Carbonation problem - help

Made a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. Boiled 3/4 cup of corn sugar in 2 cups of water and added it to my bottling bucket, just like all of my other batches. Bottled it on 12/10. It was in my basement, which is just under 65 F, until 12/25. Tried a beer on 12/21 and it was flat. Moved the beer on 12/25 to the upstairs where it is mostly over 65F. Tried one today, still pretty flat.

The only thing I did differently with this beer is that I let it condition in the secondary for almost 2 months. It also was a high gravity beer yielding an ABV of 9-10%.

Could I have killed the yeast having it sit so long? Should I open all of the bottles, toss them into my bottling bucket and add some yeast? What type and how long would I let it sit there until I bottle it?

Thanks.

-Greg

I would wait a bit longer. ...not sure how long maybe a month? I tried one of my "ye olde rippers" after two weeks and it had no sign of bubbles. It was in secondary for about 2 weeks after being in primary for around a month. It has another 10months maturation in the bottle so I am not worried!

When did the recipe say it was going to be drinkable?

It pretty much said it would be drinkable now, and it is. The problem is that it didn't carbonate. All of my beers have carbonated in 2 weeks or less using the same procedure (except for the long period in the secondary this time).

I had the same problem with my last beer,a stout. It was cooler than usual where i condition,moved it to a warmer place an it turned out alright i think you should wait a little longer. I dont think I would put them back in the bottling bucket.I think it would oxidize

I work in degrees C and not F! If the location was too cold then it will just take longer to carbinate. If this is the case then moving it to a warmer place will speed it up. If everything was clean and primer was added then you have nothing to worry about. Have a beer

dibby33 said:

I work in degrees C and not F! If the location was too cold then it will just take longer to carbinate. If this is the case then moving it to a warmer place will speed it up. If everything was clean and primer was added then you have nothing to worry about. Have a beer

Click to expand...

Thanks, dibby33. It sat for about 2 weeks at 17 C. Then I moved it to where it is almost 19 C but its only been there for 6 days. Are you saying that the yeast didn't die and it will just take longer?

The yeast are NOT dead- just sleeping. Keep them at 70 degrees for a week, if possible. They'll carbonate!

(My newly bottled beer is at 64 degrees- in the warmest room in the house. It takes alot longer to carbonate now that winter is here. I bottled last week, and I'll be surprised if it carbonates in less than three weeks)

Lorena

When I did my cider, I put a small ceramic disc heater nearby to keep the general area around 70 degrees. It carbed up in about 2 weeks. Just be careful not to let it get too warm.

Is there any sediment in the bottom of the bottles? I would twist each beer gently to stir up the yeast in the bottom.

I've had problems with carbonation before; and each time that's exactly what it needed...time. My general rule of thumb: if no carbonation at 1 month in bottle (at correct temp), then I gently stir up the yeast sediment every 2 days and try a beer every week from there on out. Usually by this step, the beer is carbed by 5 - 6 weeks max. It seems that the usual culprits are the high gravity and high IBU beers...not sure if this is typical or coincidence. But whatever you do, don't give up...and try not to open too many brews in the process of waiting to carb. Heck, a high gravity beer will benefit from bottle conditioning anyways!

Marc.

mbreen01 said:

I've had problems with carbonation before; and each time that's exactly what it needed...time. My general rule of thumb: if no carbonation at 1 month in bottle (at correct temp), then I gently stir up the yeast sediment every 2 days and try a beer every week from there on out. Usually by this step, the beer is carbed by 5 - 6 weeks max. It seems that the usual culprits are the high gravity and high IBU beers...not sure if this is typical or coincidence. But whatever you do, don't give up...and try not to open too many brews in the process of waiting to carb. Heck, a high gravity beer will benefit from bottle conditioning anyways!

Marc.

Click to expand...

By "stir up the yeast sediment" you mean give the bottle a little shake?

I store all my cabroys in the garage. With my last batch, I bottled the beer and waited 2 weeks as I have with the previous 2 batches. The first 2 bottles I opened were flat. Its been almost 2 months now since I did the Pliny, and I was just able to enjoy my first one the other night. Im assuming the temps (which get into the high 40sF) have a lot todo with this, as my first two batches were carbed rather well by the 2 week mark.

-=gp125racer=-