Half are carbonated, half are not.

Ok, I bottled a nut brown ale with 5.2% abv 3 weeks ago. This saturday, the 21st, will be 4 weeks in the bottle. Some are carbonated, some aren't. Do I just need more time in the bottle, or is there something greater going on here? I used a red baron hand capper (I think thats the brand), primed with 3/4 cup corn sugar and water (boiled), stirred into 5 gallons to mix well and did not aerate.

Are the caps on tightly on all the bottles? Do you get any "pffft" at all when opening the flat ones?

is this a 'wing capper' as opposed to a bench capper? they are prone to bad seals the longer they get used.

are all the bottles identical or are some one brand, and the others another brand? again wing cappers can be picky...mine never liked new belgium bottles, but my bench capper is fine with them.

mbtech said:

Ok, I bottled a nut brown ale with 5.2% abv 3 weeks ago. This saturday, the 21st, will be 4 weeks in the bottle. Some are carbonated, some aren't. Do I just need more time in the bottle, or is there something greater going on here? I used a red baron hand capper (I think thats the brand), primed with 3/4 cup corn sugar and water (boiled), stirred into 5 gallons to mix well and did not aerate.

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Yes..If some beers are carbed and other's are not, then They're not really ready yet.

Each individual bottle is now it's own microcsm, it's own little world unto itself, with it's own little and even a slight variable in temp (like being on the side of your storage area closest to a heat source) could be conditioning slightly differently....at their own individual pace.

It's no different now really than if it were a carboy....you can split a batch in half put them in 2 identical carboys, and pitch equal amounts of yeast from the same starter...and have them act completely differently...for some reason on a subatomic level...think about it...yeasties are small...1 degree difference in temp to us, could be a 50 degree difference to them...one fermenter can be a couple degrees warmer because it's closer to a vent all the way across the room and the yeasties take off...

Someone, Grinder I think posted a pic once of 2 carboys touching each other, and one one of the carboys the krausen had formed only on the side that touched the other carboy...probably reacting to the heat of the first fermentation....

Some of your beers have lost the greeness and other's still have a bit more to go....

The 3 weeks at 70 is only a "suggestion" or rule of thumb for low to average grav beers....below 1.060...In a couple more weeks they would all even out.

Read my blog Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning, for more info...

Relax, all will be well.....

Do you remember enough to know if the flat bottles are random or if there is a distinct distribution:

1. First ones capped, okay = not enough mixing.
2. Random = capping problem
3. Carbed in the middle of the case, not on the edges. Need to wait longer.

PintOfBitter said:

Are the caps on tightly on all the bottles? Do you get any "pffft" at all when opening the flat ones?

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Well, a friend of mine took a case and I got a case. He opened the first one and it was carbed. The second 2 were not. He said they tasted ok, just no carb. I tried one of mine and it was carbed, but I am going to wait til thanksgiving before having any more. As for the bottle type, I have all sorts of bottles. New Belgum, Red Hook, Bass, ect. And I am using a winged capper. I have been thinking about buying a bench type so I guess now is the time. Hopefully these just need more time and it hasn't been an issue with not sealing. I would assume if they didn't seal, there would be some sort of contamination that would be noticable. Thanks all for your input.

I'm in the same boat with the brown ale I bottle 3.5 weeks ago. It tastes too damned nice when it's carbed, so I'm only opening one a week until the carb level becomes consistent. The one I had last night was nicely carbed and went down oh so well. In the mean time, I've got plenty of altbier to keep me company.