Had a minor emergency at the Brewery this afternoon - my 11 year-old dog Ginger has suddenly developed bladder control issues. So after cleaning her (and the house) up, I had to run to the pet store to get her some doggie diapers while we both wait for her vet appointment later this week.
So with all that distraction I was not able to bottle both of the brews I had planned. The Christmas Stout can stay in the fermenter for another week - I'm in it for the long haul and another 7 days won't hurt it a bit. But I did manage to get BB-IX Browncoat Ale bottled and set back for conditioning.
As mentioned in previous posts, I have been having some problems with beers bottled in my Grolsch-style bottles. Most have been fine, but a sizable percentage of them are coming out flat when opened. Since it's only been 1 or 2 bottles per batch, with the rest being nice and carbonated, I'm pretty certain it's not the priming sugar or the process or the timing - all of that is identical for all of the bottles in a given batch. I suspect something is awry with the gaskets, and that I'm getting inconsistent results because, frankly, some of the gaskets are losing their seal, resulting in the CO2 escaping from the compromised bottle.
When I bottled BB-VIII Nimblejack Blonde Ale, I put half into PET and half into Grolsch. Unfortunately, I've since learned that I needed to prep the Grolsch seals before bottling, so even if any of those 4 fail to hold seal, I really won't have learned anything. So tonight, the bottling for BB-IX Browncoat Ale included 6 PET bottles and 2 prepped Grolsch bottles. I removed the wire cap assembly from both and plunked them into a sealed container of Star San - allowing them to soak while I did all of the other prep work. Once the bottles had been cleaned, primed with sugar, and filled with beer, I removed the assemblies from the Star San, reattached them to the bottles, and then applied a liberal dose of Star San to the mouth of the bottles before sealing them. Normal carbonation and conditioning is 2.5 weeks, so I plan to bust one of these puppies open on July 18th to see how I did.
I went ahead and pulled the final bottle of BB-III Dark Epiphany Irish Stout and planned to enjoy it with dinner tonight - but as I feared it might be, it was flat. I've gone ahead and ordered the Cooper's Carbonation Drops, but I honestly don't know if they'll work or not. Carbonation comes from yeasts interacting with sugar - the yeasts in my bottle of Stout have already consumed the priming sugar and made CO2, it's just that the bottle's faulty seal let the CO2 escape. I have nothing to lose by plunking a couple of drops into the bottle to see if there's any residual yeast. I have my doubts, but I'm already committed to the path.
If that fails, I have a Plan C in mind involving my SodaStream. I read this on a SodaStream blog:
If you look on homebrewing sites, you'll read that many homebrewers "force carbonate" their beers. I
have recarbonated flat beer from a keg with fantastic success. My
friends brought over a full keg of quality Fat Tire one night and there
just weren't enough of us around to make a dent in it. So before
pouring all the warm foamy beer out in my garden (works great as a
fertilizer!) I set aside 4 liters of it in plastic bottles. I later
cooled this down, carbonated it 3 weeks later, and did a taste test with
a fresh bottle of Fat Tire. The only difference was that I dissolved
too much gas in the recarbonated beer. The bubbles were slightly
"bigger" than the bottle of beer but the taste was exactly the same.
Of course, later on in that same thread were warnings from folks who had carbonated other non-water products with horrible results!
I
tried this with a mixture of half cranberry juice and half water. At
first, it seemed to work just fine. I pushed the button and heard the
three buzzes. When I unscrewed the bottle, everything went to
hell. As soon as the seal between the bottle and machine was released,
the juice/water mixture exploded out of the bottle. More than half of
the contents of the bottle had sprayed themselves onto the walls and
ceiling of my kitchen.
If you must try to carbonate anything other than water, do it outside.
Sure, injecting CO2 into flat beer will make it bubbly, but if the seals have allowed the original CO2 to escape, haven't they also allowed ambient air to enter, thus skunking everything? I might end up with bubbly, but still nasty, beer. Lots of ways this can go wrong - but I'll do my best. When the Coopers Tabs show up, I'll divide the Stout, putting 12 oz into a new PET bottle, into which I'll add a tablet (they're proportioned for 375 ml / 12 oz), and I'll pull 500 ml of the Stout and store it in a SodaStream bottle. For the rest (there should be 3-4 oz left over) I'll find a recipe and use it somewhere in the kitchen.
So, if nothing else, what I end up doing with my final bottle of Stout should be interesting! Stay tuned!
Some time this week, I'll head over to
Butler Winery and get a bunch of replacement gaskets. Maybe between that, the wet seal technique, and possibly heating-up the bottled before priming/filling them, I might hit upon a combination that works. I've bought two cases at just under $50 a case, so I'm not giving up without a fight!
