I got a mr beer kit and made some beer. I refrigerated the bottles after 1 week of secondary fermentation as instructed. I tried one bottle and its still flat. Can I take them out of the fridge and keep fermenting? Or is it too late?
Beer not carbonated
- Thread starter xiach
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
I take it that you fermented in the lbk ( little brown keg), bottled your brew with the required amount of sugar, sealed them, and after 1 week you put them in thd fridge and....... Nothing. You can pull them out, bring them ip to about 70 degrees F, and wait 2 to three weeks to try another one. 4 weeks would be better.
RIC0
Well-Known Member
2 weeks minimum at room temp for good carbonation, could take longer. RDWHAHB
SteveM
Well-Known Member
...and if not done in two weeks, let them go longer. Even without the priming sugar, beers can carbonate to an acceptable level eventually (he said, after doing this once by mistake many years ago).
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
How? Carbonation is made by CO2 production, a byproduct of fermentation. If gravity is stable, no more CO2 is produced.
That's why we add priming sugar, to kick off a mini fermentation. If your beer carbed up with no priming sugar, either (a) fermentation was not done, or (b) you had a very slow infection of a wild yeast or similar.
SteveM
Well-Known Member
If 100% of the fermentables are consumed, then no more CO2 is produced. But that seldom happens, and unless you've Pasteurized your brew, it will continue to ferment, though very slowly.
I don't recommend it but having done it, I know it to be the case.
And just to give you an idea on time. I bottled an Irish Stout on 1/22/2013. Tried one after a week, flat. Tried one after 2 weeks, flat. Just tried one last night, so 24 days later, and it had a nice head on it. I've had some beers take 3 or 4 days to carbonate, and as you can see this one took over 3 weeks.
I always give people this recommendation, and since you using Mr Beer it's even easier. After 3 or 4 days, give your bottle a light squeeze and see how hard it is. Do this every day or so. When it's at the point, where it's hard to squeeze, then you know it's carbonated. Then you can put it in the fridge. For other people that use glass bottles, you could still sanitize 1 soda plastic 12 or 16oz bottle and use that same strategy.
I always give people this recommendation, and since you using Mr Beer it's even easier. After 3 or 4 days, give your bottle a light squeeze and see how hard it is. Do this every day or so. When it's at the point, where it's hard to squeeze, then you know it's carbonated. Then you can put it in the fridge. For other people that use glass bottles, you could still sanitize 1 soda plastic 12 or 16oz bottle and use that same strategy.
RIC0
Well-Known Member
I have a red ale that sat for 3 weeks cracked one open and it was as flat as can be. All other beers I brew age in the same room and are ready to drink at 3 weeks. Brought in a few bottles to work and put in a drawer as it's warmer than my storage room. They are carbed up now so why these needed the higher temp over others I"m not sure. I also made this same batch 3 months ago and had no issues.
SteveM
Well-Known Member
Other than my "test bottles," three weeks is about my bare minimum for allowing beers to carbonate.
Keep in mind that the yeast may become inactive, but a bit of gentle agitation of the bottles (moving them from one location to another was certainly enough) and warmer temperatures (but not too warm) will stir up some additional fermentation - et voila, carbonation.
Similar threads
