No carbonation after 12 days...problem?

My third batch ever, a pumpkin ale (extract), was bottled 12 days ago. I cracked open a bottle today and there was absolutely NO carbonation. My first two beers, I tried one at about 12 days and, while not fully carb'd, they were at least partially carb'd.

Any thoughts or insight?

What did you do while bottling? Take us through the steps you did.

This may sound like a dumb question, but you didn't forget to use priming sugar when bottling did you? It happens more than you think.


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if you added priming sugar, its under 10% abv, and you have it at 70F it will carb. if you have bottled before and it sounds like its an extract kit chances are its not the first 2. check temp of where your bottles are, its getting later in the year so they might need to be stored somewhere warmer the first couple of weeks to get them to carb. I have to keep mine in the ferm chamber till they carb and then move them to the cellar all winter.

Not a dumb question at all. In fact, I had to think real hard to remember if I did add priming sugar. I did.

Maybe it's the temp? I can bring upstairs and bring temp up for a bit?

So, my bottles were sitting in basement at about 63 degrees. Could this simply be the culprit? Would getting them in warmer room still help at this point?

Definitely. Try to get them up around 70+ degrees. They'll carb at 63 but it will take longer.

I generally wait 3 weeks to check for carbonation. Often they are ready at 2, but not always. I wouldn't even check before 2 weeks.

Definitely get them somewhere warmer, 70+°F. It definitely sounds like your basement temps are slowing things down.

If they have been sat in the cold for 2 weeks, make sure you give them a slight shake to get the yeast up again.
I did the same once, left them to carbonate in the cold and had no bubbles after 2 weeks. I then put the bottles in a warmer place and 2 weeks later, no gas. I then shook the bottles and 2 weeks after that finally got those bubbles.

Thanks all! Really appreciate the feedback.

Put them in the attic until the first one explodes, then put the rest in the fridge

DevilNuts said:

Put them in the attic until the first one explodes, then put the rest in the fridge

Click to expand...

haha

DISCLAIMER: That is not actually a good idea.

DevilNuts said:

Put them in the attic until the first one explodes, then put the rest in the fridge

Click to expand...

You'll be waiting a long time now with the winter months rolling in.

If I'm bottling a extra-carbonated beer (like the hefe this weekend), I'll throw them in the closet with the furnace for about a week, then store them at room temperature after that for further conditioning. Did that last time and I got great carbonation after just 3 days.

Also, are you sure the caps are on tight enough? I often catch a few bottles that are flat or semi carbed because for some reason the cap was on crooked or not at all.