Belgian Tripel (lack of carbonation)

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Diablotastic

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Howdy

So it's been almost 1-1/2 months in the bottle...still very little carbonation.

Should I be worreid or just stay patient?

The Kit was an extract OG 1.080...FG 1.020
 
Just out of curiosity, where was the kit from? I have a tripel from Midwest fermenting as we speak. Should be done next weekend and I'm going to transfer it to a secondary and let it sit until fall (as per their directions). My concern is if it's in the secondary for that long all the yeast will fall out and then how will I get it to carbonate in the bottle. I guess add more yeast at bottling, but then what kind? Is this what you did?
 
I bottled a PM Belgian Trippel from AHS a little less than 3 weeks ago, and it is well on its way to being carbonated.

Where do you have your bottles sitting? Are they in a cool place or somewhere warm (at least comfortable room temperature)? I found I had a hard time getting my first stout to carbonate until I put it in the laundry room for a week (gets very warm when we're doing laundry), and gently agitated the bottles up and down each day. Carbonated without a problem after that.
 
what temperature are the bottles being stored at? How much sugar did you add to the beer? An OG of 1.080 is high, but not outrageous, so your yeast should still be ok. If its a belgian, I'm sure there's an abundance of yeast still in suspension anyways...
 
I don't even have to ask about the temp, 'cause your situation already tells me it's too low.

75F = It'll carb in one week, but some wierd flavors may show up
70F = It'll carb in about 2 - 2 1/2 weeks, and the flavor won't be affected at all
67F = It'll carb in about 3 1/2 weeks, but the yeast in some bottles may drop out early leaving some priming sugar in the bottle. That leaves a strange fruity after-taste
65F = It'll mostly-carb eventually, but it's gonna take a couple months and all of the bottles will have that priming sugar after-taste
under 65f = It'll never carb until you get it warmed up.
 
there actually sitting in the fridge now....first 2 weeks or so where in the cellar...maybe 65-70degrees I would assume.

As far as priming sugar I added the recipe amount...the kit was from More beer
 
yeh... yank them out of the fridge and warm them up. There's no difference between the yeast metabolizing in primary and in the bottles. They still have to be at the correct temperature.

ADK about this fruity flavor that was mentioned... never heard of or tasted that. The amount of dextrose going in there is very very small. I could see if if you are putting in plain sugar... with cidery flavors.
 
Diablotastic said:
there actually sitting in the fridge now....first 2 weeks or so where in the cellar...maybe 65-70degrees I would assume.

As far as priming sugar I added the recipe amount...the kit was from More beer


Get them out! They will definitely not carb when the yeasties are that cold. Set them in the warmest (within reason) place in your house and turn them upside down a few times once a day. They should carb up within a week or so. Test one if you want, but since this is a Belgian Trippel, you're going to want to leave them alone for many months. They likely won't be tasting as good as they can until much later this year.

Next batch, put the bottles in a warm (dark!) place and gently shake them around for the first week.

Good luck!
 
Hi guys first post, not to hijack this thread, but I have a similar situation:
A porter, first batch. I think I left too much head space in the bottle (3" +/-). Hardly any carbonation. The fermentation was very slow as well (lazy yeast?).
Do I need to top off the bottles and add more sugar perhaps?
 
BenT1 said:
Hi guys first post, not to hijack this thread, but I have a similar situation:
A porter, first batch. I think I left too much head space in the bottle (3" +/-). Hardly any carbonation. The fermentation was very slow as well (lazy yeast?).
Do I need to top off the bottles and add more sugar perhaps?

No. just get them warmed up (70F to 73F) and give each bottle a swirl to make sure there's plenty of yeast in suspension. Only swirl once since you want the yeast to drop to the bottom of the bottle after they're done fermenting the priming sugar. Then wait about three weeks and chill one bottle for 24 hours. Open it and check for proper carbonation. If it's nice and bubbly, you can chill the rest. If it's still a little flat, leave the bottles (still warmed) for another week and try again. They'll get there, it's just gonna take the correct temp and some time.
 
shafferpilot said:
I don't even have to ask about the temp, 'cause your situation already tells me it's too low.

75F = It'll carb in one week, but some wierd flavors may show up
70F = It'll carb in about 2 - 2 1/2 weeks, and the flavor won't be affected at all
67F = It'll carb in about 3 1/2 weeks, but the yeast in some bottles may drop out early leaving some priming sugar in the bottle. That leaves a strange fruity after-taste
65F = It'll mostly-carb eventually, but it's gonna take a couple months and all of the bottles will have that priming sugar after-taste
under 65f = It'll never carb until you get it warmed up.

this is terribly subjective. Examine your entire process and check out palmer's site then post what you think may have gone wrong.
 
snoochhandytardman said:
this is terribly subjective. Examine your entire process and check out palmer's site then post what you think may have gone wrong.

That's true. My point is that lots of people get tricked by the term "room temp". That term is far more subjective than the chart i threw together;)
 
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