1st batch, carbonation question

Hello all. First thanks for all the advise and the wealth of info on this site. I've learned alot from poking around the last month or so.
I just opened my first bottle of my first batch of beer. An IPA (bells 2 hearted clone to be exact). It's been in bottles for 3 weeks today. It tastes good, lots of hop flavor and aroma, but the carbonation is a little odd. It opens with a nice pop, and pours with a inch or so head. The bubbles seem small, and it seems very carbonated at first, but pretty quickly it seemed flat. The second half of the 22 i opened was pretty flat by the end.

Am i being too picky and should just drink it faster.
Should i give it another week or 3 to sit and finish doing it's thing?
Did i do something wrong?

Thanks for any advice.

Caleb

How fast is it going flat?

Sounds simply like it's not quite carbed yet. he three weeks we mention is a minimum, some beers take longer. It'll probably be perfect in another week, or 2

Caleb1980 said:

Should i give it another week or 3 to sit and finish doing it's thing?


Caleb

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THIS. It sounds like the carbonation was not completely finished yet. Obviously, the yeast have eaten some or all of the priming sugar and created carbon dioxide, but it sounds like the beer is not fully saturated with the CO2 gas yet. Another week or so in the bottle at room temperature will help give enough time to complete the process.

Also, refrigerating the bottles for a MINIMUM of 24 hours (48 is better!) before drinking will help the gas to fully incorporate with the liquid. This helps prevent the beer from going flat quickly, like you described in your post.

I would be wiling to bet that if you warm condition one more week, refrigerate for 48 hours, then taste, you will find that the beer is perfectly carbonated!

thanks for the responses guys! That's what i was hoping was the case, that it just needed a little more time. I'll give it some more time before i open another one.