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Date: 05 Jul 2006 17:28:22
From: Gerard Eberlein
Subject: overcarbonated by bottling?
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My second IPA came out really nice. After about 1 week in bottle at 72F it
was a bit low carbinated, 2 weeks about perfect. It now seems a bit stinging
on the tongue and the "head bubbles" seem a bit large at about 3 weeks. I
only used 5 oz corn sugar for priming. How long can a bottled beer keep
carbonating? Should I put them in the fridge as soon as I think it's carbed
right to stop any further carbing? Thanx in advance.
Gerard
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Date: 05 Jul 2006 14:51:45
From: Phil
Subject: Re: overcarbonated by bottling?
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I too have problems with carbination levels slowly increasing over time
in the bottle. For me, the least stable method of carbonating has been
artificial carbonating in the keg, then pressurized transfer to bottle.
This method is more attractive on paper: you can produce the exact
carbon level artificially, and your beer will mature much faster.
In practice it has proven less effective then secondary bottle
fermentation for me. With either technique I have found that slowly
over time, that the yeast keeps working to increase the carbon levels
and decrease the flavor character of the beer. Imperically, I have
found the carbon injected beer to be less stable over time then the
secondary fermentation technique.
I HAVE NEVER TRIED THIS, But it seems to me the solution is to
determine when your aging bottles have reached the desired carbonation
level, then pasturize the bottles. By exposing the beer to consistant
heat (read up on pasturization) while still sealed in the bottle should
kill the yeast, and prevent further fermentation. Alternatively, you
can filter the beer before artificial carbonation, thus removing the
yeast entirely.
Has anyone tried pasturization? Is it effective and worthwhile, or do
you have a better solution?
Phil
Gerard Eberlein wrote:
> My second IPA came out really nice. After about 1 week in bottle at 72F it
> was a bit low carbinated, 2 weeks about perfect. It now seems a bit stinging
> on the tongue and the "head bubbles" seem a bit large at about 3 weeks. I
> only used 5 oz corn sugar for priming. How long can a bottled beer keep
> carbonating? Should I put them in the fridge as soon as I think it's carbed
> right to stop any further carbing? Thanx in advance.
>
> Gerard
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Date: 06 Jul 2006 15:03:47
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: overcarbonated by bottling?
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On 5 Jul 2006 14:51:45 -0700, <ppacheco@sbcglobal.net > wrote:
>
> I too have problems with carbination levels slowly increasing over time
> in the bottle. For me, the least stable method of carbonating has been
> artificial carbonating in the keg, then pressurized transfer to bottle.
> This method is more attractive on paper: you can produce the exact
> carbon level artificially, and your beer will mature much faster.
I agree that this is more accurate, but I don't see how it would effect
maturation time.
> In practice it has proven less effective then secondary bottle
> fermentation for me. With either technique I have found that slowly
> over time, that the yeast keeps working to increase the carbon levels
> and decrease the flavor character of the beer. Imperically, I have
> found the carbon injected beer to be less stable over time then the
> secondary fermentation technique.
If beers that you carbonate in a keg (no priming sugar) are still increasing
their level of carbonation after transfering to bottles, that tells me
that your yeast are still actively fermenting the original wort. IMO,
that means that you are kegging/bottling before the beer is done fermenting.
As long as it has completed fermentation and you don't have any
infection/bacteria issues, there should be no way that a beer like this will
continue to carbonate in the bottle.
> I HAVE NEVER TRIED THIS, But it seems to me the solution is to
> determine when your aging bottles have reached the desired carbonation
> level, then pasturize the bottles. By exposing the beer to consistant
> heat (read up on pasturization) while still sealed in the bottle should
> kill the yeast, and prevent further fermentation. Alternatively, you
> can filter the beer before artificial carbonation, thus removing the
> yeast entirely.
You will also kill any maturation/aging that the beer will go through
over it's life time since it's the yeast which are responsible for much
of the aging process.
> Has anyone tried pasturization? Is it effective and worthwhile, or do
> you have a better solution?
It's fairly impractical for homebrewers, and usually not necessary.
John.
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Date: 06 Jul 2006 14:55:43
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: overcarbonated by bottling?
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On Wed, 5 Jul 2006 17:28:22 -0400, <dormouse@charter.net > wrote:
> My second IPA came out really nice. After about 1 week in bottle at 72F it
> was a bit low carbinated, 2 weeks about perfect. It now seems a bit stinging
> on the tongue and the "head bubbles" seem a bit large at about 3 weeks. I
> only used 5 oz corn sugar for priming. How long can a bottled beer keep
> carbonating? Should I put them in the fridge as soon as I think it's carbed
> right to stop any further carbing? Thanx in advance.
Putting them in the fridge won't completely stop them from further
carbing, but it will slow it down significantly. As long as you're
positive it was finished fermenting before bottling, then you may
just not like the amount of carbonation that 5 oz gives. If that's
the case then back off on the amount of priming sugar next time. If,
however, the bottles continue carbing and eventually start gushing when
you open them, then you may be in trouble. I'd definitely put them all
in the fridge at that point. If it gets too much, you can eventually
start breaking bottles from the pressure.
Regarding how long they can develop carbonation, it depends on the temp.
Under normal circumstances, usually a week or two.
John.
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Date: 06 Jul 2006 04:09:39
From: GeoffT
Subject: Re: overcarbonated by bottling?
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With ale yeast the best method to stop the carbonation is to simply
stick the bottles in the fridge. Filtering, pasteurisation, etc is a
little out of the homebrewer league but If you have the spare cash, why
not.
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Date: 06 Jul 2006 15:05:16
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: overcarbonated by bottling?
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On 6 Jul 2006 04:09:39 -0700, <sonic_death_monkey@hotmail.com > wrote:
> With ale yeast the best method to stop the carbonation is to simply
> stick the bottles in the fridge. Filtering, pasteurisation, etc is a
> little out of the homebrewer league but If you have the spare cash, why
> not.
That won't stop it completely, only slow it down. The difference is
important if you are relying on this method to prevent over carbonation.
Eventually they'll continue to increase the carbonation level until
they run out of priming sugar, colder temps just makes it take longer.
John.
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Date: 06 Jul 2006 12:35:05
From:
Subject: Re: overcarbonated by bottling?
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Some possibilities:
1. you bottled too soon
2. you had more than 5 oz of sugar (did you measure by weight?)
3. you had less than 5 gal of beer (loss do to the boil, racking from
kettle, not getting as much from the sparge as you expect, etc.)
4. there is a very mild infection that is fermenting stuff without
noticably affecting the flavor
5. the beer was fairly cool at bottling time (and hence co2 is more
soluble, and since the beer is probably saturated with co2 due to
fermentation, there is more total co2 around)
I have found that my bottles will tend to creep up a little bit over
long periods of time, but just a tiny bit more than the "full"
carbonation level I get after 2-3 weeks. If you intend for your
bottles to sit for several months or more, you might back off on the
priming sugar a bit.
Also, not every style should have the same level of carbonation. Five
ounces is a good rule of thumb, but it just may be to much for tastes
for this particular style. Experiment!
-Nick
Gerard Eberlein wrote:
> My second IPA came out really nice. After about 1 week in bottle at 72F it
> was a bit low carbinated, 2 weeks about perfect. It now seems a bit stinging
> on the tongue and the "head bubbles" seem a bit large at about 3 weeks. I
> only used 5 oz corn sugar for priming. How long can a bottled beer keep
> carbonating? Should I put them in the fridge as soon as I think it's carbed
> right to stop any further carbing? Thanx in advance.
>
> Gerard
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