Flat Beer

This is only the 2nd time this has happened to me in 2 years of homebrewing, and both times it has been an oatmeal milk stout. The bottles have been conditioning for 2 weeks so I opened 1 and it tasted great but had no carbonation. Anyone know is stouts take longer to carbonate? The last time it happened I ended up gently pouring all 48 bottles back into my bottling bucket and syphoned into my keg and forced carbed. Any suggestions?

How much priming sugar did you add/what size batch did you make/how long was your primary?

I may try another beer also. When you're bottling beer quality can really vary from bottle to bottle.

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

TheBaconator said:

How much priming sugar did you add/what size batch did you make/how long was your primary?

I may try another beer also. When you're bottling beer quality can really vary from bottle to bottle.

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It was about 5.5 gallons in the primary fermenter with an OG of 1.057. It sat there for 2 weeks . I did a gravity reading for 3 consecutive days with a FG of 1.012 which gave me about 5.91% alcohol. I racked it into a carboy and got a total volume of 5 gallons ( lost .5 from sediment ). It sat there for another 2.5 weeks before I bottled it. I used the recommended amount of priming sugar from my local homebrew store for a 5 gallon batch. The described procedure above is how I let my beer age. I've probably bottled over 20 batches with success every time accept the the 2 batches of the oatmeal milk stout. I prefer kegging of course, but planned on sharing this batch with friends and family.

Revvy said:

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

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I'll wait another week or so then and hope for the best. Normally after about 4-5 weeks in primary/secondary I have a fully carbed beer in a week or 2, and never tastes green

Revvy said:

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Click to expand...

I just got home after 2 1/2 weeks out of town from work. It's been now been over 3 weeks since I bottled my oatmeal milk stout (before I bottled it it sat in primary for 2 weeks and secondary for 2 1/2 weeks). I opened 1 up for testing and still no carbonation at all. All the flavors are there. No yeasty flavor or green flavors, just no fizz at all. I took a temp reading in my closet and it currently is 58 degrees ( upstate NY winter outside) . I guess my question now is: is it too cold in my closet for the yeast to be active? Or are the low temp just prolonging the carbonation. I could just keg the bottles since my keg is empty now. Any suggestions are appreciated.

AGadvocate said:

I just got home after 2 1/2 weeks out of town from work. It's been now been over 3 weeks since I bottled my oatmeal milk stout (before I bottled it it sat in primary for 2 weeks and secondary for 2 1/2 weeks). I opened 1 up for testing and still no carbonation at all. All the flavors are there. No yeasty flavor or green flavors, just no fizz at all. I took a temp reading in my closet and it currently is 58 degrees ( upstate NY winter outside) . I guess my question now is: is it too cold in my closet for the yeast to be active? Or are the low temp just prolonging the carbonation. I could just keg the bottles since my keg is empty now. Any suggestions are appreciated.

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58 is a bit low and a stout is probably going to take longer as revvy's quote states. If you can't wait keg it but leave a few bottles. Try those bottles in 4+ weeks. That is after getting temps closer to mid 60s.
My 2 cents.

AGadvocate said:

I just got home after 2 1/2 weeks out of town from work. It's been now been over 3 weeks since I bottled my oatmeal milk stout (before I bottled it it sat in primary for 2 weeks and secondary for 2 1/2 weeks). I opened 1 up for testing and still no carbonation at all. All the flavors are there. No yeasty flavor or green flavors, just no fizz at all. I took a temp reading in my closet and it currently is 58 degrees ( upstate NY winter outside) . I guess my question now is: is it too cold in my closet for the yeast to be active? Or are the low temp just prolonging the carbonation. I could just keg the bottles since my keg is empty now. Any suggestions are appreciated.

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You can't really transfer a beer from bottles to another vessel without ruining them. You're pouring them through air...and oxygen and fermented beer = liquid cardboard.

They're not carbed yet because it's too cold. You yeast is near it's dormancy temp, so it's sluggish. They may carb at that temp eventually but why wait.

All you need to do is get them above 70...and since a lot of the yeast is probably dormant, giving the bottles a little shake after they've been in the warmth about a week to get that yeast off the bottom once it's awake will help.

But in order for a beer to carb, they yeast needs to be active, not asleep. So the way do do that is to make sure the yeast is above 70 degrees.

So warm them up, but you will STILL have to wait probably 3 weeks.....