My beer seems to be conditioning very slowly

I bottled my latest batch on Thursday, and I was interested to see how it was developing, so I just opened a bottle. It had a very tiny amount of carbonation, and by the taste, seems to have most of it's bottling sugar.
I know it will usually take two or more weeks to get to the proper level of carbonation, but I've opened early before, and it always at least had a noticeable amount.

This batch is a Pilsner from a Festa Brew kit, which uses Saflager S-23 yeast.

When it was fermenting, it bubbled very slowly, taking several weeks before it stopped. This was my first time using a yeast which needed to be rehydrated, and it was definitely a bit lumpy when it got mixed in, so I'm wondering if maybe fewer yeasts were active.

I suppose the only other thing I could mention is that all my bottling up until this point has been done in 1L swingtops, but for this batch I used a few 460ML ones. The one I opened was one of the smaller ones. I would think that would affect the pressure in the bottle, but not the carbonation in the beer?

Any particular advice? Should I just give it time and hope for the best?

Thanks!

I think you need to give it a few more weeks, your not even a week in right now!

Ales take at least 3 weeks to fully carbonate and I would suspect lager to take even longer. It also takes a couple days in the fridge for the CO2 to dissolve into the beer. So at this point nothing needs to be done or fixed. Unless you like flat beer, you just need to wait.

Did you make sure to maintain lager fermentation temps? Like 40-55 degrees throughout the fermentation. Pilsner is a lager style, so it is going to take 6-8 weeks to ferment then 3-6 weeks to condition after that.

I'd be ashamed to admit how early I've cracked a beer out of curiosity, and yeah, I usually find they are at least "fizzy" almost right away. But I wouldn't get bent out of shape if one wasn't. Also, you can have tremendous bottle-to-bottle variation early on, just due to things as simple as a minor temperature differential. Recently I shared a pale ale that had been bottle conditioning for 16 days with some friends. We opened two bottles, and one of them was already just about there in terms of conditioning, the other one was thin and pretty clearly undercarbed. IME that inconsistency goes away with time.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll leave it alone.

(I may have to find some more bottles for my next batch though)

One week and its not carbed?? Just dump it.

What was the OG of that beer? My bigger beers have taken a lot longer to carb up, and I would expect lager yeast to take longer too.

come back in about 2 weeks and see if it isn't better, and if its not the only thing your going to hear is to just wait another 2 weeks and try then. Time really does cure everything (almost) when it comes to homebrewing.

Lack of bottles is also my biggest problem and the main reason that I end up drinking some green beer. Luckily my cousin just started kegging, so I am getting a lot of extras this weekend

I have a similar problem...I'm getting ingredients in the mail today, and I can't even taste my beer yet. What should I do?

haha, jk.

People really need to RDWHAHB.

mrk00k said:

I have a similar problem...I'm getting ingredients in the mail today, and I can't even taste my beer yet. What should I do?

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I would make a yeast starter, and pitch it into your mailbox.

jsweet said:

I would make a yeast starter, and pitch it into your mailbox.

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Trust me, with the USPS, if you pitch it into your mailbox, you're guaranteed to have a stuck fermentation.

passive said:

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll leave it alone.

(I may have to find some more bottles for my next batch though)

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Invest in a keg set up. Honestly, it's the best way to enjoy beer quick.

However, there is a lot to be said for waiting. Beer truly tastes better after a few weeks of "conditioning".

You'll get a pipeline going. I've been brewing for a few years now and I still get tripped up when I have very little home brew to drink. Brew some batches to play catch up and enjoy some samplings from your local brew house in the mean time.

Had a larger bottle last night, and it's coming along great.

Still a bit under-carbed, and a little too sweet, but a dramatic change from two weeks ago. Another week, and this will be a beer I will be proud to share with my friends.

I opened another bottle on the weekend, and it was almost flat and quite sweet. Some carbonation, but not much.

I opened a bottle today and it's very carbed and tastes lovely.

This inconsistency is bumming me out. Anyone got any tips for determining which bottles are carbed without opening them? I'm thinking the relative amount of sediment in the bottom might be a good indicator?

Well, I'm down to one or two of these bottles left, and the carbonation continues to be inconsistent. The one I opened as of my last post was the best of all of them.

passive said:

I opened another bottle on the weekend, and it was almost flat and quite sweet. Some carbonation, but not much.

I opened a bottle today and it's very carbed and tastes lovely.

This inconsistency is bumming me out. Anyone got any tips for determining which bottles are carbed without opening them? I'm thinking the relative amount of sediment in the bottom might be a good indicator?

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Would be curious as to how to deal with this inconsistency when it comes up also...

mjperry24 said:

Would be curious as to how to deal with this inconsistency when it comes up also...

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There are a few things that could effect consistency in terms of carbonation.

1. Method- What type of sugar, and how much? There is definitely a little science involved, but it is pretty easy to figure out. Personally, I use 5 Oz (I think) of priming sugar, and boil with 1 cup of water. My LHBS sells pre-measured packets of priming sugar to be used with 5 gallon batches of brew. You can also use Coopers Carbonation Drops. It is a package of 60 (I think) drops, and 1 drop carbonates (1) 12 oz beer. This is a fairly fool proof system. You just put one drop in every 12 oz bottle, and 2 in every 22 oz bottle.

2. Delivery- Did the sugar adequately mix with your brew? If not, then some bottles would be more carbonated than others due to different bottles having different amounts. Some bottles may not even carbonate at all if the sugar did not adequately mix. This is a more common issue, as there are numerous reasons you don't want to aerate your fermented brew by stirring in the sugar, or shaking the bucket. A pretty sound way that I have used it to use my siphoning tubing to ensure an adequate mix. Once I start racking into my bottling bucket I create a swirl like flow in the bucket to keep the wort moving. This has proven to mix things nicely. In a pinch, I have used my sanitized kettle spoon to give things a light mix, but a lot of folks would not recommend this.

3. Yeast- Are there enough yeast present and productive enough to carbonate the beer properly? One trick that I learned from Revvy, or some other elder on the board is to pick up a little trub from the bottom of your primary when you are racking to your bottling bucket. This is basically a little insurance should you not have enough yeast in suspension to carbonate your brew. My auto siphon has an anti-sediment head on it so I have to scrape it on the bottle a couple times to get it to transfer. This seems to be a solid method.

4. Bottles and caps- This one is pretty obvious. Check for chips in the mouth of every bottle. Also, ensure the caps have a seal on them before capping. Be certain that you cap every bottle correctly. If it is off by a hair, just replace the cap. They are cheap enough to justify replacement if you have a doubt at all.

Everyone has their own method on bottling. This is what works for me, and the people that taught me. Good luck.

Your priming solution probably wasn't mixed in correctly: even after using gelatin and a secondary (ho the sin!), there's still ample yeast to carb a moderate strength brew in my experience. It's once you get into high gravity territory or very long aging times (with high flocculating strains) that you need to be concerned about yeast cell count for carbonation.

Don't be afraid to mix in gently the priming solution: it's better to risk possible oxidation, which might not even show up before the beer is all but a memory, than to have carbonation issues.

jfr1111 said:

Your priming solution probably wasn't mixed in correctly: even after using gelatin and a secondary (ho the sin!), there's still ample yeast to carb a moderate strength brew in my experience. It's once you get into high gravity territory or very long aging times (with high flocculating strains) that you need to be concerned about yeast cell count for carbonation.

Don't be afraid to mix in gently the priming solution: it's better to risk possible oxidation, which might not even show up before the beer is all but a memory, than to have carbonation issues.

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I've never had any trouble stirring in the sugar a little (no splashing) .. but my beers all get drank within a couple months of bottling.

cadarnell said:

I've never had any trouble stirring in the sugar a little (no splashing) .. but my beers all get drank within a couple months of bottling.

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+1. Never had any issue with this, but it seems to be a sore subject for some. The swirling method works pretty well IMO.

Passive...again....this is a lager yeast that calls for fermentation at around 54 degrees. I would suspect it is sweet because it was not fermented correctly. You should have fermented around 54 degrees for about 3 weeks followed by a rest at room temp, followed by about 2-3 ,months at around 34 degrees, THEN bottling.

Is this the process you followed? Everything you say indicates that you are treating this like and ale, not a lager.

TopherM said:

Passive...again....this is a lager yeast that calls for fermentation at around 54 degrees. I would suspect it is sweet because it was not fermented correctly. You should have fermented around 54 degrees for about 3 weeks followed by a rest at room temp, followed by about 2-3 ,months at around 34 degrees, THEN bottling.

Is this the process you followed? Everything you say indicates that you are treating this like and ale, not a lager.

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After a quick look at the OP's account it appears that he/she refuses to answer this question. They have been asked it numerous times including other posts regarding concerns he/she has/had with this same beer but I couldn't find an actual straight answer. I think you're probably right on this one. Lager yeast at ale temps. The only shred of evidence is that Passive mentioned his/her basement where the beer was fermenting was 14 Celsius, so that's like 57 Farenheit. Not sure if it is still holding that low, but that's what I got. Can't help those who don't want to be forthright with info.