6 weeks no carbonation

I brewed a cream ale a few months ago from NB, I bottled it about 6 weeks ago - maybe a little longer than that, and I have no carbonation. I fermented at 64 and it was in the primary a total of 4 weeks before bottling. This was my first time batch priming and used the standard 2/3 cup of corn sugar to 16 oz of water as instructed. After adding the sugar, I racked on top and then stirred slowly for about 30 seconds making not to splash, and then bottled. They were stored at fermentation temp 65ish for 3 weeks and then at 70 for another three weeks. I put one in the fridge for a few days and cracked one open last night, there is very little sediment on the bottom of the bottle and barely a hiss, its very hard to hear. I'm not quite sure what I did wrong - it has the same amount of carbonation as it did at week 1 after bottling - flat. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I left too much yeast in the primary when I was racking?

Indeed sounds like a yeast problem because everything else sounds fine. Did you boil the water the sugar was in? That would help it go into solution and mix better.

I can't imagine having not enough yeast in the bottles is the issue after only four weeks in primary.

I wouldn't use the hiss sound as a gauge of carbonation, but it sounds as though it feels flat on the tongue as well, right? I'm not sure what the issue is. Was is definitely corn sugar and not corn flour or corn nuts or something like that?

When you poured out into a glass, did it have no bubbles rising at all?

aggiejay06 said:

Indeed sounds like a yeast problem because everything else sounds fine. Did you boil the water the sugar was in? That would help it go into solution and mix better.

Click to expand...

I sure did, I let it cool off quite a bit before putting it in the bucket.

McGarnigle - It was definitely corn sugar, and you are correct it is very flat on the tongue. After I poured the glass I looked into it and had no bubbles rising from the bottom.

Hmmm.... sure you properly crimped your caps? Turn a bottle upside down, make sure nothing leaks out.

How does it taste?

[Edit] By taste, I mean it tastes like beer in that it fermented.

What are the chances that your bottle caps didn't seal very well?

Even if liquid couldn't escape though, gas might still be able to. Seems an unlikely (but possible, granted) culprit if they seem to be on tight.

It tastes like good fermented beer. I checked each bottle individually to make sure they weren't leaking and had a good seal. I have used the capper before and have never had any issues, yet I was bottle priming.

Try leaving a bottle (or a few) in the fridge for a week before opening one up...

If there was a very small hiss and there is *some* sediment on the bottom of the bottle my guess is that it just needs more time. I know 6 weeks is usually enough to get some detectable carbonation, but it is possible you just didn't get much yeast into your bottles, which means they will just take longer. I had a belgian that I left in primary for 5 weeks and it took a good 3 months for there to be carbonation. The plus side is it is a really clear beer. I would leave them alone for another month in 70ish degree air and check one then.

Since they were cold-ish the first several weeks, I'd try turning them end-over-end to resuspend any flocculated yeast and gently mix and then keep them someplace warm (like on top of the fridge) for two-three weeks. That should carb them up! Try to keep them at 70+ if possible.

Yooper said:

Since they were cold-ish the first several weeks, I'd try turning them end-over-end to resuspend any flocculated yeast and gently mix and then keep them someplace warm (like on top of the fridge) for two-three weeks. That should carb them up! Try to keep them at 70+ if possible.

Click to expand...

+1 to this. One other question. Are you using twist tops or pry top bottles. The twist tops will leak gas and not necessarily liquid.

Is it completely flat or only slightly carbonated? I've always used the formula of 2/3 cups of cane sugar or 3/4 cup of corn sugar.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-4.html

There is sediment, and they are pry-off bottles. I would say there is no carbonation as I have no bubbles rising. I stuck one in the fridge and am going to let it sit for a week or two before trying again. I'll invert the others a few times and let them sit a few more weeks.

Glad I've got my first kegged beer about to get hooked up

Is this a high ABV brew? The only time I ever had a problem with carbonation using this method was with a 13% beer. It sat for almost 3 months at room temp with no carbonation. I had to add rehydrated champagne yeast with a dropper to each bottle to get anything, but that did the trick.

Putting them in the fridge will help crash the yeast (make them dormant). You'll get nice, clear, flat beer... Invert them to suspend the yeast and put them someplace ~70F like Yooper advised. Let them sit for a few more weeks and they'll be fine. If not, do you have a way to force carb???

lurker18 said:

Is this a high ABV brew? The only time I ever had a problem with carbonation using this method was with a 13% beer. It sat for almost 3 months at room temp with no carbonation. I had to add rehydrated champagne yeast with a dropper to each bottle to get anything, but that did the trick.

Click to expand...

Nope OG was 1.040 and finished around 1.011, probably somewhere in the 3.9% range.

I will follow Yooper's advice and let them sit longer, I have them sitting in a closet in my computer room, the computers do a nice job of warming the room up a little

I have mine in my living room, which is also 'tech central' since it's where my computers, switch, and SAN sit... Right now, it's about 72F in this room, where the rest of the apartment is in the mid 60's... Even at night, this room doesn't go much below 70F this time of year... So far, I've had really good results with getting brews to bottle carbonate in about 3 weeks... My brews are well over 4% ABV too. Some are approaching 10%...

Did you caramelize the sugar when you heated it when you were priming? Did the water turn brown at all? I did that once and my bottles didn't carbonate very well.

Flywheel said:

Did you caramelize the sugar when you heated it when you were priming? Did the water turn brown at all? I did that once and my bottles didn't carbonate very well.

Click to expand...

This has happened to me several times, but my bottles carbed perfectly

flabyboy said:

This has happened to me several times, but my bottles carbed perfectly

Click to expand...

hmmm, it messed mine up. Or, that's what I thought messed them up ....

Flywheel said:

Did you caramelize the sugar when you heated it when you were priming? Did the water turn brown at all? I did that once and my bottles didn't carbonate very well.

Click to expand...

Nope

david,

If they never carb up properly, don't toss them. Maybe if you have a batch that is over-carbed you could pull one of each and pour them together into one glass and enjoy both at the same time. Just a thought.

NRS

A suicide, I kind of like that idea! Perhaps though, if the worst happens, I may make the dramatic move and try to pour them into a keg to force carb. That is though once I get some replacement parts for my kegs. I may have been unlucky in my kegs from kegconnection but one keg has a sticky gas poppit valve and the other has a bent keg post on the gas side, and a cracked/old plastic piece on the poppit valve on the out side.... < its the closest thing I could find to a crying face.....

What bottles are you using?

A little piece broke off of my wing capper and now it doesn't cap Sierra Nevada bottles well. They are almost always flat and every other bottle is perfectly fine.

I've had other bottles do the same thing as the SN bottles, especially imports.

I bottled twice and got pissed off with the inconsistent carbonation from bottle to bottle and all around hassles of bottling and got a keg system. Worries are over and can easily control carbonation with c02 pressure. My guess would point towards amount of corn sugar or whether it was mixed in enough. Sounds like the beer is OK minus the carbonation which points to sugar and not fermentation.

I think this one is straight forward. You got some carbonation since there is some hissing when opening the bottles and some sediment. Since it appears that you are absolutely sure about adding the right amount of corn sugar, your problem was caused by a combination of low numbers of viable yeast cells and carbonation under low temps for ale yeast. The low number of cells may have been the result of low viability of the yeast and/or low amounts of yeast being transferred to bottling bucket. It's a low gravity beer to begin with, so if the yeast was not very healthy under a long primary fermentation, it's likely that you did not get enough viable cells in your bottling bucket.

Yooper advice was a good one; it would be exactly what I would do. If it does not fix it, then you have only the 2 options already mentioned.

1. Add some rehydrated dry yeast to each bottle. The problem with that is figuring out how much to add. You may end up with an awfully yeasty taste and an intestinal discomfort if you add too much yeast.
2. Pour everything in a keg and force carbonate it, being careful to minimize aeration as much as possible.

I'm also having the same problems with a big IIPA (10.5%). Sitting for 6 weeks, little hiss. Does anyone have a good way of controlling how much dry yeast you put in? Hydrate it and measure it out with a dropper?

BBGunBrewery said:

I'm also having the same problems with a big IIPA (10.5%). Sitting for 6 weeks, little hiss. Does anyone have a good way of controlling how much dry yeast you put in? Hydrate it and measure it out with a dropper?

Click to expand...

That, I would like to know too. The standard 4 oz of corn sugar for 5 gal used for carbonation results in just 2-point gravity increase, in other words, an OG of 1.002 if it was added to 5 gal of water. Very little yeast cells are needed to ferment such a minimal amount of sugar. I would guess just a drop or 2 of rehydrated yeast would do it. Thoughts?

That is what I did. Rehydrated some champagne yeast and added 3 drops per bottle (I think, it wasn't very much). Gave it another 2 weeks and had perfect carbonation.