HELP! am I in trouble?

I bottled my first brew 9 days ago. I used 3/4 cup corn sugar in 16oz flippy bottles. I tried one today just to see how things are progressing and there was no "pop" when I opened it and not ONE bubble.. NO carbonation at all.. shouldn't I get somthing after 9 days?? I have the bottles in a dark closet around 70 degrees... what could be wrong or is it too early? I've heard people on this site say they have decent carbonation after a week.. how?

Did you pre-boil the sugar? Put the sugary liquid in the bottle bucket before racking to it so it mixed in nicely?

Its been a while since I've bottled, but usually they're a bit caronated by now but I wouldn't worry, and try one in another week.

Try turning the bottles over and back to shake up the yeast. I had a batch that didn't carbonate after 2 weeks did this a couple of times and 2 weeks later-carbonated beer.

ok, I'll try that. and yes, I boiled the sugar for ten minutes and put it in the bucket and gently stirred..

You won't necessarily get any carbonation after that short a period. Leave them along for another two weeks before worrying.

If that still doesnt work, try moving them to a warmer location.

Only time I ever had trouble with bottle carbonation was when I left an ale in a slightly too cool room - it did fine when I got it back up to the high 60s. What type of yeast did you use, and are you sure about the temp? Was there anything unusual about the fermentation itself (did it take longer than normal or seem to be less vigorous than normal)?

kfgolfer said:

ok, I'll try that. and yes, I boiled the sugar for ten minutes and put it in the bucket and gently stirred..

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Why did you boil it for ten minutes??? Bring the water just to a boil, turn off burner, pour in sugar while stirring, once sugar is disolved let it cool. Once it has cooled, pour it into your bottling bucket, rack your beer into it, then bottle and cap. I've never boiled my priming solution and have yet (knocking on wood) to get any kind of infection in my brews.

The last thing you want to do it stir your beer in the bottleing bucket. Aerating your beer before you bottle it would be a very good way to ruin it. Stirring, even gently, is one way to aerate it.

I got advice on this site telling me to gently stir so all the sugar will distribute evenly... I was also told to boil for 10 minutes.. oh well, hopefully all will turn out ok in the next couple of weeks. On the bright side, the one bottle I tried tasted very good, just flat...maybe that means there is hope..

although, I hope it's not the flippy bottles. I hear sometimes they can let air in.. They are brand new though, first time every used.. but to be on the safe side, I think my next batch I will use caps...

oh, and It had a very active fermentation. actually lasted about 9 days...and the beer is in a closet that I believe is the warmest place in the house.. I have nowhere else to put them except right on top of a heating vent...

kfgolfer said:

although, I hope it's not the flippy bottles. I hear sometimes they can let air in.. They are brand new though, first time every used.. but to be on the safe side, I think my next batch I will use caps...

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I bottled my first batch in flip tops, a combination of new 1 liters and used Grolsch bottles. When I purchased the 1 liter bottles from the LHBS, I was warned to be very careful and make sure the cap was centered in the bottle mouth. If the cap is just a little off-center or tilted one way or another, it won't seal properly. I too am having a problem with carbonation in some of these bottles, and in looking closely it seems the biggest problem is I didn't center the darned tops well enough.

Let me ask this question... what's the OG and FG of the beer? If it's very alcoholic, it will take longer for the yeast to carbonate (see: attenuation).

I did an Irish Red that didn't carbonate for about 3 1/2 weeks. It was tasty even flat, but when the bubbles decided to come about, it was phenomenal.

Let it sit for a couple more weeks.

It's a small beer. OG was 1.047 and ending gravity was 1.012 I'll let it go and see how it goes. I turned the bottles last night to stir up the yeast.. hope that helps.

Hey guys...

Just a quick update.. I turned over the bottles about 4 days ago like you suggested and i put on in the fridge tonight to see how things are progressing... WOW.. what a difference 4 days made. the beer is about 90% carbonated. I had a decent head with bubbles and foam sticking to the pint glass the whole way down!!!!!! and it tasted awesome!!! I figure another week and I'm good to go.. Patience is the key... I friggin love this hobby...