Bottling beer

[rmuiritfc]

Hi,
I have just bottled a batch of hobgoblin and used around 1 teaspoon per bottle. Being very keen to try the finished beer i opened a bottle (bottled Saturday!!) and there was very little gas to come off this when opened. How long should i leave the bottles before trying? am i using the right amount of priming sugar (i used brewing sugar)

[smok3y666]

Daab posted a good answer to this in the FAQ section on the main page of the forum. I don't bottle but when barreling in leave it for 1 week in a warm place then it goes in the shed where it's cold/cool for about 3-4 weeks beofre drinking.

[spearmint-wino]

In my experience it takes about a week in a room-temp place to carbonate, then its worth putting it somewhere cool to drop bright, which will take from about a week to a couple of months depending on your brewing process and what yeast you used. And remember to keep it out of direct sunlight and fluorescent lights .

[roger the dog]

I have just bottled a batch of hobgoblin and used around 1 teaspoon per bottle

I'd open them over the sink as well, 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar is the normal amount per bottle

[jonnyv]

Hi,
I have just bottled a batch of hobgoblin and used around 1 teaspoon per bottle. Being very keen to try the finished beer i opened a bottle (bottled Saturday!!) and there was very little gas to come off this when opened. How long should i leave the bottles before trying? am i using the right amount of priming sugar (i used brewing sugar)

I've been having very tempremental results when bottling recently. A week is the general rule for carbonating in the warm, then a few weeks outside to drop bright and condition further.

However I've bottled a few batches recently and had trouble getting any kind of carbonation going - tried batch priming, rousing yeast etc but still no luck.

The last few bottling sessions I've been rehydrating a sprinkling of yeast and adding this to my bottling bucket along with priming sugars to ensure the yeast is up to the job of carbonating. It has done wonders, so it appears my FV yeast is just not healthy enough once in the bottles after 10 days in FV.

So in summary, leave your bottles in the warm for a week then try opening one - you should get a hiss of co2 come out. If that doesn't happen you could try adding a few grains of yeast to each bottle and recap them - leave them in the warm for another week and try again.

I find there's nothing more disappointing going to open a bottle beer and finding it completely flat!

Jonny

[roger the dog]

I did read the FAQ, doesn't that say 1/2 tsp ? I add 1/2 to my bottles & there's always enough 'fizz' for ales but I do tend to leave them at least 4 weeks before trying them.

I just thought they'd be excessively carbonated with double that amount.

[mysterio]

It always takes my bottles around 3 weeks at room temps to carbonate and then another 2 weeks at least to be tasting good.

[roger the dog]

No worries Daab, it's excellent addition to the FAQ's BTW

[dreadstar]

Is that a flat tsp ?

Anyone used Sol bottles before? Gonna be bottling some Coopers Mexican Cerveza in a couple of days in 8 sol bottles to give tasters to my mates while the rest of mine is going in my keg I'm guessing if i subtract the amount of sugar I put in the bottle from what the pack says i should add to my keg I should be fine with cabonation in the keg right?

[dreadstar]

1 tsp as in one of those measuring teaspoons rather than the ones you stir your tea with. They are 5mls in size and I think 1 level tsp of sugar comes out at 4g iirc.

I would avoid putting your lager in a pressure barrel. It will only produce a slight effervescence like a pub real ale and you may find it a little disappointing.
I'd bottle lagers to get the level of carbonation most people come to expect from them.
The Sol bottles will probably be a little weak, you ideally need the heavy real bottles although PET bottles are fine (plastic lemonade bottles). Keep clear bottles out of fluorescent and sunlight.

Right I should be able to measure 4g amounts on the kitchen scales, saves on getting measure spoon set for now, thanks for that

I have got a CO2 kit for my barrel I could use, would this help? I was against using it as the guy in the shop said you might find you need to top it up a lot and its £5 a refill Otherwise I guess I will have ot beg my friendly landlord down the way for more bottles

So I'm guessing from what you say the Sol bottles might crack? Shame I really wanted to make it seem like the real thing for my mates

Will it matter if my fermentor of the white plastic bucket variety is under a flourescent? Had to use something to keep it warm and I read it on the kit but now I'm thinking perhaps I should have covered it with a towel first

Guess I gotta learn somehow Gonna be a fun little hobby this me thinks =)

[dreadstar]

Ah but i dont think i have a safety valve when using the CO2 kit as its built into the cap right and the CO2 kit has its own cap I'm just wondering now if its safe to use that CO2 cap when priming with sugar as per the instructions on the kit The kit does mention bottles though and not kegs.