4 weeks, almost no carbonation

Hey Guys,

I brewed a bewitched red ale in my Mr. Beer. I subsituted 1lb DME for the booster. It was in primary for a bit over 2 months. (Way too long, I know). I bottled into the 1 liter Mr. Beer plastic bottles and primed with 1.5 Tbs corn sugar. Even after 4 weeks conditioning, there is very little carbonation. A very slight hiss when I open, and almost no bubbles, and a very flat taste.

Here are my thoughts on what may have gone wrong:

1. Too long in the Mr. Beer, yeast not happy
2. Bottles were left on top of my cabinets to condition. No "direct" sunlight, but exposed to light all the time. Is this a no no?
3. Not enough corn sugar. I did use a Calculator, maybe I screwed it up.

Anyone have any thoughts?

What was your total amount being bottled? 1 1/2 tablespoons sounds light, but I can't say without the total amount being brewed up.

You bottled it in those big plastic mr beer bottles, right? A larger volume sized bottle needs more time. I have some pints, 22 oz bombers and other sizes that I often use, but since I enter contests I usually also do a sixer or two of standard 12 ouncers for entering. And inevitably the 12 ouncers are done at least a week faster than the larger bottles....some times two weeks ahead of time...

Also the rule of thumb is 3 weeks at 70 degrees for a normal grav 12 ounce bottle....to carb and condition....It takes longer for the yeasties to convert the larger volume in the bigger bottles to enough co2 in the headspace to be reabsorbed back into the solution...A ration I don't know how much...

Big Kahuna gives a good explanation here...

BigKahuna said:

Simple. It's the ration of contact area just like in a keg. The c02 will need to pressurize the head space (Which takes LESS TIME) in a bigger bottle (More Yeast and sugar, roughly the same head space) but then it has to force that c02 into solution through the same contact area...thus it takes longer.

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The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers 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."

If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them ore 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.

Make sure they are above 70 degrees, give them a little shake to re-suspend the yeast and check on them in another week or two.

Alright, I shall continue to wait! Though it's tough, because I only had 8 bottles to start with. I've checked 3 times...so running low on beer!

Also, it was 1.5 Tbs per 1 liter bottle, not for the whole batch.

How long should they be in the fridge for after conditioning at room temperature?

EDIT:

After 3 weeks @ 70 is recommended (though most of us fail at this one-Me included) that you put your beer in the fridge for a full two weeks before drinking....this will help to make you beer crystal clear and tasty.....

At least new brewer, let them chill in the fridge for 48 hours before you knock them back.

Your carbonation might just be a little low on this batch. According to the Mr. Beer instructions, their 1qt bottles should get 2.5 teaspoons of table sugar, not 1.5 teaspoons. That might(?) change a bit using corn sugar vs. table sugar, though... I'm not sure on that ratio.

there might not have been enough yeast in suspension to fully carb your beer.

robbyg said:

Your carbonation might just be a little low on this batch. According to the Mr. Beer instructions, their 1qt bottles should get 2.5 teaspoons of table sugar, not 1.5 teaspoons. That might(?) change a bit using corn sugar vs. table sugar, though... I'm not sure on that ratio.

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Bingo, you didn't add enough sugar.

robbyg said:

Your carbonation might just be a little low on this batch. According to the Mr. Beer instructions, their 1qt bottles should get 2.5 teaspoons of table sugar, not 1.5 teaspoons. That might(?) change a bit using corn sugar vs. table sugar, though... I'm not sure on that ratio.

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The OP mentions that he used 1.5 Tbs, which would be 4.5 teaspoons. So, if anything, he used too much sugar

Ampsonic said:

2. Bottles were left on top of my cabinets to condition. No "direct" sunlight, but exposed to light all the time. Is this a no no?

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The warmer the beer the faster it should carbonate. Light itself should not have any affect on carbonation. However, you should minimize the amount of light (direct or otherwise) your bottles get. UV light + hops = skunked beer. Amber bottles protect the beer, but not 100%. Cover up the bottles as they carbonate or stick them in a closet/cabinet.

BrookdaleBrew said:

Bingo, you didn't add enough sugar.

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Darn it! I used a calculator.... I think to 2.75 volumes...is that not enough? or did i screw up my math.

The OP mentions that he used 1.5 Tbs, which would be 4.5 teaspoons. So, if anything, he used too much sugar

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Now I am confused!

Does the length of time in the fridge beyond 48 hours affect the carbonation level or just clarity?

Ampsonic said:

Darn it! I used a calculator.... I think to 2.75 volumes...is that not enough? or did i screw up my math.

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which calculator did you use?

...an online calculator? or do you mean you did your math using a handheld calculator?

an online calculator, i don't remember which one unfortunately. but I took the amount it told me for 2.5 gallons (mr beer), and divided it by 8 for my 8 bottles.

It could be the ones you bottled last came from the top of the fermenter where more yeast had settled out.

Bigger bottles will have more carbonation due to less head space. Head space will hold some CO2 but it's nothing like kegging where the CO2 generally comes from the head space. Yeast make CO2 in the beer and it will say in solution for some time and once it's under pressure the bulk of it will just stay there.

If you used a bottling bucket you can weigh out priming sugar and get much more precise carbonation levels and stir it in to get equal yeast distribution. Keep in mind the calculators assume 12 oz bottles. 1 liter bottles need slightly less primer, and a 5 gallon keg needs much less (yet take no longer to carb.)

Ampsonic said:

an online calculator, i don't remember which one unfortunately. but I took the amount it told me for 2.5 gallons (mr beer), and divided it by 8 for my 8 bottles.

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Well, based on some guestimating, I would have used ~8 Tablespoons of corn sugar for 2.5 gallons to get 2.75 volumes of CO2 (assuming beer temp of 70F).

I assumed 1 cup of corn sugar = ~5oz. Of course, this is just an approximation and you should use a scale to measure out weight for accuracy