First Official Brew - Beer is a little flat

[CofCnJofLV]

Hello all..

So I officially finished my first bottling of beer.

It was a an American Light Kit from Brewer's Best.

I bottled on 12/22. The taste of the beer is very good. However, they taste a bit flat?

Is there anything I can do to fix that? (maybe open and drop in a carbonation drop)? Or is is to late and I am just stuck with a flat beer?

Thanks

C

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

What temperature did you bottle condition at? Lower temperatures (say 60F) will take more time to fully carbonate.

 

[CofCnJofLV]

Hello all..

So I officially finished my first bottling of beer.

It was a an American Light Kit from Brewer's Best.

I bottled on 12/22. The taste of the beer is very good. However, they taste a bit flat?

Is there anything I can do to fix that? (maybe open and drop in a carbonation drop)? Or is is to late and I am just stuck with a flat beer?

Thanks

C

What temperature did you bottle condition at? Lower temperatures (say 60F) will take more time to fully carbonate.

it has been a pretty consistent 65F

 

[khannon]

Hello all..

So I officially finished my first bottling of beer.

It was a an American Light Kit from Brewer's Best.

I bottled on 12/22. The taste of the beer is very good. However, they taste a bit flat?

Is there anything I can do to fix that? (maybe open and drop in a carbonation drop)? Or is is to late and I am just stuck with a flat beer?

Thanks

C

I would wait another week or two.. maybe bring it into a room that is slightly warmer if you have one 70F?
8-9 days is a pretty quick bottle condition if memory serves me.

 

[ncbrewer]

10 days at 65F isn't enough time/temp. I agree with warming it up to 70 - higher is ok. In the past, I conditioned in a closet that was about 65F IIRC - it took 5 weeks to carb up good. At 70, I give it 3 weeks.

 

[Sammy86]

I bottled on 12/22. The taste of the beer is very good. However, they taste a bit flat?

Thats's a quick turnaround for bottle conditioned beer. I agree with @khannon let them sit another week or two and then refrigerate for 24 hours and tap into it.

Personally, i leave mine 3 weeks and never had a problem. They say patience is a virtue...especially for us brewers!

 

[CofCnJofLV]

OK.. I will let it sit for a couple more weeks.. Thanks for the advice. This forum is pretty awesome.

Thanks to all of YOU !! Happy New Year!!

C

 

[hotbeer]

Also the temp you open your bottles and serve the beer at will make a difference on how much carbonation you perceive.

Ever since I've started brewing my own, I've put the bottles in a place where they can stay at or above 72°F (22°C) and lately have been using a cooler with a heating pad and temp controller to keep them at 72 - 73.5°F ( 22 - 23°C) for two maybe three weeks.

After that I don't worry about temperature much until they get put in the fridge. For me, ideal serving temp is just over 50°F (10°C).

 

[BrewingWisdom]

Hello all..

So I officially finished my first bottling of beer.

It was a an American Light Kit from Brewer's Best.

I bottled on 12/22. The taste of the beer is very good. However, they taste a bit flat?

Is there anything I can do to fix that? (maybe open and drop in a carbonation drop)? Or is is to late and I am just stuck with a flat beer?

Thanks

C

Perhaps you put little sugar for carbonation or there was air leaking in causing oxygenation.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Perhaps you put little sugar for carbonation or there was air leaking in causing oxygenation.

Let's get this out of the way: oxygenation is not the same as oxidation.

FWIW, my bottle conditioning environment offers me the opportunity to bottle condition at 'room'/'ambient' temperature from around 58F to around 65F. At 65F (room/ambient), I typically expect the bottles to be ready in about 2 or 3 weeks.