast so you may never get a true lager taste from it unless you use larger yeast and ferment at around 12Âºc.

Do see hoe it progresses though, what fermentable did you add to the kit?

coupe3234 · May 6, 2015

I'm drinking this kit at the moment. It's a very good pint I must admit. I made it with the Brew Enhancer 1 and primed each 500ml bottle with a heaped half teaspoon baking measure of white sugar. After about 2 weeks I tried one and wasn't impressed at all but after 6 weeks the carbonation is fantastic and keeps a great head all the way to the bottom of the pint.

Another carbonation question

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