Carbonating question

No, you likely won't see anything during carbonation.

 

Nope. You might see some sediment develop at the bottom of the bottle overtime. That's totally normal. Just leave it be for 2 weeks.

 

Takes time. As @corbmoster said, give it two weeks.

 

^^ are right.

By the way, how nice are those carb drops/tablets. Takes all the priming sugar guess work etc. out of the equation!
Hope your batch turns out great!!

 

I haven't used them but I'd prefer to have more control. Stouts and porters are usually as carbed as an IPA...using the old method (measuring your particular sugar by weight) you can achieve a more accurate result.

 

Agreed. I find my beer is a bit overcarbed when I use the drops. They are perfect for that one extra bottle that didn't fit in the keg though!

 

Yep, I use a calculator when I bottle carb. I'd suggest the same for @ManOfMayhem1214 Different styles of beer have different levels of carbonation. But, if you like the results from the drops, by all means stick with them.

*FWIW: It is suggested to measure the priming agents by weight, not volume.

 

First time I used the DME drops I didn't do it right. You need 2 drops per 16oz bottle and I only put 1 drop in per bottle. It was flat. However!! You can mix this flat beer with another beer that isn't flat and now you have 2 beers that aren't flat, and you have a great excuse to drink 2 beers at the same time. Das Boot!

 

I'll drink to that! Prost!

I do like hearing peoples learning experience stories.

 

Make sure you have bottle caps on hand if you're bottling on a Sunday. Otherwise you'll end up with 1 and 2 liter plastic seltzer water bottles filled with 7% brown ale.

 

It could be you have different priming drops than I used and even so, I wouldn't worry too much. The drops were super convenient but expensive. I would rather use a calculated amount of DME or Corn Sugar and mix it continuously as I'm bottling. I've never had un-even priming issues... because that's just embarrassing...

 

DME and corn sugar t'ain't cheap compared to table sugar.

Compared to table sugar ... you need almost 50% more DME @ 4 USD / #.

 

I wasn't talking about table sugar, I was talking about the DME drops. The pre-packaged drops that look a lot like lemon drops. Those are expensive compared to just DME in bulk or Corn Sugar. Although around here, corn sugar is cheaper than table sugar so, that's what I use.

 

My guess would be there likely a 2.5 gram (or so ) pellet of sugar. 1 for a small beer (375ml). 2 for a large beer (750 ml)
you won't see anything happen because as the yeast converts the sugar to Co2 , it gets directly absorbed into the beer.
( nothing like a "plop-plop, fizz - fizz")
Keep it room temp for a couple of weeks and then stick one in the fridge for a taste test. It might still take another week to finally level out and get full fizz depending on the health of the residual yeast that's in the bottle. This process will add another 1/3% ABV to your brew so its worth the wait.

As others have said it is convenient - but does limit your "fine control" and ends up being a bit pricey. (20$/kg vs 2$/kg)
Good luck!

 

Three days is pushing your luck on having a beer carbed up. I vouch that it can happen. But....

If you don't already. Have a digital scale on hand. Mix gently, but thoroughly before you bottle, and you can get your carb levels exactly to style. For fun. Try different sugars. You can tweak the flavor a bit, and then you start to develop an addiction to seeking out different sugars and suddenly you find yourself in possession of eight different of kinds. They each have slightly different ratios for carbonation, so... Have fun!

 

I didn't see above where you said what style of beer this is. Beers with higher alcohol will frequently take a bit longer than two weeks, but I'd say open a bottle to check what you've got for carbonation to help you decide whether more time is needed. Pay attention to the sound of the gas escaping when you pop the cap so that you'll at least detect progress if the carbonation is still weak. If it is a hoppy beer, an extra week of conditioning will be good for the beer, but if you've got proper carbonation now, go ahead and drink 'em. If it is a hoppy style, then take notice how well the beer will improve over the next two weeks and make it a learning experience.

 

^ @Mothergoose03 speaks the truth.

 

Yeah, after the first time realizing I didn't have enough caps for my current batch I went and bought a 3 lb. bag. Takes a long time to go through and when I run out I buy another.

 

I always pull one or two 'sacrificial' bottles at about a week and a half and put them in the fridge for at least 24 hours. If I pop the first one and it's good I will usually drink the second one that night or the next. If it's flat I pull the second one back out and wait another week.

 

I've never really discerned any damage by letting it warm up again.

 

The picture wouldn't pull up for whatever reason, but yes, yeast dregs are perfectly normal. That's why you pour homebrew in a bottle carefully. Also why you don't drink out of the bottle. You'll get the schitts really bad! Yeast does amazing things for beer, and it'll continue to do amazing things to your stomach if consumed. My body is use to it

 

Yeah, the yeast on the bottom is normal and occurs during the tiny fermentation that actually carbonates your beer. In fact I like seeing it because that usually means carbonation is indeed happening inside the bottle. You get good at pouring and leaving the last 1/8 of an inch in the bottom of the bottle. Don't worry if you consume the yeast, it's actually good for you. When I make a Belgian wit or hefeweizen I will swirl the yeast back into solution when I pour anyway because it's part of the overall character of the beer.

 

I usually carb for 10 days on IPA's and DIPA's (US-05 or WPL-001) since they have such a short shelf life. I usually use a mixture of 1/2 dextrose and half light belgian candy sugar.

lagers tend take a bit longer though. sometimes up to three weeks for optimal carbonation.

 

I can't view the pic. I'd suggest using an host website like www.imgur.com

 

More time at 70 degrees or so will only increase carbonation. It's hard to not be impatient about it but you also don't want to be drinking under-carbonated beer! Cheers!