Signs of carbonation

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Conan

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Hi all. Have my first batch in bottles, a dark ale. They've been in for only 4 days but I'm wondering if I should be seeing any signs of carbonation like in primary. There's just no apparent action at the moment. We're using the priming sugar that came in the recipe kit we bought with Munton's yeast. It was an extract brew. Also, the temps of the cases the bottles are in were around 70 F until yesterday when it got colder- about 55. I realize this is too low and am trying to warm them but there's not alot I can do. So should I be seeing any signs of active yeast in my bottles? Going to wait till 2 weeks is up (the 10th of May) to open- just a concerned parent. Kyle
 
There is no "sign of carbonation"...It's not like they do a dance or something :D

Just quit staring at the bottles, and leave them alone for 3 weeks @ 70 degrees...Brew another batch to take your mind off.

Why 3 weeks?

Look at this post and watch the video...then you'll understand.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=558191&postcount=101

Now STEP AWAY FROM THE BOTTLES...STEP AWAY FROM THE BOTTLES!!!:D
 
You can also look for the tell tale yeast that will appear at the bottom of the bottle. If you see sediment (that wasn't there before), then you've got carbonation. Patience is the key. The beer will be better if you wait an extra week.
 
Will do folks, thanks. Just that last time the yeast were fed there was bubbles, expected the same- although since it is a closed system this time the bubbles stay in the beer, rite? Anyway, I gotta wait till the 10th to brew again, but have no fear...another batch of ingredients is being sent as we speak. Kyle
 
When I first started brewing, I was eagerly awaiting carbonation! One of the things I learned to do is to use a couple of plastic soda bottles to bottle along with the regular glass bottles. When the plastic gets hard, you know the beer is carbonated. It is kind of a telltale way to see if your beer is carbonating. After a dozen batches, the novelty of that wore off, but I liked it at the time. You may want to try that sometime.
 
I bought a six pack of Miller in plastic PET bottles for just that purpose. The beer was terrible but all I wanted were the bottles and they are everywhere. They are brown too, so they won't skunk as easily as soda bottles.

Neal
 
pjj2ba said:
You can also look for the tell tale yeast that will appear at the bottom of the bottle. If you see sediment (that wasn't there before), then you've got carbonation. Patience is the key. The beer will be better if you wait an extra week.

Very curious... whats the association between the level of carbonation and the settling? Won't the remaining yeasts settle in a flat beer as well?

Thanks.
 
I'll try the pop bottle trick on my next batch- thanks for the idea!

On a slitely different side note, if when using a beer calculator I'm told that my ingredient selection for the next batch will be way below std. accepted ABV, can I just put in a little sugar when I go to primary? I had the calc. set at DME but then changed it to LME, which I'm using. All else equal, including the weight of extract, the ABV dropped way down. Kyle
 
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