Did My Yeast Die? No Carbonation.. - Page 2

scottmd06 · 11-17-2011, 11:17 PM

It hadn't carbonated yet at the last point I had tried it, which isnt typical of my brews so I was assuming it was a dud for carbonating and curious to why that may have been..

Just put two in the fridge. When should I crack one open?

**bottlebomber** · 11-17-2011, 11:50 PM

It seems like at least a day, but 2 is best.

**psymonkey** · 11-18-2011, 09:41 PM

I've got a dead-flat beer as well. It's a pumpkin ale we brewed at least two and a half months ago.

The fermentation was fast and furious, over in about 48 hours.

One week in primary, gravity confirmed that it was pretty much done. Two weeks in secondary with a slightly lower gravity on bottling, it's been over a month in the bottles and there is absolutely no carbonation after sampling four bottles.

We know we primed it and did the same thing we always do with great results..zilch.

I might try the shake method or try re-upping the yeast to see if we can't get something drinkable. Totally bummed that it won't be ready for thanksgiving. Guess we should have tried one sooner

**bottlebomber** · 11-18-2011, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psymonkey

I've got a dead-flat beer as well. It's a pumpkin ale we brewed at least two and a half months ago.

The fermentation was fast and furious, over in about 48 hours.

One week in primary, gravity confirmed that it was pretty much done. Two weeks in secondary with a slightly lower gravity on bottling, it's been over a month in the bottles and there is absolutely no carbonation after sampling four bottles.

We know we primed it and did the same thing we always do with great results..zilch.

I might try the shake method or try re-upping the yeast to see if we can't get something drinkable. Totally bummed that it won't be ready for thanksgiving. Guess we should have tried one sooner

Now this just doesn't make sense... you have neither a high alcohol content nor a long fermentation. It's not uncommon to have a beer that isn't fully carbonated by now, but there should be something. Are your bottles in a 50 degree garage?

Also, I'm not "for" or "against" secondaries, but why did you take it off the yeast so soon? A week is really really quick, even if the gravity was stable.

**psymonkey** · 11-19-2011, 03:12 PM

Yeah, it seems really strange to me as well. The bottles are in a corner of my house, in beer boxes with a blanket over them. The average temperature is about 70.

As for the secondary transfer..that's what I've always done. A week in the primary, provided everything has settled down, then transfer to the secondary. I've never had any problems with this method, and thought it was somewhat advisable. Most of the active yeast is still suspended and comes along for the ride to the secondary, right?

Perhaps I should revisit my procedures. I think they came from the bible itself, but maybe that's just something I got in my head a long time ago and haven't ever thought about since then. For what it's worth, if the beer is still highly active, I wait. Once all the foam has subsided and the beer clears, I transfer to the secondary. NEver sooner than a week, longer if necessary.

**jeepinjeepin** · 11-19-2011, 03:57 PM

It depends on who you talk to but it seems 2-3 weeks in primary has become the minimum.

scottmd06 · 11-23-2011, 09:16 AM

Its still pretty flat! Could it be that when I primed the batch for bottling, I boiled the water in a Pyrex glass measuring cup the microwave and then mixed in the 3/4 cups of corn sugar? Or maybe these caps just didn't seal tight enough (I usually go with the Oxy caps but I went with the cheap ones this particular time).