paint_it_black
Well-Known Member
I've been brewing for a few years now... Recently relocated to my hometown and have been brewing with my dad (who has been brewing for the same amount of time as me). It seems that all of the batches we have churned out have been very undercarbonated. We use the standard 3/4 cup dextrose per 5 gal batch, but it just doesn't seem to do it. Most of our beers are practically still flat after three weeks. If given a month or two, they will pour with a slight amount of head, only if poured straight down the glass (not tilted). None of these are particularly "big" beers", though a couple have bridged up to the 6-7% ABV range. Still, even the lighter-on-alcohol ones have this undercarbonation issue.
Since we started brewing together recently, we've moved up to all-grain -- I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. Since we have usually been hitting our target original gravities, I don't think that would be it, since we're acheiving the expected starch conversion, yielding a sufficient quantity of fermentables. (Dad says he's always had this issue, even with extract brews. Although I have had some of his beers that at least have beeter carbonation than those we've made of late)
We use tap water (Brita filtered), and don't know it's specific characteristics, but guys at the LBHS say they use their tap water and don't have this problem. So I don't know whether it could be our water...
Can anyone lend any suggestions as to why we're having this issue and how to fix it?
Since we started brewing together recently, we've moved up to all-grain -- I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. Since we have usually been hitting our target original gravities, I don't think that would be it, since we're acheiving the expected starch conversion, yielding a sufficient quantity of fermentables. (Dad says he's always had this issue, even with extract brews. Although I have had some of his beers that at least have beeter carbonation than those we've made of late)
We use tap water (Brita filtered), and don't know it's specific characteristics, but guys at the LBHS say they use their tap water and don't have this problem. So I don't know whether it could be our water...
Can anyone lend any suggestions as to why we're having this issue and how to fix it?