carbonation out of wack!

[bazooka]

my latest batch which I bottled using 500ml. glass bottles seems to be hit and miss with the carbonation. I put 1 cup of corn sugar into the entire batch prior to bottling, and it seems that some bottles are almost flat, yet others are full of bubbles??? Some of the bottles are slightly different in shape, but they are all long neck dark brown bottles (some just have a more narrow neck,) Can anyone tell me why this might be happening???

[YamahaXS]

Originally posted by bazooka
my latest batch which I bottled using 500ml. glass bottles seems to be hit and miss with the carbonation. I put 1 cup of corn sugar into the entire batch prior to bottling, and it seems that some bottles are almost flat, yet others are full of bubbles??? Some of the bottles are slightly different in shape, but they are all long neck dark brown bottles (some just have a more narrow neck,) Can anyone tell me why this might be happening???


1) You didn't thoroughly mix the primer throughout the beer.

2) You didn't consistently fill the bottles so that they had 1" of air beneath the cap.

3) Some of the bottles were at a different temperature than the other half.

4) Your neighbor switched out some of his flat beers for your good beers.

[fuji6100]

Larger bottles tend to take less priming sugar to carbinate. It has something to do with surface area, but I can't remember the exact reason.

The difference between a 12 oz and a 22 oz is neglagable, but it only takes a heaping tablespoon of priming sugar to carbinate a 6L PET bottle for my tap-a-draft

[Beerconnoisseur]

The other possibility is that there are more healthy yeast cells in some bottles than others. That's always been one of the major drawbacks to bottle conditioning; if you keg first, then transfer to bottles, your results will typically be more consistent per bottle.

[bazooka]

thanks for the info., I probably didn't stir the corn sugar thoroughly, as I did not want to get any of the "bottom-dwelling stuff" into my bottles!!!!! I also sanitize and rinse in very hot water, and some of the bottles may have still been hot or warm when I fill them, so this may have been a factor as well........

[sullydavid]

I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread so I figured I would mention it. If it is too obvious just tell me to shaddup :)

Anyway, when priming I always mix it in a couple of cups of water and boil it. Put it into the bottling bucket first, then syphon the beer into it....that syphoning will mix it up good enough.

Doing that I have never had a problem.

[danno]

back when I bottled (and have I mentioned how cool kegging is? :D just think... you only clean one bottle, one big stainless steel bottle... ) I ran into the same problems.

The solution I was told; after bottling six, gently stir a little. You are very susceptible to oxidation at this point, so be sure not to stir hard enough to mix in bobbles...

[Asahikun]

I know priming with white sugar isn't popular because of the flavour issue, but that's what I do since I can't get DME or corn sugar.
Here in Japan at the 100yen ($1) store they sell sugar in 3g and 5 g portions. You get 50x3g or 40x5g for a dollar. These are great for priming because there's no need to pre-mix, you avoid contamination and I've never had a problem with uneven carbonation.
I don't know if they sell these where you are or not. Maybe someone should start selling DME or corn sugar like this. Removes the need for a bottling bucket. I don't even have a secondary so I bottle straight out of the primary and haven't had any problems.
Just an idea :)

[michaewa]

I am just now trying some beer I brewed for my dad. It is a hefeweizen, and I added a can of Oregon blackberries to it in the secondary.

It has been in bottles for over a month now, and the ones I tried were totally flat. So...

I got some prime tabs to boost up the carbonation, and as I neared the end of the second case bottled, the bottles violently spewed out 90% of the beer in them when opened.

My guess is the fruit settled to the bottom of the bottling bucket, making near bottle bombs out of the last few. An interesting treat...