First brew - Failure to carbonate

OG 1.050
FG 1.014

2 weeks in primary (67 degrees)
1 week in secondary (67 degrees)
2 weeks in bottle (55 degrees)

No carbonation, and slight sweet taste is now present (which I presume is unfermented bottling sugar). There is yeast on the bottom of each bottle.

Questions:

1. Did I thermally shock the yeast by storing the bottles at 55 degrees?
2. Can I save it by kegging, or some other method?

Thanks.

You didn't thermally shock it, but if it's an ale yeast (and with those temperatures, I assume it is), you're about 15 degrees too low for it to carb up.

I'd pull them out of the cold, gently turn them end over end to resuspend the dormant yeast, and then store then at 70 degrees for at least three weeks.

After that, test one by putting it in the fridge overnight. If it's fully carbed, then you can store then at 55 degrees if you'd like. If not, store them at 70 degrees until they are "right".

Thanks for the quick reply. It's ale yeast. I'll bring it in from the cold and see how it goes. I think I need to buy a newer book....

Thanks!

palmer's how to brew is at howtobrew.com until you get a copy in the mail

Thanks for the help!

Get those bottles back up to room temperature!!!! Yeast go extremely slow at the temp and it could take many months, or never even carbonate. Swirl the bottle to resuspend all the yeast, then let them sit for a week and then pop one open and see where you are at. Many people say waiting 2 or 3+ weeks is necessary. I say that's pure BS. I have done about 8 batches of my own and have NEVER ONCE had a beer that had not been carbonated after 1 week. My bottles are stored at a temp of 65 to 70 F usually.

Here is a story for those who don't believe me. I bottled my latest batch last Sunday morning. I popped the top on a warm bottle on Tuesday afternoon (2.5 days later) and had great carbonation. It may not be totally done, but it was more than enough to produce a normal size head.