Even carbonation

[rabbie]

I'm having trouble with my carbonation
Saturday morning I got a shock as a bottle exploded, luckily it was wrapped in a plastic bag and in a cardboard box so no harm done. Decided it was time to get the batch into the basement to prevent any more carbonation after that. Now I've cracked open another couple of bottles and they have been completely flat, the last one I've just tried has just about perfect. I'm wondering where I've gone wrong and why there is so much difference?
I boiled up the sugar (calculated in beersmith) and then siphoned onto the top. Bottles were washed and then sanitised in different batches, so maybe that was part of the problem.
Should I be mixing the wort/sugar solution before bottling?
The bottle that went was a cheap one so I was half expecting a problem with 3 volumes CO2...
Any tips??

 

[Wez]

The practice of batch sparging (adding all of the priming sugars to the bulk beer prior to bottling) is good practice (not something I do) but if done correctly you will get even carbonation across the batch.

From your post I think you did this already but I have seen people put the sugar solution in the bottom of a bottling bucket (sterile fermenter) and then rack the beer onto this, what this does is gently evenly mixes the sugar solution in with the beer, just be careful not to splash to avoid oxidisation.

Exploding bottles can be a sign of an infection in that bottle, i'd odd that you are getting different carbonation levels across the batch if you have done the above?

 

[Sean_Mc]

Rabbie, sounds scary mate and with young ones it something I don't want happening here.
What type of bottles did you use mate, as I have a grand old mix and would like to limit any problems

 

[Moley]

The practice of batch sparging (adding all of the priming sugars to the bulk beer prior to bottling) is good practice (not something I do) but if done correctly you will get even carbonation across the batch.

Far be it for me to criticise a mentor, but don't you mean batch priming?

 

[Wez]

The practice of batch sparging (adding all of the priming sugars to the bulk beer prior to bottling) is good practice (not something I do) but if done correctly you will get even carbonation across the batch.

Far be it for me to criticise a mentor, but don't you mean batch priming?

House Point for Moley for spotting the deliberate mistake :lol:

That'll teach me for typing in a hurry!

 

[rabbie]

Yep, I should have been a bit clearer!
I boil up the sugar solution, cool and siphon on top of that in the bottling bucket, then bottle away.
Certainly possible that I've not cleaned that particular bottle enough, I'll start running them all through the dishwasher before I santise I think.
Over here the majority of beer is sold in returnable bottles, so I've stocked up on a load of alcohol-free beer which is the cheapest way to get hold of bottles. These might have been in circulation for years by the look of them, so I was expecting the odd one to go bang to be honest.
I've got a decent sock of trappist type bottles, but at a fiver a go (for full ones, seven for rochefort :shock: ) it's not an option to buy up a bulk of these!
It was quite an impressive bang, but the cardboard box kept everything contained so not something to be worried about.
The "dead" bottles did have the usual bit of sediment on the bottom so I was expecting some life in them. :wha:

 

[johnboy]

Hi Rabbie,

If you've left the beer for a sufficient amount of time that it should be carbonated and you've got some flat ones it sounds like the sugar might not have been mixed with the wort properly.

I've had this happen before so now I always give a gentle stir after I've siphoned onto the sugar solution (obviously be careful not to oxidise by splashing too much.)

You can tell if this is the case because the bottles will go from hyper-carbonated to flat across the batch in the order you bottled them. I've still got a scar on my hand from an exploding bottle so be careful my friend.

Good luck

 

[rabbie]

Well, I opened a bottle from this batch the other day, bit of a bulging cap so I took it easy and:

I think you were right about infection in some bottles Wez!

 

[pjbiker]

Sure the main batch had finished fermenting before you bottled? Had you experience of this brew before? not sure if you're talking about a kit or all grain or what.