carbonation problems

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Brewer #85134

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hi guys
I have a question anyone know a good book on carbonation. I constantly miss my mark. I just brewed a dubbel for a competition and it came out perfect but a bit under carbed. any ideas or suggestions,

thx
jimmy
 
There's a carbonation chart here on this site. Belgium beers have higher carbonation then most beers it would be a mission to achieve this high carbonation in standard bottles I'd use champagne bottles to save the explosions.
 
What kind of sugar are you using to prime them? Do you put the sugar into each bottle or into the bottling bucket?

I actually had the reverse problem when I first started. After a lot of gushers and a few bottle bombs, I went on the very low end for style according to the calc here
 
How long are you letting your bottles condition?
 
bottles are conditioning about two weeks. I use corn sugar in the bottling bucket. my carbonation were low ( usually 3.5 oz per 5 gals). so I bumped up one brew to 3.8-gusher. then 3.6-gusher. my dubbel I put 3.5 ounces into 5 gals looking for higher carb didn't get it. its carbed on the low end. the dubbel is about 10 days in the bottle
 
I wouldn't consider any changes to the amount of sugar until the bottles are 5-6 weeks old. Another question: what is your conditioning temperature?
 
Sorry to keep throwing basic questions at you, but are we talking normal bottles with the crown caps?

No swingtop style where the rubber gasket could be old and leaking?
 
normal bottles with crown caps. I let condition at room temp closet in my living room

does the amount of yeast used have anything to do with the carbonation. I used two packets of white labs California ale yeast for the last gusher. I usually add just one
 
I never added any yeast when I bottled.
 
If anything, id think the problem is too little yeast, not too much. Like jeffpn said, I've never added yeast to bottle either
 
I didn't add the yeast at bottling. that's the amount I added to ferment. just wondering if it had anything to do with it.
 
Mark D Pirate said:
How certain are you that the gusher batches reached FG ?
How are you cleaning and sanitising your bottles ?
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure it reached fg. I usually rinse my bottles then submerge in sanititizer. then fill the bottles
 
Brewer #85134 said:
I didn't add the yeast at bottling. that's the amount I added to ferment. just wondering if it had anything to do with it.
Click to expand...
Many people double pitch yeast. I don't think that's the source of your problem.
 
jmcnamara said:
If anything, id think the problem is too little yeast, not too much. Like jeffpn said, I've never added yeast to bottle either
Click to expand...
To quote the Colorado State Viticulturalist, all it takes is one cell and time. Rarely when bottling a really big beer that's been conditioning for a long time I'll pitch a bit of yeast but not as a rule.
 
I have added yeast to my bottling bucket after accidentally freezing my batch during cold crash , otherwise never had a batch not carb up even when I use finings and a 2 week cold crash
 
I doubt that it's possible to remove all of the yeast (unless you filter) to make carbonation impossible. I lager at 34°F and then bottled after 30 days at near freezing. It never failed.
 
Brewers Friend calculator has always been spot on for me. Are you stirring after you dump the sugar in your beer?
 
yes I stir. I guess my problem is sometime I get a gusher sometimes its undercarbed
 
Gushers can be caused by an infection as well.
 
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