I recently primed an amber session beer batch with corn syrup. I typically bottle some test bottles to assess carb vs time. Used US05 which has been a reliable yeast for carbonation purposes. Test bottles came out flat after ~1 wk. Some field research suggested sodium benzoate on the syrup kills yeast (yeah… I missed that). I tried repitching some US 05 drops to a few bottles with the hope I could save the brew. As I was recapping 4 bottles found 3 of them absolutely flat but one of them was overcarbed. Surprising. Anyone having same experience out there? Is sodium benzoate not an issue and what I saw was uneven distrib. of syrup?
Uneven carbonation typically results from uneven distribution of the sugar. Since you used corn syrup, I would suspect that at least some of it ended up at the bottom of the bucket, especially if you didn’t stir every now and then to make sure it was in solution.
I concur, and would only add that corn syrup is supposed to be kind of iffy when it comes to fermentation.
I kind of doubt the level of benzoate in the syrup would prevent the yeast from working once it was diluted in the beer.
Thanks folks. Not going that syrup route in the future. I did stir a few times but found some syrup settled @ bottom of the bucket. When I check the order in which I placed bottles in the case it kind of supports your point as the last ones are the overcarbed bottles. Guess I will drown my sorrow with draft kegged stout :cheers:
