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Chilling and carbonation

Tomgm14

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Hi,

I recently got a fridge which has allowed me to start cold crashing.
Since I have done this though, I've had several batches that have been over carbed in bottle. I bulk prime in a bucket and rack then rack the still cold beer into bottles.
Has anyone else experienced this? I haven't had any issues previously.
Thanks
 
First, make sure fermentation is complete before cold crashing by checking that the gravity remains the same for 2 to 3 days.  Next, you should be using the warmest temperature during fermentation and the actual amount of beer you transfer into the bottling bucket when calculating the amount of priming sugar.  Last, be sure to stir very well after adding the priming sugar as the temperature difference between the priming solution and the cold beer makes it harder to get a good mix.
 
In order to make sure fermentation is complete, you can raise the temp a few degrees towards the end of fermentation. 
 
Tomgm14 said:
Hi,

I recently got a fridge which has allowed me to start cold crashing.
Since I have done this though, I've had several batches that have been over carbed in bottle. I bulk prime in a bucket and rack then rack the still cold beer into bottles.
Has anyone else experienced this? I haven't had any issues previously.
Thanks

Greetings Tom - make sure the temperature you?re conditioning at is accurate within BS.  If you?re going to condition at 50, for example, make sure 50 is entered in BS.  The temperature is entered in the Carbonation Section.

I recall reading on more than one occasion that beer will absorbe more carbon dioxide quicker at cold temperatures. So, by telling BS what temperature you?re conditioning at, BS will give you a more accurate amount of priming sugar for the batch.  I believe you?re adding too much priming sugar to condition at a cold temperature.  But to test this prediction, change the temperature in BS and see the priming sugar addition change.

Hope this helps!
 
I've been struggling with bottle over carbonation, too, and I'd like to know how much the head on a "typical" pour is reduced if I reduce priming sugar by 10%.

I've been doing lots of forum research and concluded the temperature that goes in BS is the temperature at which you were fermenting just before the beer goes into the bottling bucket.  This tells Beersmith how much CO2 is already dissolved in the beer because, as KellerBrauer says, dissolved CO2 depends on temperature.  Now I wish I'd copied and saved the posts that explained that.

Also, if you mouse over the temperature in the carbonation profile, you get a little pop-up, "Temperature of the beer when bottling or for storing a keg".

Further experimenting with the carbonation profile set to 2.2 vols and 65*, gave me 3.16 oz table sugar for bottling vs 1.58 oz for kegging with priming agent.  Why would that be???

I used to think that the temperature to put into BS is the conditioning temperature, but this seemed counter intuitive because all of the sugar is going to ferment out as long as the temperature is withing a viable range for the yeast.  The resulting CO2 has to dissolve into the beer or explode the bottle.  We don't get bottle bombs by conditioning at too high of a temperature.  We get them by not letting the beer fully attenuate and/or adding too much priming sugar.

I hope this adds a little value to the conversation.
 
rx35285 said:
I've been struggling with bottle over carbonation, too, and I'd like to know how much the head on a "typical" pour is reduced if I reduce priming sugar by 10%.

I've been doing lots of forum research and concluded the temperature that goes in BS is the temperature at which you were fermenting just before the beer goes into the bottling bucket.  This tells Beersmith how much CO2 is already dissolved in the beer because, as KellerBrauer says, dissolved CO2 depends on temperature.  Now I wish I'd copied and saved the posts that explained that.

Also, if you mouse over the temperature in the carbonation profile, you get a little pop-up, "Temperature of the beer when bottling or for storing a keg".

Further experimenting with the carbonation profile set to 2.2 vols and 65*, gave me 3.16 oz table sugar for bottling vs 1.58 oz for kegging with priming agent.  Why would that be???

I used to think that the temperature to put into BS is the conditioning temperature, but this seemed counter intuitive because all of the sugar is going to ferment out as long as the temperature is withing a viable range for the yeast.  The resulting CO2 has to dissolve into the beer or explode the bottle.  We don't get bottle bombs by conditioning at too high of a temperature.  We get them by not letting the beer fully attenuate and/or adding too much priming sugar.

I hope this adds a little value to the conversation.

Greetings rx - you have many great questions.  The best answer I can offer, without spending hours answering your questions, is to say that head retention is a lot deeper than simply the amount of carbonation, residual and otherwise, in the finished beer.

BYO (Brew Your Own) has published many great articles on the subject of head retention and carbonation.  Below is one of them.

https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/191-beer-foam-advanced-brewing

Check it out.  You may find many of the answers to your questions in this article.

Good luck!
 
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