Newbie advice please on re-priming bottles

[Halfacrem]

I posted here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=33791 the other day about a lack of carbonation in my first attempt at bottling.

I batch primed my Nelson's Revenge after two weeks in the FV. I used 80 grams of sugar, which appears to be a little on the low side. After 2 weeks of conditioning indoors and a further two weeks in the Garage, the beer is only very lightly carbonated. Initially I thought I'd just put up with it, but having just opened a bottle to check how it's going, I'm thinking about repriming and waiting it out for a bit longer. All of my bottles are either screw top or flip top, so opening and re-sealing is not much of a problem.

The Nelson's Revenge kit is for 36 pints and It's bottled in 500ml bottles. I'd really appreciate some advice on how to reprime. My main queries are;

1) How much more sugar to add (do I need to take into account the amount of sugar already added?)
2) How do I add it (just granulated, or better to make a syrup and apply with a syringe? Should I agitate the bottle gently afterwoods to mix?)

I'm working on the basis that if I do this I will need to bring the bottles into the warm to repeat the cycle of 2 weeks warm then 2 weeks cold.

Any other comments, experience or advice would be appreciated.

Many Thanks

 

[pittsy]

it's a tricky 1 , i wouldn't re prime , sometimes a brew just needs more time in the warmth . I've had brews needing 3 to 4 weeks at this time of year before getting a good fizz . I would bring them back in at around 20c if poss for a couple more weeks . Re priming may ruin your beer due to air getting in when you open em.

 

[mattrickl06]

I have re-primed 2 batches - one lager and one wherry, both turned out fine. I added another 1/2 tsp of caster sugar to each bottle

 

[Halfacrem]

Thanks,

As we've had two differing experiences, I've taken the initial step of bringing the bottles back in the house, wrapping them in something warm and storing them in the warmest place I can find. I'll see how they progress over the next couple of weeks and think about re priming then.

Cheers

 

[rpt]

When bottling beer it's worth putting some in plastic bottles as it's easy to tell how well carbonated they are - just give them a squeeze. I've got proper Coopers PET bottles for this but you could use any second hand bottle as you only need one.

 

[IPA]

Bring them into the warm for another four weeks and they will almost certainly be OK. 80gr of sugar is plenty if you are patient.

 

[LeedsBrewer]

i'm doing the exact same thing. I primed my coopers stout and opened one after 2 weeks ( it was a weak moment) and there was hardly any carbonation. I'm guessing that it was too cold when i first primed them (the house boiler was bust) and this stunned the yeast.

I have since taken all of the bottles and gently tipped them upside down and back a few times to get the yeast back into suspension. I also fiited a new boiler for the house and raised the temp. This seems to have solved the problem as my one plastic 'test' bottle is definately getting firmer.

I'm going to try another bottle at the weekend and see if there's any improvement. If not then all i can do is reprime them all. Though that would def be a last resort.

 

[mattrickl06]

Sorry - forgot to mention, the main reason that i decided to re-prime was because i hadnt left a big enough space at the top of each bottle - i could have left them for a year in the warm and they still wouldnt have carbed properly :)

 

[Halfacrem]

Thanks again all,

I don't mind waiting as long as is needed to get some carbonation going, so a longish spell hibernating in the warmth for a few more weeks is not a problem.

In hindsight, two weeks in my kitchen with the heating off at times during the day and overnight was probably too cool. I've managed to acquire a nice little warm spot in the cupboard under the stairs and made use of some insulated foil that was in the garage.

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