carbonation after secondary

[mmaguy41]

I have a coopers canadian blonde in a carboy, its had just over 2 weeks in the primary and the same again in secondary. I am a little concerned now that it will take an age to carbonate because its very clear. About how long should it take to carbonate? Also is there anything i can add when priming for bottling that will help it to carbonate? Thanks guys

 

[RobWalker]

You won't notice any real fermentation with priming sugar, not like the primary. Why did you use a secondary? Did you add anything?

There are still millions of hungry, crazy yeast cells in there, it will carbonate up nicely so don't panic. You just need sugar, that's it!

 

[mmaguy41]

I used a secondary because i wanted to get something else in the primary and didnt have enough bottles for 23l yet. I also wanted to see if i got alot less sediment in my bottles as i havnt ever done secondary before. I just watched a video on craigtube where he bottled 2 beers, one clear from secondary and one cloudy and after 3 weeks the cloudy had carbonated and the clear hadnt. Will it really take longer than 3 weeks?

 

[graysalchemy]

You will be fine leaving it in secondry. I always make sure my beer and cider is crystal clear before bootling. There wil be enough microscopic yeast cells in the beer even if crystal clear in order to carbonate. I had a cider which had been left for 10 months and still carbonated fine in the bottle.

 

[calumscott]

I always make sure my beer and cider is crystal clear before bootling.

Why do you take it there? Oh go on, click it...

 

[graysalchemy]

I always make sure my beer and cider is crystal clear before bootling.

Why do you take it there? Oh go on, click it...

Ok

This looks a nice place

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[mmaguy41]

So how long would you reccomend leaving in bottles before trying one?

 

[calumscott]

So how long would you reccomend leaving in bottles before trying one?

Give it a couple of weeks in the warm to carb and clear, then off to the back of the garage for at least a month.

I always make sure my beer and cider is crystal clear before bootling.

Why do you take it there? Oh go on, click it...

Ok

This looks a nice place

:lol: :lol: :lol:

:grin: :lol: Are you calling me... :wha: :hmm: :rofl:

 

[mmaguy41]

dont have a garage but i can leave it 6 weeks, i normally stick them in a box under the bed to keep them cool

 

[graysalchemy]

Are you calling me...

Of course not thought it was an interesting place :rofl: :rofl:

 

[Asalpaws]

I have wondered about how brewers get lager fizzy after months in cold secondary. Is there really enough viable yeast still in it or do they re-prime/ force carbonate ?

 

[graysalchemy]

Yes there will be. Unless it is cold filtered there will be enough. The only time you may have a problem is it is high gravity above 8% in which case the yeast is probably goosed.
:thumb:

 

[shearclass]

Is there really enough viable yeast

Yes!!

 

[mmaguy41]

I have bottled it now, i batched primed it with 250g of light dme. Thats how much a calculator said to use but it sounded alot to me

 

[ScottM]

I have bottled it now, i batched primed it with 250g of light dme. Thats how much a calculator said to use but it sounded alot to me

That's probably about right for DME. Why did it say to use that though, rather than sugar? There is no gain to using DME for priming.... unless of course that's all part of the recipe.

DME is approx 80% fermentable so it will be the equivilant of 200g of sugar, which is what I prime my lagers with. This will give you a proper lager fizz with lots of carbonation and a good head.

 

[PD]

quote.....

DME is approx 80% fermentable

and is a reason I would not use it to prime my bottles. That means theres 20 % unfermentables that will stay into solution or settle out onto the bottom. I want my priming sugars to carbonate my beer only and not some be left behind. always try and use 100% fermentables unless you have a specific reason.

 

[ScottM]

quote.....

DME is approx 80% fermentable

and is a reason I would not use it to prime my bottles. That means theres 20 % unfermentables that will stay into solution or settle out onto the bottom. I want my priming sugars to carbonate my beer only and not some be left behind. always try and use 100% fermentables unless you have a specific reason.

Yeah I don't understand why the recipe would call for DME as a primer. It will add a TINY bit of body but considering the amount I can't see it being at all noticeable, unless that's all the OP had to hand

 

[mmaguy41]

I was told it would improve head retention etc. I also thought since i used all dme to brew with rather than sugar or enhancer that i might as well use dme for priming. I used to use carbonation drops but didnt have enough left for a full batch.

 

[ScottM]

I was told it would improve head retention etc. I also thought since i used all dme to brew with rather than sugar or enhancer that i might as well use dme for priming. I used to use carbonation drops but didnt have enough left for a full batch.

Using DME is better for head retention but I can't see it doing anything when used for priming. It won't really make much difference other than it's a helluva lot more expensive than sugar.

Personally I wouldn't use anything other than plain old white sugar for priming. It's as cheap as it gets and there's no benefit from using anything else.

 

[mmaguy41]

ok i wont bother in future then if theres no real benefit, im always happy to save some money.