Last night, I had the first sample of a Red Ale I bottled over 2 weeks ago. To bottle, I used 1.25 cups of DME and placed the bottles in a warm-enough location. Last night, I put the bottle in my fridge about 3 hours before I drank it.
Three hours later, I opened the bottle. There was an audible phizzz . . . and clear indications of CO2 in the headspace. However, when I poured the beer, there was very little carbonation . . . none. No bubbles, no head. The beer tastes great otherwise, but it would be nicer with some sparkle.
Here is my thought process at this point. There is clearly a layer of yeast sediment on the bottom of the bottle, so I assume that the yeast were still active. Temperature has to be warm enough to start some fermentation in the bottle. I've always used the same amount of DME for bottle conditioning, and I've always had great bubbles.
Any suggestions or thoughts on this? Would the very short chilling time be responsible for reduced carbonation? This doesn't seem to make sense.
Three hours later, I opened the bottle. There was an audible phizzz . . . and clear indications of CO2 in the headspace. However, when I poured the beer, there was very little carbonation . . . none. No bubbles, no head. The beer tastes great otherwise, but it would be nicer with some sparkle.
Here is my thought process at this point. There is clearly a layer of yeast sediment on the bottom of the bottle, so I assume that the yeast were still active. Temperature has to be warm enough to start some fermentation in the bottle. I've always used the same amount of DME for bottle conditioning, and I've always had great bubbles.
Any suggestions or thoughts on this? Would the very short chilling time be responsible for reduced carbonation? This doesn't seem to make sense.