Need home brewers help!
I tested my beer this weekend. On Saturday I put 2 "flipies" into the fridge and Sunday I opened one. It was flat. I was really concerned so I opened the other one. That was flat too. So I got one that hadn't been refridgerated and that one was perfect (really good too, even warm).
So what is the deal with the flippies? Is the rubber seal shrinking when it is cold and causing them to lose their seal? Has anyone seen this?
Also I put 1 regular beer bottle in the fridge with a crimp on cap and it was fine.
Is the only solution is to put them in the fridge a few hours before I want to drink them so they don't have time to go flat?
Is there a way to reseal them?
So what is the deal with the flippies? Is the rubber seal shrinking when it is cold and causing them to lose their seal? Has anyone seen this?
Also I put 1 regular beer bottle in the fridge with a crimp on cap and it was fine.
Is the only solution is to put them in the fridge a few hours before I want to drink them so they don't have time to go flat?
Is there a way to reseal them?
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I haven't brewed in a while but I don't think you can reseal a naturally carbonated barley soda.
Sounds to me like your batch is going bad, send it to me immediately so that I may dispose of properly. [:D]0 -
I am not sure what proofing is (this is my first batch) but I did start the yeast in warm water. It was a kit.
But I am sure everything fermented fine (fermented at about 70 degrees and then aged 5 weeks in the bottles at 70). And I am sure the priming sugar worked as well because the warm flippy bottles are ok and the traditional bottles are fine as well. It is just the flippies that went into the fridge.
The carbination is perfect with a perfect head when poured and the beer tastes great!0 -
If a bottle that wasn't refigerated carbonated and one that was refrigerated did not, my first guess would be that the ones that were cooled were cooled before carbonation took place. Take 'em out and let them sit in a dark warm room for a bit. In my experience, carbonation can take anywhere from 1 week to over a month. Does the flat beer have a sweet flavor from the priming sugar? If so it hasn't carbonated.
It COULD be the bottle- replacement gaskets for Grolsh bottles and similar are available. Also, could you have left a little of your bottle sanitzer in the bottle? Theoretically one step cleaner requires no rinse, but I do anyhow, and chlorinated cleaners really do require rinsing.
How much air is left in the bottle? Counterintuitively, the more air space, the greater the carbonation- I'm told anyhow. I'm not 100% sure I believe that. But either way, about 1/2 the neck length on regular bottles is about right, or about 1.5-2" on half liter bottles with short necks.0 -
If it's your first batch I'd mark the offending bottles in some way that you can ID them later on. I'd experiment with more flippies/regular bottles in and out of the fridge. Then I'd go ahead and brew the next batch.
If it's the flippies (unlikely), you should experience more carbonation failures in them. If you didn't get all of your sanitizer out of some of the bottles then you should experience failures in whichever bottles still had sanitizer in them (flippies, or both kinds). If it's bad seals on a couple of bottles, then those same bottles will act up next time.0 -
quote:Originally posted by spurgemastur
If it's your first batch I'd mark the offending bottles in some way that you can ID them later on. I'd experiment with more flippies/regular bottles in and out of the fridge. Then I'd go ahead and brew the next batch.
If it's the flippies (unlikely), you should experience more carbonation failures in them. If you didn't get all of your sanitizer out of some of the bottles then you should experience failures in whichever bottles still had sanitizer in them (flippies, or both kinds). If it's bad seals on a couple of bottles, then those same bottles will act up next time.
Interesting, so you don't think there is a relationship between refrigerating them and the failures but that I just happened to pick two bad bottles which were already flat and put them in the frig. I've opened 4 so far, the 2 flippies I put in the fridge that were flat when I opened them, and the one flippie the was not refrigerated that was fine and one regular bottle that was in the frig that was also fine?
I was thinking the cold caused the bottles' seals to fail and make them go flat.0 -
"I was thinking the cold caused the bottles' seals to fail and make them go flat."
I bet you are right. As Mr. Spock says, "It is logical."
Next batch, ditch the flippies and just use the capper. Looks good, works well, cheap.0 -
quote:Originally posted by slipgate
quote:Originally posted by spurgemastur
If it's your first batch I'd mark the offending bottles in some way that you can ID them later on. I'd experiment with more flippies/regular bottles in and out of the fridge. Then I'd go ahead and brew the next batch.
If it's the flippies (unlikely), you should experience more carbonation failures in them. If you didn't get all of your sanitizer out of some of the bottles then you should experience failures in whichever bottles still had sanitizer in them (flippies, or both kinds). If it's bad seals on a couple of bottles, then those same bottles will act up next time.
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I was thinking the cold caused the bottles' seals to fail and make them go flat.
Well, not having used flippies myself I can't speak very intelligently about them, and I'll note that allen griggs finds your speculation to be logical.
I started from the observation that although I've never put homebrew into a flippy, I've certainly put a Grolsch into the fridge without having the seal fail. If I recall correctly, the gaskets seem like fairly good-quality rubber.
Anyway, that's why I suggested experimenting with more flippies. If all the room-temp flippies are carbonated and all the refrigerated flippies are flat.....well you'll have your answer!
And let us know what it is. I'm curious now.0
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