Carbonation cock-up

Hi Guys, just a small post to share some findings if the same happens to you.

Brewed a wheat beer but when moving it the kitchen to bottle I disturbed the collapsed krausen and bits fell in the beer - So I put a bag on the syphon out end as when I've put a bag on the input end it stops syphoning on occasion. All was going well although the priming sugar solution was not swirling (and thus mixing) as well as without using the bag. It seemed ok though. I bottled up and the last few bottles having to tilt the fv and use jugs to transfer. These bottles I drink first as there's a greater risk of oxidation IMO.

Ok so I crack open the beers, good carbonation, well pleased. However those not filled via the tilt and jug method are flat .

So I'm going to recap & prime the beers.

I poured about 2g of brewing sugar into the first bottle before the beer fizzed up. So only did one bottle that way. For the rest I've poured a few grams of golden syrup in and that keeps the fizz when re-priming more manageable. I also split the batch by chilling a few beers to keep what little carbonation suspended in the beer, so I have a control experiment. Update in a week or so to follow to see which works the best.

It's nice to read someone else's tale of woe without experiencing it yourself!

Dutto said:

It's nice to read someone else's tale of woe without experiencing it yourself!

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I was due a disaster seeing as i'd not had one for a year or so

I suspected a recent batch of having uneven carbonation... subsequent batches have had the priming solution gently stirred into the syphoned beer in the bottling bucket. I never used to do this but it seems to have cured it..

I had a mass of mopping beer off the floor from my secondary tap bucket when I filled my bottles a week ago. (Being a complete newbie) And a painstaking episode filling half a teaspoon in each of my 40 500ml pet bottles. Decided to leave them in the Coopers box as not to spill sugar on the floor as had no funnel! Must have spilt half the sugar in the box!. Would you say batch priming is as effective and easier than the old funnel routine? Cheers Andy

Only ever batch primed ..dead easy no fuss.

Andymoz-70 said:

I had a mass of mopping beer off the floor from my secondary tap bucket when I filled my bottles a week ago. (Being a complete newbie) And a painstaking episode filling half a teaspoon in each of my 40 500ml pet bottles. Decided to leave them in the Coopers box as not to spill sugar on the floor as had no funnel! Must have spilt half the sugar in the box!. Would you say batch priming is as effective and easier than the old funnel routine? Cheers Andy

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I use sugar cubes straight into the bottle and it works for me

I’ve never had any issues priming bottles. I use golden castor sugar, a sanitised funnel and half teaspoon measure like the one below, not an actual teaspoon! Never spill a bit and they all end up with equal amounts.

I used sugar cubes earlier, if I am honest bottling is a pita think I am going to buy some more pb,s

Well, golden syrup saves the day. It doesnt fizz up like brewing sugar did and around 4 ml per bottle did the trick. - wow!

The pre chilled beer with GS addition had a bit more fizz than the non chilled beer with GS and the brewing sugar attempted prime was pants.

I liked the way that the GS prime had less reaction with the beer. - bottles stored at 23.5-25

Head retention good, with lacing down the glass

I like the idea of sugar cubes - but isnt a 4g cube a little much for a 500ml bottle ? Or will it just a little livelier when you crack the bottle open ??

View media item 822Here's the beer carbed properly.... at last

gingerneil said:

I like the idea of sugar cubes - but isnt a 4g cube a little much for a 500ml bottle ? Or will it just a little livelier when you crack the bottle open ??

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I use 4.5g sugar cubes in 750ml bottles. That's about right for the styles I usually brew but if you want more of a cask ale level of carbonation then it's way too much! Conversly, it's not really enough for say a saison or lager/pilsner etc. This is when bulk priming is preferable - you then have more precise control over the carb level and it's also handy if you're using different size bottles as well. I sometimes have a mix of 500ml and 750ml.

One thing that can make all this a little more complicated though is the tendency for beer to keep carbing at a slow rate over long periods of time (many months). I've seen fully attenuated brews bottled without priming that were well carbed after 6 months storage. Fortunately, in my case it's very rare that I store a beer THAT long!

ExpatBrewer said:

I use 4.5g sugar cubes in 750ml bottles. That's about right for the styles I usually brew but if you want more of a cask ale level of carbonation then it's way too much! Conversly, it's not really enough for say a saison or lager/pilsner etc. This is when bulk priming is preferable - you then have more precise control over the carb level and it's also handy if you're using different size bottles as well. I sometimes have a mix of 500ml and 750ml.

One thing that can make all this a little more complicated though is the tendency for beer to keep carbing at a slow rate over long periods of time (many months). I've seen fully attenuated brews bottled without priming that were well carbed after 6 months storage. Fortunately, in my case it's very rare that I store a beer THAT long!

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Absolutely right! I have thought about carbing beers I keep over a summer to age at two priming levels. I could squirt a couple of ml of sugar solution into the ones I drink first having primed ALL of the beers in a bottling bucket.

gingerneil said:

I like the idea of sugar cubes - but isnt a 4g cube a little much for a 500ml bottle ? Or will it just a little livelier when you crack the bottle open ??

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Yes it is a little lively but I like my beers that way, I could do with maybe a 3g cube to be honest.