Low Carboniation

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Verde

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Just tasted my first home brew last night. It tasted good (a little lighter than I expected, looks like a bass but tastes more like an Amstel) but there was almost no carboniation. The bottle made a very slight hiss when opened but no bubbles in the beer. Is this normal after 1 week bottling time at 74 to 76 degrees? Should I just wait and check in another week or interviene (like moving to a warmer or cooler location).
I have been keeping notes on my first batch and the full history including recipe is posted here:
http://24.190.4.56:8000/1st_Brew.doc

Thanks,
Mike.
 
I couldn't get to your notes, but assuming you used recommended amount of priming sugar you should be fine. One week is considered early by most and it's likely that carbonation has not completed. I wouldn't put it in a warmer location, I carbonate in the basement with temps in the low to mid 60's and have never had a problem. Try another bottle in a week.
 
My first bottled batch was fully carbonated in under a week, and ended up being somewhat overcarbonated not long afterward. My second batch was fully carbonated in about a week and didn't end up overcarbed. On my third batch (an amber ale), I let it sit in the secondary for a week and a half, and it came out VERY clear - ie - not much suspended yeast to carbonate it. I tried it after one week, expecting full carbonation like my first two batches, and it was almost flat (a slight hiss and a hint of bubbles, but not much more), so I was a bit worried - sounds just like your situation. But around the two-week mark, it was perfectly carbonated.

I say RDWHAHB - Since you let it clear quite a bit in secondary, it sounds perfectly normal for carbonation to be incomplete in just one week, and since you are at least getting some signs of carbonation, it sounds like it's still on track.
 
I also cant get to your notes, but you will likely be fine. How did you prime? What did you use and how much? Sometimes it can take 10 days or longer for a beer to carb. If you intervene at all, you can lay the bottles on their sides and gently roll them. I have done that on one or two brews, and they carbed after I did that.
 
If you did a good job clearing your beer in the secondary, it is common to need upwards of three weeks to achieve full carbonation. One shouldn't expect that EVERY beer will be fully carbed in a week.

If you want to help the process along, you can gently agitate the bottles to resuspend the yeast, and move to a warmer spot (75 - 80 is ideal) for a week.
 
Thanks for the tips. I think I will just wait another week and taste one again. Sorry for the notes, it works but it is a large file on a slow server because of pictures on it, if you want to try it go ahead but it will take a minute or so to open the file (even on a cable modem).
 
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