Summer Ale FLAT

My very first brew under the guidance and tutelage of my brewing neighbor was ready for a sample test. It was completely flat! Only had the tiniest hint of carbonation. The beer was called a Summer Wicked Ale suppose to be a Sam Summer knock off. Everything seemed to go OK during the brew and bottle. It used a Nottingham Ale Yeast and I used 5 oz. of priming sugar prior to bottling. I mixed as per the directions before pouring it into the bucket prior to bottling and carefully stirred it. The bottles have been stored in a closet @ 70 degrees for 20 days. I tried one sample after 12 days and foolishly I opened 2 bottles one for me and the neighbor but they were both dead flat. Taste was pretty decent. So I waited until last night. The bottle was refrigerated for 24 hours. Still completely flat. I spoke to the "brew guy" at my local brew shop. The first thing he recommended was putting the bottles in a higher temperature area, like 75-78 degrees to see if it will kick start the yeast again. Just prior to bottling the recipe called for 2 tablespoons of Lemon Extract and he said the acidic lemon may be slowing the yeast process..Is this batch salvageable or is time to think about dumping? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Never dump a beer unless it makes you puke!!!!

I'm betting on the acidity factor...Take the LHB's suggestion and move to a warmer place, also gently roll the bottles back and forth on a table a couple times to rouse the yeast first...Try them in a couple of weeks...if they're still dead flat then you could go the carbonation drops route...open each up, drop in the recomended amount of drops (depending on the brand) and recap and wait for 3 more weeks...

But I wouldn't skip the moving the bottles to a warmer place step....do that first before you try the drops...you want to make sure you don't get bottle bombs.

Give the each bottles a swirl too to see if you can kick start the yeast back up by putting them back into suspension.

(beat to the punch. )

Sorry I left out the fact that he also recommedned the rolling them on the table. I did that at 12 days also. I put a towel on the table and gently rolled them. Returned them to their cases and storage again. I'll see if I can get a little heater tonight and heat the closet up a bit. As I said it is about 70 in there now.
Thanks for the quick replies!

I've had beers take more than 3 weeks to carbonate, sometimes as much as 2 month's....they flat, they're flat...and suddenly *BLAM* they're nice and carbed...Beer often has it's own agenda!

Revvy said:

...Beer often has it's own agenda!

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Good advice, Revvy. Thank you.

..Is this batch salvageable or is time to think about dumping? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]


this batch is way bad..PM me I will get rid of it for u..

J

discgolfin said:

this batch is way bad..PM me I will get rid of it for u..

J

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How's this nefarious scheme working out for you?

discgolfin said:

this batch is way bad..PM me I will get rid of it for u..

J

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Uhh..Yeah I think I ride it out and see how it goes.

Well thank you to all who had some sage advice for me. It has been about two weeks since I posted this and here is what I did. On the advice of a few, I took the two crates full of bottles to a freind who has a wood stove. Set the cases near his stove where the temperatures averaged around 75-80. I brought the cases back home the other night and popped a bottle in the fridge over night. What a huge difference it made. The beer poured beautifuly with a big big frothy head and was a beautiful color. Great taste to! Glad I waited it out and those higher temps must have kick started the yeast to get some CO2 made. Thanks again for some great advice.