Too cold to carbonate; can I wait?

Hi,

It's been relatively cool here in Sydney, not getting above 16c/60F for a couple of months. I made a batch of APA anyway and fermented it with a heater belt which worked out fine. However it's been in bottles now for 3 weeks and the one I've tried hasn't carbonated; this is using Safale-05 so presumably this is due to the temperature.

Unfortunately I'm not really in a position to warm up the bottles (Sydney houses rarely have central heating as it's only cold for a few months of the year). If I wait a month or so until it warms up again will carbonation and conditioning kick off (possibly aided by a quick shake) or am I stuck with 50 bottles of flat, slightly sweet beer?

Cheers,
Steve

Get a cardboard box, put the beer in it and use the heater belt to warm the box.

I wonder if anything can be done with an electric blanket too?

OhioBrit said:

I wonder if anything can be done with an electric blanket too?

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Yes you could but the risk of burning down your house by using the product improperly doesn't sound like a cost effective method to carbonate.

Do you have any insulated or thinsulate blankets? Even wrapping the box the beers are in can make them toasty...Some people have put a sealed box of bottles in a larger box with a string of Christmas lights inside. The sealed box (a rubbermade plastic tub) will keep the light out, while the the lights raise the ambient temp.

Cool temps will just mean it will take longer for them to carbonate and condition.

Nurmey said:

Yes you could but the risk of burning down your house by using the product improperly doesn't sound like a cost effective method to carbonate.

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You sir, need to adjust your priorities! We are talking homebrew versus the slight inconvenience of the house burning down. Homebrew wins every time!!

OhioBrit said:

You sir, need to adjust your priorities! We are talking homebrew versus the slight inconvenience of the house burning down. Homebrew wins every time!!

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I heartily concur with my esteemed collegue from ohio!

Revvy said:

I heartily concur with my esteemed collegue from ohio!

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Oh yeah, then why did he call me sir?

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I'm not really prepared to warm up a box with any electrical device; I've already had one heater-pad that overheated and melted its plastic casing. I realise risking life and limb in the pursuit of beer is no vice but the normally tolerant SWMBO has her limits. I think I'll wait this one out and see how the beer develops in a month or two.

Thanks,
Steve