Carbonation problem

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SloppyGriffin

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So I just moved about 60 bottles of beer to my fruit cellar after having been sittin at about 65F for 5 days. I tried one today(same day i moved it) and it is flat. I am worried that for whatever reason, the yeast is dead and not carbonating anything or something else went wrong. i used 4.5oz dextrose and about 2 oz malodextrin in my bottling bucket. Any thoughts? Am i being paranoid and i should just wait like a week before having another?
 
Raise temp to 70*F and wait 2 more weeks then fridge for 3 days then try one. Cheers!
 
You pushed it way too fast. My American brown ale has been sitting for over six weeks now and thy are finally carbonating to the level they should. I thought for sure they would be good to go after two weeks in what I thought was a 70 degree room, so I put 1 case in the fridge for a few days and tried them.....boo they were not anywhere near carbonated enough so I had to take them out carefully roll each bottle on a table, turn them upside down for a split second or two, to try to get the yeast resuspended as when you put them in the fridge the yeast goes dormant. I then placed them closer to the furnace for a higher temp as I realized they were actually sitting at about 65 degrees...which is a bit cool for bottle conditioning. Sounds a lot like your situation..and five days is way too soon to move them to a cold cellar for storage. I suggest you move them back to an environment that's closer to 70 degrees, or as close as you can get to it, let them warm up for a day, then do what I did, roll each one gently back and forth, upside down for a second, and store them at 70 for a couple more weeks, then just move a couple to the fridge for a couple or few days before testing...if they aren't carbed enough you still need more time. Keep testing a couple at various intervals till you get it the way you want it. Mine are finally carbonated, and it's the first batch that I bottled during the AFC championship game way back inJan.
 
Carbonation times vary widely from batch to batch, but the accepted norm on this site is at least 3 weeks at 70 degrees, then you just test a couple until your sure they are ready to move to the fridge. I just store mine at 65 to 70 degrees, and only chill them as I need them.
 
Yes, for sure, and your yeast may have started to go dormant, or are dormant now so I would do as I suggested...it's not a big deal, you didn't ruin your brew....you just have to go buy another case to keep you happy for a bit until they are ready, it's worth the wait, as painful as it is.
 
There are no carbonation problems, only patience ones. You opened it after only 5 days....
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. Beers stored colder than 70, 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.


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.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience." ;)

Carbing is foolprrof. You ad the right amount of sugar, leave it at the right temp, and it will carb.

If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them more time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.
 
I keep forgetting about this forum when brewing. I've been reading over the different posts. I really didn't do anything wrong. Something I could have done better. I got cocky and thought I'd try flaked barley. Screwed that up. Didn't ruin my beer though. I'm to virgin for flakes right now. Thanks for the little bits of help.
 
Thank you everyone for the insights. Im not so much a noob brewer as i am a paranoid one. I know in some books thts the same thing but im trying to get better at trusting my knowledge and gut. Its a dark brown ale/wee heavy. I will move the bottles up to my room which is approx 71F and leave it for a day or so theb alightly aggitate them and leave it there for a few more weeks.ty
 
You pushed it way too fast. My American brown ale has been sitting for over six weeks now and thy are finally carbonating to the level they should. I thought for sure they would be good to go after two weeks in what I thought was a 70 degree room, so I put 1 case in the fridge for a few days and tried them.....boo they were not anywhere near carbonated enough so I had to take them out carefully roll each bottle on a table, turn them upside down for a split second or two, to try to get the yeast resuspended as when you put them in the fridge the yeast goes dormant. I then placed them closer to the furnace for a higher temp as I realized they were actually sitting at about 65 degrees...which is a bit cool for bottle conditioning. Sounds a lot like your situation..and five days is way too soon to move them to a cold cellar for storage. I suggest you move them back to an environment that's closer to 70 degrees, or as close as you can get to it, let them warm up for a day, then do what I did, roll each one gently back and forth, upside down for a second, and store them at 70 for a couple more weeks, then just move a couple to the fridge for a couple or few days before testing...if they aren't carbed enough you still need more time. Keep testing a couple at various intervals till you get it the way you want it. Mine are finally carbonated, and it's the first batch that I bottled during the AFC championship game way back inJan.

I second this advice. I thought my stout was cooked, done, HDD garbage. Purchased a thermometer strip, saw that it was at 63-64 when I thought it was 68. Took it upstairs, into about 68-70. In7 days those babies where as good as new. Cheers
 
I now have both my autumn oak and IPA upstairs where it is about 67.7-68.5F. I have put a small room heater about 2 feet away and a low to medium setting to help bring up the temp a small bit.I'll leave it there for about 2 weeks and try one and see how she is. I will post again when I have tested
 
For what its worth. My Milk Stout took three weeks in the basement @ 62 F to get a baby head. I know good things are ahead!! Just got to keep my hand off it!!!
 
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