Every once in a while....

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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dartedplus
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 339
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2001 11:33 pm
Location: Hummelstown, PA, US

Every once in a while....

Post by dartedplus »

Every now and then, I open a bottle of brew and there just isn't any fizz. I dont understand why I still have this problem. I put the appropriate amount of corn sugar in to prime, the bottles and caps are clean. So what the @#%$!!! Sorry about that. But ut us very upsetting when you spend all the time and effort to brew a good beer and this happens. I suppose I have to go back to adding a couple granules of yeast to every bottle when I am bottling. That still doesn't explain why though. Am I letting the beer sit to long and all of the yeast are dying??? I had this problem last year with a couple of batches. I just hate having to open all of them up again, just to add some little critters to each bottle. Oh well, just letting off some steam 'cuz I wanted to enjoy a cream ale tonight and I was thwarted. Later, Ed.
Veth
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2002 8:49 am

Are you.....

Post by Veth »

Putting the priming sugar/water solution in the bottom of the bottling bucket before you transfer the beer from the fermenter? I had that problem with a batch that I had forgotten the priming sugar and had to add it after the brew was already in the bottling bucket. I don't think the priming sugar dispersed(sp) evenly.
Also what do you sanitize with? Is it possible there was a bit left in a couple bottles and it killed the yeast? I don't know if this is really possible or not, but it was a thought I had.
abbiesdad
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2001 12:27 pm

overfilling

Post by abbiesdad »

Be sure not to overfill the bottles. There should be ~1 inch of space between the beer and the bottle top. Overfilling may cause undercarbonation. Likewise, under filling may cause overcarbonation.
HardcoreLegend
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2002 11:49 am
Location: Roscoe, IL, US

could be the caps?

Post by HardcoreLegend »

This might be the last possible reason, but, sometimes when you bottle, if the caps are not totally snug, it seems like the seal isn't good enough to contain the pressure. I have had this problem before too.
l48shark
Double IPA
Double IPA
Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2001 11:02 pm

Stir

Post by l48shark »

You are boiling your priming sugar in water before adding it to the beer prior to bottling, right? I had a similar opportunity and now I stir the beer in the bottling bucket after adding the priming sugar solution. This resolved my problems. It seemed that the priming sugar was inconsistently dispersed in the beer prior to bottling. Just give it a stir with a non-porous, sanitized spoon just before you bottle.
Cheers,
Ford
Monkey Man
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2001 1:46 pm
Location: Lincoln, NE, US

that's me in the corner, that me in the spotlight...

Post by Monkey Man »

How long do you let your brew sit before you bottle? If you let your beer age in the secondary for over a month a good practice is to pitch some yeast along with the priming media. I do this often- my beers usually sit in the secondary for over a month. I have not had a problem with undercarbonation as long as I was sure to add more yeast with the priming method. The added yeast need not be expensive. I use a packet of dry- it will not alter the flavor, no matter what anyone would have you believe. The secondary fermentation is a much smaller scale. Prost!
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