BetterSense

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My wife bought strawberry and root-beer flavored extracts from the LHBS. She followed the directions using champaign yeast, but the strawberry came out carbonated properly and the root beer did not. We tested the strawberry for carbonation, assumed both varieties would be the same, and chucked it all in the fridge. Now the root beer is cold and flat. It has some carbonation, but not what it should have. What could account for the differences in fermentation speed?

BetterSense

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Also, if you take bottle-fermented soda out of the fridge, will it continue to carbonate more, or does the time in the fridge kill the yeast off? I wonder if our root beer can be saved by de-fridging it for a period of time to let it carbonate more, or is it too late?

Yooper

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Sure, you can take it out of the fridge, give it a gentle shake to rouse any flocculated yeast, and let it sit at room temperature until it's carbed up.

Different amounts of sugar/ingredients/temperature/etc can all influence carbonation speed. In my experience, ginger ale will carb up in less than 24 hours at room temperature, while root beer can take nearly a week at times.

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BetterSense

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From what I remember the recipes between the berry-flavor and root beer called for the same amount of sugar and yeast. I suppose there could be a pH difference or maybe she just mis-measured.