PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Is it because I'm leaving it in the carboy too long? Recipe calls for 2 weeks,,,,,,but I have gone two weeks then 1 week 2nd fermentation on one batch and another just 3 weeks straight before bottling on another batch.
Beer not carbing
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Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
How long has it been bottled and what temp is it at?
How long have they been in the bottles. What size bottles, what's the gravity of the beer, what temp are you carbing them at? And did you add priming sugar?
There are NO real bottling problems, only patience ones. And length of time in primary does NOT inhibit carbonation.
The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers in 12 ounce bottles, to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer. Beers in bigger bottles that take longer. Beers below 70 degrees take longer.
Temp and gravity are the two most important factors as to how long it will take.
Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.
And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out.
Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."
Carbonation is actually foolproof, you add sugar, the yeast eats it and farts co2 which carbs the beer. It's not a complex system, and there's very little that can go wrong...It just takes time.....
There really is no other answer than patience, because there really isn't a problem. It really is a simply and fool proof process. The problem arises that we try to govern the behavior based on our timeframe, and not the yeast's. They don't read calendars or instruction sheets, they just do their own thing in however long it takes them.
I've been doing this for years, and bottled nearly a thousand gallons of beer, and have never had one that didn't carb eventually. And I don't do anything special to them at bottling day, that isn't explained in my bottling sticky. You just gotta wait.
There are NO real bottling problems, only patience ones. And length of time in primary does NOT inhibit carbonation.
The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers in 12 ounce bottles, to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer. Beers in bigger bottles that take longer. Beers below 70 degrees take longer.
Temp and gravity are the two most important factors as to how long it will take.
Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.
And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out.
Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."
Carbonation is actually foolproof, you add sugar, the yeast eats it and farts co2 which carbs the beer. It's not a complex system, and there's very little that can go wrong...It just takes time.....
There really is no other answer than patience, because there really isn't a problem. It really is a simply and fool proof process. The problem arises that we try to govern the behavior based on our timeframe, and not the yeast's. They don't read calendars or instruction sheets, they just do their own thing in however long it takes them.
I've been doing this for years, and bottled nearly a thousand gallons of beer, and have never had one that didn't carb eventually. And I don't do anything special to them at bottling day, that isn't explained in my bottling sticky. You just gotta wait.
Beer_Eugenics
Well-Known Member
How long have they been in the bottles. What size bottles, what's the gravity of the beer, what temp are you carbing them at? And did you add priming sugar?
There are NO real bottling problems, only patience ones. And length of time in primary does NOT inhibit carbonation.
The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers in 12 ounce bottles, to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer. Beers in bigger bottles that take longer. Beers below 70 degrees take longer.
Temp and gravity are the two most important factors as to how long it will take.
Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.
And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out.
Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."
Carbonation is actually foolproof, you add sugar, the yeast eats it and farts co2 which carbs the beer. It's not a complex system, and there's very little that can go wrong...It just takes time.....
There really is no other answer than patience, because there really isn't a problem. It really is a simply and fool proof process. The problem arises that we try to govern the behavior based on our timeframe, and not the yeast's. They don't read calendars or instruction sheets, they just do their own thing in however long it takes them.
I've been doing this for years, and bottled nearly a thousand gallons of beer, and have never had one that didn't carb eventually. And I don't do anything special to them at bottling day, that isn't explained in my bottling sticky. You just gotta wait.
Revvy, have you kept track of how many times you have copied and pasted this? It has to be over 50
bobbrewedit
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Beer_Eugenics said:Revvy, have you kept track of how many times you have copied and pasted this? It has to be over 50
Ha...I was thinking the same thing. Revvy always answers so quick and with so much information that the old cut and paste would be the only explanation!
downtown3641
Well-Known Member
I'd like to emphasize Revvy's point about bigger beers taking longer to carbonate. My experience has been that full bodied beers also take longer to carbonate, even if they only have a moderate ABV.
I'd also like to point out that there's a difference between CO2 being present in the bottle and your beer being carbonated. Your beer will need at least two to three days in the fridge to absorb the CO2, especially if you're trying to drink your beers within a few weeks of bottling. CO2 is absorbed faster at lower temperatures. Keep in mind that a large head does not always mean your beer is carbonated. It's just a result of CO2 coming out of suspension.
I'd also like to point out that there's a difference between CO2 being present in the bottle and your beer being carbonated. Your beer will need at least two to three days in the fridge to absorb the CO2, especially if you're trying to drink your beers within a few weeks of bottling. CO2 is absorbed faster at lower temperatures. Keep in mind that a large head does not always mean your beer is carbonated. It's just a result of CO2 coming out of suspension.
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PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Can beer be left in the carboy too long? Won't yeast die if there is nothing to eat? A couple of reasons why I am going to dump my raspberry wheat is because I need the bottles.....Coffee Porter is due to be bottled this weekend. I'm going with my HBS recipe recommendations,,,,,,2 weeks fermentation.
Go to a local grocery store, and ask if you could buy empty bottles. Soak them in oxyclean and hot water for 24h, and there you go, you have bottles....!
No need for this dumping beer nonsense!!! ;-)
No need for this dumping beer nonsense!!! ;-)
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
Yeat go dormant when there is nothing to eat. They do not die.
I hav a beautifully carbed (possibly even a tad overcarbed) imperial nut brown ale that went about five months between primary and secondary.
Look up "bulk aging", you'll see that lots of brewers do this for big beers.
I added no yeast at bottling time, and as stated above, the botles carbed up great.
Your two weeks is what a lot of us would consider as an absolute minum amout of time in a fermenter. Certainly not enough to bother the yeast and keep them from carbing.
Describe your bottling process. You really haven't given us anything to go on to help you...
You gotta help us to help you.
You gotta help us to help you.
mgortel
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately local homebrew shops give a lot of bad advice on time to leave in fermenter....for whatever reason....maybe so you go through more batches quicker and buy more ingredients quicker (call me a cinic)....trust this forum when we tell you go longer....3 weeks is usually my minimum in fermenter.
Ur carb "problem" is surely related to Revvy's post in some way.....just be patient.
Also, you need keep the beer in the fridge for a period of time to allow the Co2 in the airspace to be absorbed in beer (i try to do a week min for mine)
Ur carb "problem" is surely related to Revvy's post in some way.....just be patient.
Also, you need keep the beer in the fridge for a period of time to allow the Co2 in the airspace to be absorbed in beer (i try to do a week min for mine)
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
Agreed - but don't fridge the beer until it's done the three weeks at 70 degrees.
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PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Update...just opened up a bottle of my Raspberry Wheat after moving some of the bottles to a warmer part of the house. I'm getting carbonation, but there is no head. Now what?
MORE TIME! How many times do we have to say this? You weren't getting carb, now you're getting SOME carb, when it's truly ready, you'll get CARB AND HEAD.
It takes time to develop, they don't go POP one day and are fully dine. It is an incremental process.
You've been on here since October, you haven't noticed the hundreds of thousands of carb threads? The answer's always the same. TIME.
Watch Poindexter's video....See how carb develops over time....See how HEAD PROTEINS develop last.
It takes time to develop, they don't go POP one day and are fully dine. It is an incremental process.
You've been on here since October, you haven't noticed the hundreds of thousands of carb threads? The answer's always the same. TIME.
Watch Poindexter's video....See how carb develops over time....See how HEAD PROTEINS develop last.
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mgortel
Well-Known Member
Good clarification on that!
When bottle conditioning....a few degrees can have a huge effect....for example....going from 68F environment to 72F really speeds things up....I carb my beer in bottle in my office with door closed because with door closed it is about 4 degrees warmer,....and have noticed a big increase in rate of carbonation.
Sounds like your beer IS carbing...just need to be patient....and wait
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PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Revvy,,,guess I don't have patience like most of you. I was going to dump it, but yes I have read and heeded to the info. Maybe the bottles were too cold for carbing.
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
I do not understand this mentality. The beer is improving, and you want to dump it?
How much time and money did you spend on this batch, only to want to throw it out over something easily fixable (and preventable, for that matter - store carbing beer at the right temps)?
Seriously, if waiting a couple of weeks for carbonation makes you want to quit, this may not be the hobby for you. I say this with no malice at all, I just think that you're not going to enjoy this going forward if waiting is this hard for you.
Why do you keep coming up with all these cocakmamie "theories?" "My beer was in primary too long" "My bottles are too cold?" Why can't you grasp this SIMPLE concept. We're not making coolaid, we don't just stir a bunch of ingredients together and it's drinkable. We're making something that relies on living micro-organisms to do their job. And that job takes time.
I'm at a loss to understand that just because you "don't have patience like the rest of us" you STILL can't grasp that regardless of whether you have the patience or not....You STILL have no control over the process.
No matter how much we may wish for things, it doesn't mean we're going to get them. I've been wishing for twin Irish Redheads to show up at my door in raincoats,stockings and garters, and nothing else for the last 30 years, ready to do whatever my filthy little mind can dream up, and it hasn't happened.....And it probably never will.
We all want things we can't have....We ALL want out beer magically carbed. But the truth is, that if we consider "dumping" all our beers because we open them early and they're not carbed, then we might as well just go out and buy beer.
*shrug*
Yeah.....There's not really one aspect of this hobby that doesn't require having to wait. Even kegging properly takes time. If patience isn't one's game then maybe video games are a better hobby.....
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PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Guess you don't know the history. I've been waiting atmost 8 weeks for it to carb. After moving the beer to a warmer place in my home, tings are starting to get better.
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
Heh... redheads...
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PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
thanks for the scolding
Right here is the answer. Things are STARTING to get better....emphasis on the STARTING. Starting meaning beginning to....meaning at some point there's a conclusion to the process.
I'm waiting 5 years on a beer dude. I've had beers take 6months to carb....
Many of us leave our beers in primary for a month minimum, and they carb fine. Some of us have had beers in primary 6 months or more and they carb fine.
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
How long has it been at a warmer temp? How long was it at cooler temps?
Of course this is academic - it's going to take as long as it takes. If you are getting carbonation now, the rest WILL come. Give it time.
You can generally leave beer in the fermenter for months with no ill effects. In general, I leave beer in the fermenter a minimum of 3-4 weeks.
