Lack of carbonation

[Footah212]

Ok so I bottled my first brew last Saturday and thought I'd try one as a wee tester last night.
Problem is that it was flat as a pancake- no fizz whatsoever .

The bottles have been conditioned at 20 for 6 days. I wasn't expecting the finished article but Surely there should be some fizz???

 

[johnnyboy1965]

How did you prime the bottles?

 

[Footah212]

How did you prime the bottles?

Coopers carbonation drops. 1.5 per 500ml bottle

 

[SloeBrewer]

Did you keep the bottles at room temp (20C)?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Ive never used carbonation drops. I cant see how they can get enough liquid sugar in such a small droplet. Id give it another week, and if no better, open each bottle, put in a 1/2 tsp of sugar, leave in the warm for another week and have a look

 

[SloeBrewer]

The drops are small, but if you read the instructions is says one per 375ml bottle, two per 750ml bottle, so using one and a half is right for a 500ml bottle. They are a combination of glucose and sucrose (what most people call sugar), so the yeast probably turn it into alcohol more efficiently than just straight sucrose.

 

[rpt]

I'd leave the bottles in the warm for 2 weeks and then in the cold for 2 weeks. They need to be cool for the beer to absorb the CO2.

 

[GavH]

I've used Cooper's Carb drops once and won't use them again. The product that time was hideously under carbed.

 

[rpt]

How well do the drops dissolve? I've never used them but I wonder if it's possible they haven't dissolved properly.

 

[NickW]

I think the yeast would find its way to the sugar by any means, might take a little longer perhaps

 

[GavH]

Agreed - they definitely dissolve OK. I'm just not convinced they are more effective than an appropriate spoonful of granulated sugar. Any argument that they are tidier or more convenient starts to fall apart (no pun intended) when considering the need to cut them in half in order to achieve the 1.5 to 500ml requirement. Why Cooper's don't just make them an adequate size in the first place I don't know. :?

 

[gazkilla]

I've used those drops and always had fizz when I've opened up,although I have been persuaded to use T&L next

 

[rpt]

Agreed - they definitely dissolve OK. I'm just not convinced they are more effective than an appropriate spoonful of granulated sugar. Any argument that they are tidier or more convenient starts to fall apart (no pun intended) when considering the need to cut them in half in order to achieve the 1.5 to 500ml requirement. Why Cooper's don't just make them an adequate size in the first place I don't know. :?

They are grossly overpriced so I don't know why you would use them instead of granulated sugar. They may be more convenient (as long as they actually work) but the price doesn't make it worthwhile. Batch priming is easier anyway.

I think the drops are the size they are as Australians don't have 500ml bottles - I think they use 375ml and 750ml.

 

[Footah212]

I'll give them another week, then try them again.

If they are still the same I'll try adding a spoon of sugar.

 

[Bowl sprayer]

I think rpt has it right. Are the bottles PET and if so have you felt them firm up? if so you can be confident that he yeast is doing its job.

After secondary fermenting get them into the cold. You might feel the bottle becomes less firm. I think that is because the co2 has started to dissolve into the beer. After a couple of weeks in the cold they should have gained a bit of fizz. If not then I guess you will need to add more sugar and do it again.

Good luck!

 

[johnnyboy1965]

These carbonating droplets have never been proven to work, or to be proven not to work. Any sugar, In a dry form, Can only contain the "oses" ie dextrose, maltose, sucrose, lactose, and there are at least another four "oses". These are all in solid form...ie ...you cant dilute them....So how can you get enough "sugars" in 1 droplet
JMHO...carbonating droplets cant work

 

[AlliDelta]

I used the coopers drops as they came with the kit I bought (coopers) and in my first brew I found that the beer seemed to have a swirly sediment at the bottom, almost syrupy in nature. They fizzed up ok though.

So on my second batch I decided that I was going to give the bottles a turn the following day to make sure the sugar had mixed properly. Not sure if this made a difference but both batches had decent carbonation. Maybe your bottles are too cold where you are conditioning them?

I have put mine in a kitchen cupboard where my Xbox is... 22 degrees and it seems to work! I have put a thermometer strip in there to keep tabs. :geek:

 

[johnnyboy1965]

If Coopers can explain to me , how these droplets, alledgedlly (sp) work, then Ill really listen to them

 

[LeeH]

They work, if they didn't I would have had a lot of flat beer.

I'm going to start batch priming though got obvious reasons.

 

[SloeBrewer]

Saying they don't work and can't contain enough sugar, is like saying that a sugar lump isn't the same as one teaspoon of sugar and won't work for carbonation!

Carb drops are made of sugar (sucrose) and glucose. They are pretty much the same as dropping a sugar lump (cube) into your bottles, except sugar lumps are pure sucrose. Glucose is actually easier for yeast to "eat" than sucrose. I suspect that the drops are made in liquid form then pressed into shape for packaging.

They were originally made for the Australian market, where they use smaller bottles, called stubbies, which are 375ml. Therefore, one drop is not enough for a 500ml bottle, you need one and a half. A great many people use them without any issue, although most people I know tend to chuck two drops into a bottle, rather than cut them in half and add one and half drops.

They are expensive compared to using sugar and a measuring spoon, but for many people, using a measuring spoon and trying to get the right amount of sugar into 40-odd bottles is far more hassle then using carbonation drops. A bag of drops is 250g and has, I believe, 80 drops, making each one 3.125g. A teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs approx 4g. When I batch prime, I work to around 3.5g of sugar for an ale, as I don't want them too fizzy, but some people use more.

Carbonation drops will give you carbonation, even at one per 500ml, but it will be on the low side. If you're not getting carbonation, then your bottles are probably too cold.

Batch priming is, however, probably the best way of ensuring even carbonation across all your bottles, and is the method I use.