jm wrote:maxwell wrote:It sounds like maybe the problem is in the method that you're using for bottle conditioning. Do you boil the priming sugar in water, cool slightly, add to the bottling bucket, and then siphon beer in to dilute the priming sugar? If you use this method, the sugar concentration in each bottle should be identical, as should the level of carbonation.
That is how I've been doing it.
For a typical American ale I dissolve four ounces of dextrose in two cups of boiling water, cool, add to bucket, rack beer from carboy to bucket and bottle. I keep the end of the hose under the liquid level and even get a little whirlpool action while racking. I use both longneck and fliptop bottles and have had a little under carbonation with both styles. The bottles and caps are clean and sanitized and stored in dark place at about room temperature (75-77º) for conditioning. Does that all sound right?
It's not a big failure rate (1-2% at worst) so maybe I should just start calling them "English style" ales
For proper bottle conditioning per style one needs to have the temperature of the beer at bottling time and then use a priming sugar nomograph (found online, in Palmers How to brew, in BCS, etc) to determine the weight of priming sugar needed. I think you would also be fine with using 1 cup of water instead of 2. If you follow this nomograph as closely as possible your beers will have more standard carbonation per style suggested.
