Carbonation issue

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penguin69

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So I made a pumpkin spice ale and after 3 weeks of conditioning there is no carbonation. Now when I tried a couple bottles I noticed that there was very little to no yeast on the bottom of the bottle. Could that be my problem or has the yeast not yet consumed the sugar and fallen to the bottom.
 
Batch OG and FG?? Yeast used would also help. Also, did you chill the bottles after 3 weeks (at 70F) for 4-7 days before trying one?

Remember, three weeks at 70F is a MINIMUM guideline for bottle carbonation in low to moderate OG batches. Higher ABV brews will take longer to bottle condition/carbonate. I have a friend that had a stout take about 4-6 months before it actually was carbonated in bottles. Since I keg, I don't have those issues. :D
 
I used the priming sugar that was in the kit. Don't know how much it was. It was a 5 gallon batch. It was a Brewers Best Kit.
 
Did you stir it LIGHTLY after you added the sugar and beer to your bottling bucket to make sure sugar was mixed throughout??

What temp did you store your bottles at for 3 weeks??
 
I did a slow stir for about 2 minutes. Bottles were stored at 66 degrees.
 
I did a slow stir for about 2 minutes. Bottles were stored at 66 degrees.

I am not surprised that 3 weeks wasn't enough at 66F......definately need more time...you can let them bottle condition in the 70-72F range.....much faster for carbonation......3 weeks would probably work then
 
Pumpkin beers tend to take between 6-8 weeks to carb when above 70 degrees. The three weeks we talks about is JUST THE MINIMUM for average grav beers. Beers can, and often do take longer.

Remember, carbing is nearly foolproof. You add sugar the yeast will carb the beer, at exactly the right length of time that it needs, and not a moment longer.

There are very few true carbonation issue in brewing, the majority of them are simply patience ones.

That's why I always find it funny when folks try to "over think" or "over diagnose" carb problems "did you stir or didn't you?" stuff like that. The reality is, if they added sugar in 99.9% of the time, the beer will carb, eventually.
 
The only thing I can add to Revvy's post is this... If you ferment a brew, and you go to (or above) the listed tolerance of the yeast, it can either take an extremely loooong time to carbonate, or it won't carbonate at all.

That being said, I do have a couple of fermentations I made last year (a hard lemonade and hard gingerale) that were not carbonated after several months. They're still in bottles, in the basement now. I keep thinking about chilling a bottle of each for a week or three, and seeing IF they've carbonated. I still have a glimmer of hope that someday, they'll be carbonated.
 
Well being new to this I was just wondering what was going in. I guess I should add on piece of info that I forgot. When I was moving the wort from the boil kettle to the fermenter I, for some reason it looked like it was picking up a lot if the hops so I ran it through a strainer. Just got worried maybe I did something to inhibit the yeast cells.

I appreciate all the help. This is very educational and the reason I joined.
 
Well being new to this I was just wondering what was going in. I guess I should add on piece of info that I forgot. When I was moving the wort from the boil kettle to the fermenter I, for some reason it looked like it was picking up a lot if the hops so I ran it through a strainer. Just got worried maybe I did something to inhibit the yeast cells.

I appreciate all the help. This is very educational and the reason I joined.

Next time, just dump it all in... There's nothing in there that will do any harm. Use a good flocculation rated yeast and it will all settle out just fine. Rack to the bottling bucket decently, and you'll leave all the stuff you don't want in bottles behind.

Brew again.
 
Well being new to this I was just wondering what was going in. I guess I should add on piece of info that I forgot. When I was moving the wort from the boil kettle to the fermenter I, for some reason it looked like it was picking up a lot if the hops so I ran it through a strainer. Just got worried maybe I did something to inhibit the yeast cells.

I appreciate all the help. This is very educational and the reason I joined.

No you didn't "inhibit the yeast cells. Some of us just dump everything in.

I let the primary go for two weeks and a secondary for another week.

Doesn't matter. It's simply a beer that takes longer than three weeks to carb.
 
I let the primary go for two weeks and a secondary for another week.

Was any pumpkin (or pie filling) used in the brew, or just the spice? If just the spice, you didn't need to move to a second vessel after two weeks. Three weeks (or more) in primary would have been just fine.

Next batch, make sure there's a damned good reason before moving it to another vessel. For 95% (or better) of the recipes out there, with ale yeast, there's zero benefit to moving to another vessel.
 
I just read that if you move to a secondary then it would help to clarify the beer. Not that it matters to me but just thought i would try and keep my beer as clear as I can get it.
 
I just read that if you move to a secondary then it would help to clarify the beer. Not that it matters to me but just thought i would try and keep my beer as clear as I can get it.

That falls under the 'old wives tale' category. I don't rack to another vessel for the vast majority of my beers (two out of over 40) and I get SUPER clear brews. Just use Irish Moss/Whirfloc (or not) in the boil to help with the cold break. Then get a good cold break (chill fast) and then use a good flocculation rated yeast (almost all of mine are rated at least high) and give it time in primary. Don't move it any more than is critical (move it to racking position a day or three ahead so it can settle down again) and you're good. I use a CO2 push to transfer to keg, so I don't move my batches/fermenters an inch once they get going. :rockin: SUPER clear brew comes out the faucets. Also, chilling for 7+ days (for bottles) once carbonated will really help with clear brew in the glass.

Only thing I used was the spices that came with the kit.

Then, IMO/IME, you didn't need to rack, at all.
 
Speaking of cold break. How fast is fast enough. I know that I you can do it instantaneously that is the best. But mine has been about 20 to 30 minutes. Is that good enough for now? I use the ice bath in a sink
 
penguin69 said:
I let the primary go for two weeks and a secondary for another week.

I made the same batch mine stopped releasing gas after about one week so I added some cranberry flavoring I found and bottled it after about a week in the bottles around 70 degrees some were gushers but the majority were spot on. I've noticed when I brew and do a secondary fermentation some of the bottles end up not carbonating at all.
 
Speaking of cold break. How fast is fast enough. I know that I you can do it instantaneously that is the best. But mine has been about 20 to 30 minutes. Is that good enough for now? I use the ice bath in a sink

How important is cold break? The Aussies have decided that they can brew without the fast chill. (see no-chill brewing)
 
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