Carbonation Issue . . . .

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IndyPABrewGuy

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Hi all. I recently bottled an amber that I brewed after 26 days in secondary. A week later (yesterday) I popped one to see if it was done carbonating yet, and didn't hear that saliva-inducing hiss of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. So now I"m worried that I left the beer in secondary for too long and now it won't carbonate. I'm going to give it a few weeks and hope, but if nothing happens, is there any way to salvage the batch? Can I rebucket and repitch, wait a few day, and then bottle again, or am I just going to be creating bottle bombs.

Please advise.

Cheers,

Dave
 
You could try getting the bottles to a slightly warmer temperature but that range is fine. One week is way too early to get excited, different yeasts will re-activate at different rates. One thing you can try however is to roll each bottle on its side briefly to rouse the yeast, then give it a couple more weeks.
 
I had it in secondary for 26 days.

Thanks for the quick response. I've had this on another board since last night and still haven't gotten any response.

I know that I'm getting worried way to early, but I was just excited to try it. This was the first recipe that I wrote myself and was looking forward to ripping into the final product.

Cheers,
 
IndyPABrewGuy said:
I had it in secondary for 26 days.

Thanks for the quick response. I've had this on another board since last night and still haven't gotten any response.

I know that I'm getting worried way to early, but I was just excited to try it. This was the first recipe that I wrote myself and was looking forward to ripping into the final product.

Cheers,
26 days isn't that long, no worries there. Your first recipe explains the impatience. :) If you feel you HAVE to do something, try the bottle rolling I mentioned. Then you can at least feel like you're doing something. :mug:
 
Brad,

Thanks for putting my mind at ease. I was worried about the length of time it was in secondary.

I took a peek at what you have bottled/kegged, and just had to comment on the Jack the rIPA. Fantastic name. Do you share recipes? I love a good IPA.

To go off topic a bit, but not that far, I did a high gravity wheat ale that I"m planning on splitting into small batches and add various fruits to in tertiary. Any suggestions on carbonation for said project. I'm planning on keeping it in secondary for four weeks, then at least another two in tertiary. Is there a way to avoid this problem with that beer, or should I just not carbonate it as much?

Cheers,
 
IndyPABrewGuy said:
Brad,

Thanks for putting my mind at ease. I was worried about the length of time it was in secondary.

I took a peek at what you have bottled/kegged, and just had to comment on the Jack the rIPA. Fantastic name. Do you share recipes? I love a good IPA.

To go off topic a bit, but not that far, I did a high gravity wheat ale that I"m planning on splitting into small batches and add various fruits to in tertiary. Any suggestions on carbonation for said project. I'm planning on keeping it in secondary for four weeks, then at least another two in tertiary. Is there a way to avoid this problem with that beer, or should I just not carbonate it as much?

Cheers,
I've been meaning to get some of my recipes posted. 'Jack The rIPA' I thought was a pretty good name too, thanx. :) It's an english style IPA and I watched 'From Hell' while I was brewing it - seemed appropriate. The Agrippa IPA is an american style (lots of citrus flavour). I'll post them shortly (nothing like a little motivation to get you going ;)).

For a fruit beer I think higher carbonation levels are generally appropriate. You could go for 3.5 volumes or so. I've done a couple at 4 volumes but that is just way too much for me personally.

If you wanted 3.5 volumes at say 67F you will want about 200G of dextrose for priming. As for your 'problem' I wouldn't call it that, you still need to be patient for another couple weeks. I think you'll find you'll have a great beer. :)
 
nope warm those bottles up to about 74 ,check one of em in a week ,,if it dont carb then ,,you got a bug ,or left somthing out ,
 
IndyPAdude,

Howdy from down here in Texas.
If I understand you correctly,
a week in the bottle ain't enough time to expect to hear much of a pissss when one is opened. Nor to carbinate worth nuthin.
I give mine a month in the bottle.
You can do that unless you are out of beer-ale.
Just get more carbouys.
Brew more batches faster.
And the world will turn.


jacksknifeshop.tripod.com
 
Just to further reinforce my Pale Ale was flat the first time I opened it after 10 days. Now it's been a month and it's got the bubbles necessary to make the grade! I think it'll come around.
I recently did an EDME English IPA that really pleased me and all those who've tried it. Clean and hoppy. I don't like to be disappointed and this ones almost all gone so I'm going to do another batch of the same.
4lbs LME
2lbs Amber DME
1/3 oz Cascade 15 minutes
2/3 oz Cascade 1 min
1st night had a blow-off onto the ceiling...just cleaned and put back on.
primary fermenter only and bottled in 10 days.
final gravity 1.12 and the unfermented ale tasted as good as the finished product.

Ain't that the way I wish it would always turn out!
 
For an IPA the hop schedule seems very low. What was the predicted IBU value? I know I did an IPA kit as my third batch and it looked something like this (not exactly, but close)

3.3 lbs Liquid Amber Extract
3 lbs Light DME
.5 lbs 60 L Crystal Malt (steeped for 30 minutes)

1.0 oz Chinook (60 min)
1.0 oz Cascade (3 min)

Plus Oak chips for primary.

This only sat somewhere around 40 IBUs (I think, again, off the top of my head).

Its always good to like what you've made. Its a lot more satisfying to drink something that you made yourself. In fact, there's a Dunkelweizen waiting for me in the fridge at home.

Cheers,
 
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