I don't think my beer made it, what did I do wrong?

I am posting in the Beginners cause this is my second batch and I consider myself still a nOOb

As of yesterday, my beer had been bottled for 3 weeks. I popped one open, to find there was very little carbonation in it. I poured it into my glass and there was no foam. It has a very bitter taste to it (but I've never brewed a Highland Heavy Ale before, so I don't know if that's how it's supposed to taste). Can anyone think of what I did wrong? Obviously I'm not expecting exactly accurate responses, but anything general that I can use. I am, however, still going to drink it (it is still beer damnit).

thats the spurit!!!

I got a Keg of something like beer that is slowly making it down the digestive track.

these guys on homebrew will give you some good advice.

stick with it

The lack of carbonation could possibly be from chilling the beer too cold before you poured it.

Otherwise its possible that the priming sugar wasnt evenly mixed in before you bottled.

Or when the bottles were conditioning for 3 weeks it was in a cold place and hasnt fully carbonated.

One of the above!

Well, from the get go I see you broke a very basic general guideline/rule...you brewed something you never sampled before...how do you know something's wrong? You don't. You just assume it is. Could be you made a very decent brew.

On to carbonation...did you use priming sugar? Just checking... Since it's a "heavy" it could take a month or more to carbonate.

At what temp have you been conditioning your bottles?

What's the OG and FG?

More information on your recipe might help, but just as a guess I'm thinking a Highland heavy ale might be on the high alcohol side, and might need some more time in bottles.

How did you prime the bottles, how much sugar did you use, and importantly because it's a common mistake, how well did you mix the priming sugar into the beer when you bottled? (If you open bottles and they have varying carbonation, this is the most likely cause).

Wait it out. Worse case, you'll have a lightly carbonated beer that will probably still taste good.

Thanks for the quick replies, I have answered your questions below. Also, a note. I used a kit for this batch.

mr_stimey:

The lack of carbonation could possibly be from chilling the beer too cold before you poured it.

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Possible, but I have had various commercial beers, as well as my last batch of HB in my fridge before and they all seemed ok.

Otherwise its possible that the priming sugar wasnt evenly mixed in before you bottled.

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Again, possible... but the way I mixed it was I disolved the sugar (I can't remember how much it was, it was in the ziploc bag I got from the HB store) into some warm water and poured it into my carboy. I tried mixing it, but since I couldn't do it very well with the little hole in the top of the carboy, I siphoned it into my bucket, then bottled from there. I figured the siphoning would throughly mix the sugar.

Or when the bottles were conditioning for 3 weeks it was in a cold place and hasnt fully carbonated.

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The bottles were conditioned at room temp (about 78 degrees) for the full 3 weeks in my kitchen.


homebrewer_99:

Well, from the get go I see you broke a very basic general guideline/rule...you brewed something you never sampled before...how do you know something's wrong? You don't. You just assume it is. Could be you made a very decent brew.

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And I have considered that possibility. The reason I am thinking something is wrong is just because of the lack of carbonation and foam. I would not be a bit surprised if my beer is supposed to taste exactly as it does.

What's the OG and FG?

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I had this written down, but after I got it bottled, I deleted it (I probably should just keep complete records of all my brews just in case). All I remember is that my final alcohol content was going to be somewhere around 4.6

McKBrew:

How did you prime the bottles, how much sugar did you use, and importantly because it's a common mistake, how well did you mix the priming sugar into the beer when you bottled? (If you open bottles and they have varying carbonation, this is the most likely cause).

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I have, as of the posting of this reply, opened 4 bottles. They seem to all have the same size "pop".... weak.

I know I am reviving a VERY old thread here, but I believe I should do it this way due to what I have to say....

I was going through my garage yesterday (gathering my equipment to get ready to start brewing again) and I actually found these bottles. Yes, they are still sealed. I am really curious about them, I am wanting to pop one open and give it a try to see if anything has changed. My concern is that, in addition to being almost 4 years old, they've spent this past 8 months or so in the garage (before this they had been in a climate controlled storage unit). I know some beers can last just fine for years once they are bottled, but I don't know if this is one of them. Also, the varying temperatures of the garage these past few months may have also affected the beer. So I'm posting here to see what you all have to say. I will have to open them up to empty my bottles anyway, but I am just wondering if it's dangerous to drink.

Towers said:

I know I am reviving a VERY old thread here, but I believe I should do it this way due to what I have to say....

I was going through my garage yesterday (gathering my equipment to get ready to start brewing again) and I actually found these bottles. Yes, they are still sealed. I am really curious about them, I am wanting to pop one open and give it a try to see if anything has changed. My concern is that, in addition to being almost 4 years old, they've spent this past 8 months or so in the garage (before this they had been in a climate controlled storage unit). I know some beers can last just fine for years once they are bottled, but I don't know if this is one of them. Also, the varying temperatures of the garage these past few months may have also affected the beer. So I'm posting here to see what you all have to say. I will have to open them up to empty my bottles anyway, but I am just wondering if it's dangerous to drink.

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not dangerous to drink. Nothing harmful can live in beer. Pop the top and give it a try!

Without a doubt, pop one open and let us know how it is! Nothing dangerous about it. Every now and again a "I found a 5, 10, 30 year old bottle and I drank it" thread pops up. Might be a great opportunity to taste an example of oxidation... Second batch of beer ever, odds are there might have been carelessness. Plus the effects of extreme temperature change!

WOW!.... that's all I have to say... WOW!

I popped the top, there was a *little* more 'ssst' than there was 3.5 years ago, but when I poured it there was actually head! Though, it quickly diminished with no stick, by the time I got the picture taken it was about half as much as there originally was. Then I tasted it. The flavor was 10 times better than it was. It still had a little bit of that "bitter watered down" flavor, but it was definitely much better. I'm still sure that something went wrong with the process, but it definitely seems to be drinkable now.

Wow! what a story!!!

This should be a standard thread to reply to purple who are worried that their beer is ruined. Classic!

Don't be sorry to ressurect such an old thread. I think the Beginner's Forum would be much better if everyone posted updates to their "My Beer Is Ruined" threads after 6+ months. This is excellent info for people just starting out.

Thread of the day for sure.... Well done.

Pretty cool story....even cooler that the beer still tasted good!

awesome!

arkowa said:

this should be a standard thread to reply to purple who are worried that their beer is ruined. Classic!

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+1

Well you can at least say that your sanitation process was good

I weigh my priming sugar based on volume and style. I like my beers at about 2.5 atmospheres.
I bottled this weekend, one was 5.5 gallons and I used 4.63 ounces of Dextrine the other was 5.0 gallons and I used about 4.25 ounces. Add and dissolve in about 2quarts of boiling water. Simmer for about 8-10 min then add to my bottling bucket where I have the beer already racked. Stir (very gently) for 3-5 mins then bottle!

I love that you revived a three year old thread to update us on the beer. Gotta say, the beer looks great!

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone. Everyone's friendly attitudes has totally revived my desire to start brewing again. I am planning on visiting my local HBS tomorrow to see how much it will cost to get me up and running again.

Very cool thread. People updating 3 year old threads is what makes HBT awesome and unsurpassed.