Two scenarios resulting in Flat Beer

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Sigma1266, Mar 21, 2017.

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  1. Sigma1266

    Sigma1266 Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2017 North Carolina

    All,

    Two questions regarding flat beer:

    1.) I brewed my first batch back in January, it turned out great! I made an American Cream Stout and used 1 cup of priming sugar. At first the beer was may have been a little too carbonated. I drank most of my batch, with the exception of six beers I stored so I could taste my beer after long term storage / conditioning. I bottled in both swing top 16oz. growlers and capped 12oz. standard bottles. I went to taste my first batch this weekend and my growler beer was flat so I opened a bottle, it was flat as well. What could be causing this problem, are growler seals not as dependable, did I not cap the bottles properly?

    2.) When brewing my second batch, I read that many home brewers use only 3/4 cup of priming sugar to prevent over carbonation. When bottling my beer, I removed the lid to my fermenter / bottling tank (5 gal bucket) to measure gravity, I dropped a flashlight in the entire 5 gallons of beer... I continued bottling as normal, but feared I may have contaminated my beer. I tasted my second batch for the first time this weekend and had very little to no carbonation in my beer. is it possible this is the result of too little priming sugar, leaky seals, or the flashlight contaminating my beer?

    Any insight to these issues is much appreciated, thank you!
     
    #1 Sigma1266, Mar 21, 2017
  2. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,097) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    Dropping a flashlight, or really anything into your beer is definitely not helping your beer. There is a good chance of infection. But not guaranteed.

    Anyway. Measure your priming sugar by weight not volume. You can use any number of online priming calculators. Weigh the dextrose and carefully add to your bottling bucket. Or transfer on top of the dextrose so it is mixed well.

    Time. Temperature. Patience. And you will have perfectly carbonated beer soon enough.

    Cheers.

    Cheers.
     
    #2 billandsuz, Mar 21, 2017
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  3. Jaguar10301

    Jaguar10301 Crusader (423) Mar 1, 2010 Maine

    First of all there is no generic rule for how much sugar to use. It depends on the beer style and your preference. There are charts out there for ranges of carbonation by style (here is one). Once you know the Volume of CO2 you are going for and the amount of beer to be carbonated you can calculate how much sugar to use. Many brewing software do this for you, I use BeerSmith.

    You always want to make sure you fully mix (without aerating too much) the priming sugar with the beer. I don't use swingtops so I can't help you there.

    I doubt the flashlight had anything to do with the carbonation.
     
    #3 Jaguar10301, Mar 21, 2017
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  4. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    You wrote this about your first batch. Does that mean that other bottles were carbonated just right? If you had inconsistent carbonation like this, that tells me that the priming sugar was not well mixed into the beer, thus some beers got more sugar than others. Are you boiling your sugar into a solution first? Most of us put that solution into the bottling bucket first and siphon the beer from the fermentor onto this solution without splashing. The sugar solution usually disperses into the beer, but many of us who have still experienced some inconsistent carbonation will also gently stir the beer 3-4 times during the bottling process because that sugar solution is heavier than the beer and wants to settle out. I have also started boiling my sugar in a quart of water rather than the standard 2 cups so that the solution is thinner and mixes easier into the beer. (You have to plan ahead and ferment/transfer 4.75 gallons of beer to mix with this quart to get up to 5 gallons.)

    As for why the beers that you already bottled have lost carbonation, maybe they are the ones that didn't get enough sugar solution and were never carbonated at all. But swing tops sometimes have a sealing issue if you might be trying to use old gaskets.

    P.S. (edit) Get some better lighting so you don't have to use a flashlight. :wink:
     
    #4 PapaGoose03, Mar 21, 2017
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  5. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,421) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    [this is the compulsory 'time to switch to kegs' post]
    :rolling_eyes:
     
    #5 mikehartigan, Mar 21, 2017
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  6. Sigma1266

    Sigma1266 Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2017 North Carolina

    All,

    Thank you for the responses! Great information going into my third brew day this weekend!
     
    #6 Sigma1266, Mar 22, 2017
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