Excessively thick beer won't carbonate

[Coontail]

I've got an NEIPA that is exceptionally thick, it has the consistency of a milkshake, and will not carbonate. I've had it on 30 psi for around 5 days now and carbonation is non-existent, though I shook it for about 10 minutes once and I got a very small amount of carbonation.

I'm thinking about trying to de-thicken it with gelatin and hopefully get some carbonation

Suggestions?

 

[Coontail]

Just in case someone asks I do not have any leaks

 

[brewbama]

How about lay it on it’s side (with CO2 connected) and rock it back and forth.

 

[rhys333]

Milkshake thickness sounds problematic. Are you sure that the grains converted properly in the mash?

 

[Coontail]

Milkshake thickness sounds problematic. Are you sure that the grains converted properly in the mash?

Yep, tested with iodine. OG wasn't spot on but it was close. Though i wasn't paying attention during the beginning of the boil and had a boil over

 

[seatazzz]

Beer shouldn't be 'thick'. I would be interested to see a pic of it. If your FG was on target, your beer should be, well, beer; not syrupy or viscous. Even a lot of proteins in suspension shouldn't make it that difficult to carbonate. What temperature do you have it at? Warm beer won't hold co2 in suspension, it just comes right out.

 

[kevink]

What temperature is the beer?

 

[Coontail]

Beer shouldn't be 'thick'. I would be interested to see a pic of it. If your FG was on target, your beer should be, well, beer; not syrupy or viscous. Even a lot of proteins in suspension shouldn't make it that difficult to carbonate. What temperature do you have it at? Warm beer won't hold co2 in suspension, it just comes right out.

I ended up gelatin fining it last night so a lot of whatever was making it look like that dropped out. It looks and has the mouthfeel like a regular hazy ipa now, still no carbonation though

The best comparison of viscosity would be milk, it stuck to the side of the glass like milk and was just as opaque

My kegerator is at 42f, the lowest it will go

I did have a bit of trouble brewing this beer, my thermometer was way off during the mash and I ended up mashing at 160-162. It only ended up fermenting down to 1.030, so i pitched half a vial of the whitelabs amyloglucosidase stuff and it brought it down to 1.020

 

[jveruin]

I have had, on many occasions, big Imperial Stouts with 2lbs oats do the same thing. I usually carb at around 40 psi at 33 degrees. Most beers take maybe 3 days tops, but my big stouts with oats (viscous) take around 6 days. I’ve reviewed a lot of forums and people mention problems once in a while, but not consistently. I can reproduce it easily.

 

[IslandLizard]

I had an Oat Mild that would not carbonate either. I chalked it up to the oils from the large amount of Flaked and Golden Naked Oats I used (~50%).

 

[RPh_Guy]

Is this a job for the ever-elusive Carbsquatch?


Edit: looks like it's discontinued. Nevermind.

 

[Coontail]

Is this a job for the ever-elusive Carbsquatch?


Edit: looks like it's discontinued. Nevermind.

That thing looks like something of my nightmares, does it actually work?


In my recipe I used a pound of oats and a pound of wheat which made up 14.8% of the total grist combined. With the boil over I had to cut the boil very short as I was close to my post-boil volume so maybe... There could've been a lack of a hot break which would maybe explain why it came out so viscous?

 

[RPh_Guy]

That thing looks like something of my nightmares, does it actually work?

It had mixed reviews, but in theory agitating the beer should help.

You also have the option to naturally carbonate. Toss in some priming sugar and champagne yeast.

 

[Coontail]

If I had enough time I would definitely try the natural carbonation route but this is for a family event this weekend...

I'll try shaking the life out of it and see what happens

 

[Coontail]

Figured I'd update, the beer was actually overcarbed. It poured wild and the escaping carbonation made it seem flat. I ended up doing the dip tube trick and it fixed it the same night

 

[Kenmoron]

Figured I'd update, the beer was actually overcarbed. It poured wild and the escaping carbonation made it seem flat. I ended up doing the dip tube trick and it fixed it the same night

What's the "dip tube trick"? Are you saying you connected your gas line to the liquid out post (dip tube)? If that's the case, doing so would cause beer to flow up toward your gas and regulator if you were overcarbed. However, it would carbonate your beer if you were undercarbed. (assuming regulator is set to serving PSI)

 

[Coontail]

What's the "dip tube trick"? Are you saying you connected your gas line to the liquid out post (dip tube)? If that's the case, doing so would cause beer to flow up toward your gas and regulator if you were overcarbed. However, it would carbonate your beer if you were undercarbed. (assuming regulator is set to serving PSI)

Yep connect your gas line to the out post and bring it to 30 psi then you pull the pressure release a few times and it works opposite of what you would think. It actually pushes the gas out of the beer somehow, though do be careful to not let it flow back into your gas line or pull the valve too many times too quick and spray beer everywhere