No carbonation after 3 weeks in bottle

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zacster

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What went wrong? This is a high gravity 1.075 brew using 10lbs LME, 1lb of Crystal, lots of hops, and Wyeast American Ale (1056 I think). The FG was 1.015 when I bottled it, that's 80% attenuation, lots of alcohol in it. It tasted great when I bottled it.

I went on vacation for 2 weeks, expecting to come back to a great beer and instead it had no more fizz than when I bottled it. And I mean NONE. I added the bottling sugar as instructed, so that's not it. It isn't sour or infected that I can tell.

Could the high alcohol kill the yeast that's left, leaving not enough to carbonate?

Should I wait some more? Or should I try to add more yeast and sugar? I have a spare packet of Safale yeast to use, and extra sugar from another batch. Or should I try kegging it and force carbonating? I don't have kegging equipment, but I could beg, borrow or steal some. It really is too good a brew to waste, probably one of my best.
 
I feel your frustration but I bet you are gonna have to wait a couple of more weeks which isn't a bad thing considering that it is a higher gravity brew. You could roll the bottles to re suspend the yeast. I used to put some on top of the refrigerator as it was nice and warm which helped.
 
zacster said:
What went wrong? This is a high gravity 1.075 brew using 10lbs LME, 1lb of Crystal, lots of hops, and Wyeast American Ale (1056 I think). The FG was 1.015 when I bottled it, that's 80% attenuation, lots of alcohol in it. It tasted great when I bottled it.

I went on vacation for 2 weeks, expecting to come back to a great beer and instead it had no more fizz than when I bottled it. And I mean NONE. I added the bottling sugar as instructed, so that's not it. It isn't sour or infected that I can tell.

did you mix the priming sugar thouroughly?


Could the high alcohol kill the yeast that's left, leaving not enough to carbonate?

Yes that's possible, but unlikely, what's the alcohol tollerance of the yeast you used?

Should I wait some more? Or should I try to add more yeast and sugar? I have a spare packet of Safale yeast to use, and extra sugar from another batch. Or should I try kegging it and force carbonating? I don't have kegging equipment, but I could beg, borrow or steal some. It really is too good a brew to waste, probably one of my best.
Click to expand...


Pretty hard to add yeast and sugar once the beer is in the botle. Do some begging, then do some kegging.
 
I agree with Blender. If they aren't already, move them to a warm place (+70˚F), give each bottle a gentle shake, and give it a few more weeks.
 
did you mix the priming sugar thouroughly?

Yes. I used the usual method of adding the sugar to the bucket first before siphoning the beer in, and then I let it swirl around.

Yes that's possible, but unlikely, what's the alcohol tolerance of the yeast you used?

Don't know.

I guess I'll wait some more and put them someplace warmer. It is August after all.

But if that doesn't work, can I open, add sugar/yeast and then re-cap them?
 
What temperature did you leave it at? If you put it in the fridge, the yeasts will go to sleep and not do their job. If it is above 65F, I can't help you.

-a.
 
Have the same problem with my IPA. Don't know what happened. I agitated all the bottles a little and will leave them alone for a few weeks and hope for the best.
 
You answered your own question, really...You have a higher gravity beer...The three weeks at 70 degrees is just a "rule of thumb" and it applies for "normal" neers, your higher gravity beer will simply need longer time...Heck, my stouts and porters take 6-8 weeks on average to carb and condition..

Blender had a good idea, give them a roll and check them in 3 or more weeks..Even on this week's basic brewing radio, one of the letters mentioned having a tripel that wouldn't carb up, then suddenly after 3 months "BAM" it carbed up completely.

So stick them away and forget about them for awhile..there is noting wrong with them that patience won't fix.
 
Revvy said:
Even on this week's basic brewing radio, one of the letters mentioned having a tripel that wouldn't carb up, then suddenly after 3 months "BAM" it carbed up completely.

.
Click to expand...

Sorry to jack this thread - is this an online radio program? Could you provide a link? I got as far as brew wiki but couldnt find any link to a radio program. thanks in advance!
:off:
 
Since the consensus seems to be to just wait, I'll do that. I'll also give them a roll to stir them up a bit. I used mostly 22oz bottles so there aren't that many. The ones I tried yesterday though were the 12oz ones, figuring if it wasn't ready I wouldn't be wasting as much. I drank them anyway.

The bad news is that my wife doesn't like the bitter, hoppy taste, so she won't share my enthusiasm.
 
zacster said:
Since the consensus seems to be to just wait, I'll do that. I'll also give them a roll to stir them up a bit. I used mostly 22oz bottles so there aren't that many. The ones I tried yesterday though were the 12oz ones, figuring if it wasn't ready I wouldn't be wasting as much. I drank them anyway.

The bad news is that my wife doesn't like the bitter, hoppy taste, so she won't share my enthusiasm.
Click to expand...

Oh, well that's another reason...my 22's and pint bottles NORMALLY take longer to carb and condition than my 12'ounces. Remember we are dealing with yeasties doing our bidding, in larger volumes they have more sugarwater to chew through than in 12's.
 
I left the one 6 pack in the fridge so I tried another one a few days later. When I opened the bottle it made a nice pfffft, and when I poured it had a 1/4" head and had nice small bubbles up the side. And it tasted GREAT. This was the beer I was trying to make. Very hoppy, bitter, extremely alcoholic.

So its off to the store to get some decent craft beers to tide me over while I let the rest condition. Stone Ruination IPA is my current fave, which is why I made this clone.
 

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