Amber Ale -carbonation

[deVan Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close deVan]

Hi. Just did my first brew. A partial mash Amber Ale. Can I ask question and/or advice.

After two weeks in the fermenter I added normal sugar( boiled in water to make syrup) before I bottled it.

I had a lot of foam in my beer when I pour it in a glass.

Did I add to much sugar(did exactly what recipe said).

Is this maybe a typical occurance when using normal sugar to carb the beer.

Is there any suggestions to not have this amount of foam.

It might be my imagination but it felt that the fuller the bottle was filled the more foam.

Any advice will be appreciated. Planning my next brew for next weekend. Got hooked on this hobby.

[Tmartins Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tmartins]

Hi devan welcome to the best hobby, what was ur total volume of beer and total sugar added. Some advice you can download a free hiw to brew pdf by john palmer that will tell u how much to add for desired carbonation levels

[deVan Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close deVan]

Hi devan welcome to the best hobby, what was ur total volume of beer and total sugar added. Some advice you can download a free hiw to brew pdf by john palmer that will tell u how much to add for desired carbonation levels

Hi Tmartins. Thanks for this. Really enjoyed the beer(despite the amount of foam) and are hooked on brewing. Will google for the pdf. Had about 19 liters of beer. Added 125g sugar boiled in 250ml water.

[Guest Close AtronSeige]

Welcome!

I have never added sugar this way, I bought a special sugar spoon and just add sugar to the bottles.

There are others in the group who follow your technique and will be more helpful.

I am really glad your first beer was good! That is not a tale often told.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

Hi and Welcome

Hi Tmartins. Thanks for this. Really enjoyed the beer(despite the amount of foam) and are hooked on brewing. Will google for the pdf. Had about 19 liters of beer. Added 125g sugar boiled in 250ml water.

That is ±6.5g per Liter and should definitely not give you that foamy effect you're getting

Did you properly mix the 250ml of sugary water with the 19L of beer before bottling?
Was the beer finish fermenting? ... what was FG?

Try to use a calculator like THIS to help with the amount of sugar needed for priming a batch.

[deVan Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close deVan]

Hi and Welcome





That is ±6.5g per Liter and should definitely not give you that foamy effect you're getting

Did you properly mix the 250ml of sugary water with the 19L of beer before bottling?
Was the beer finish fermenting? ... what was FG?

Try to use a calculator like THIS to help with the amount of sugar needed for priming a batch.

Hi JiGSAW

I was a bit scared to stir the beer when I added the sugar mix. Was scared I will let all the yeast etc at bottom of fermenter rise again and then have that in my beer. Maybe that was the problem. Should I not worry about this and give it a proper mix?

I also did not take a gravity reading but waited 2 weeks so assumed it finished fermenting. Maybe the assumption was wrong😳

I have since got myself a hydrometer so next time will take the reading. On that note. Should the reading be consistent for two days in a row to assume fermentation is finished or should it just reach its target gravity level as per recipe. Thanks guys.

[Tmartins Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tmartins]

I see the one issue, it sounds like you added the sugar to the fermenter, the way it should first be done us to add the sugar solution to a bottling bucket and then transfer the beer into the bottling bucket that will cause mixing. After which you fill up your bottles. I hooe you used hot water to dissolve the sugar better and kill any germs and sugest next time use dextrose its cheap and dissolves easilly

[deVan Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close deVan]

Hi. Yes boiled the solution for about 10 minutes. Cooled it down a bit and then added to fermenter.

Ok. Will look at a bottling bucket.

Can it be that the sugar solution was maybe still to warm. Did not check the temperature.

Thanks for all the advise.

[that guy al Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close that guy al]

there are a handful of things that could influence the amount of foam you're experiencing, from over carbonation to an infection. whatever it is, the best thing you can do now is try pour the beer as cold as possible, this will go a long way to reducing some of the foam.

going forward, use this: https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/ and invest in a bottling bucket and a siphon.

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

Like everyone above said, you need a bottling bucket, as I think with you adding it to the fermenter and not stiring might be the problem that some bottles got a lot more of that sugar solution while some others got very little ? See as you further consume these "fruits of your labour" if you find some that might be less carbonated.

If you don't have a bottling bucket by the time you bottle your next batch, you could just divide that 250ml between "X" amount of bottles (if they're all the same size), that way they'll all have the same ml of sugar solution

[deVan Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close deVan]

Thanks guys. Appreciate all the feedback. Cheers.