Opps

[Oakwood]

I did a cream ale and bottled it. After 2 weeks at 38 degrees it didn't carb at all? Any help? I think I might have screwed up the carbing by putting it at such a low temp. Or should it be okay just take longer? I normally let it set of 3 weeks before touching it but I got overly excitied and opened one last night. Should I just leave it or move it to a warmer part of the house (out of the fridge).

Jim

 

[Brewsmith]

Get it to warm temperatures (room temp). 38 is way too cold. You might want to give the bottles a swirl to get the yeast back into suspension. Everything has probably settled to the bottom.

 

[cheezydemon]

Yes....that is way too cold, and while I am being critical, you mis-spelled oops.
Just kidding!
I let mine carbonate upstairs at 72 or so.(as opposed to the basement which is 65 or so)
After they carbonate you can put an ale in the fridge, not before. When swirling, try not to shake it up, you want the oxygen to stay out of the beer. Good luck.

 

[BierMuncher]

Mine didn't carb at 65 degrees.

I'd imagine your yeasties have their testicles shrunk up pretty good at 38.

Get those bottles to 70+ for about three weeks.

 

[cheezydemon]

Not to add insult to injury, but I wonder if off flavors would develop from going so cold and back to warm. Store bought beer definitely suffers if you refridgerate it and then let it warm, then cool it again.

 

[Brewsmith]

I wouldn't worry about that too much. It's extreme heat that I'd be worried about (90+) for off flavors.

 

[Yooper]

No, cold conditioning (even before carbonating) won't give you off flavors. I'd do as suggested and warm it up to around 70 degrees for 2-3 weeks then try one. If it's carbonated, you can go ahead and cool them all. I think cream ale benefits from cold conditioning.

 

[cheezydemon]

Not to beat that dead horse, But I am referring to the phenomenon that happens when you buy cold beer, it gets warm in the car or whatever, you put it in the fridge and later when you taste one the flavor has suffered.
Is that a trait of dead beer?(no yeast)

 

[Yooper]

That's probably due to heat damage, as Brewsmith suggested. You can take your beer from the basement to the fridge to room temperature without problems. Light and heat are the most problematic issues with beer. Lightstruck beer tastes skunky (think Grolsch, Corona, and Rolling Rock) and heat damaged beer just tastes bad.

 

[southern brewer]

Not to add insult to injury, but I wonder if off flavors would develop from going so cold and back to warm. Store bought beer definitely suffers if you refridgerate it and then let it warm, then cool it again.

Home brew beer does not warm up well either. I had a 6 pack that i didn't put in the fridge when my ice chest ran outa ice. it was not the best beer i had drank after it warmed and then cooled off in the fridge again.

 

[brewt00l]

That's probably due to heat damage, as Brewsmith suggested. You can take your beer from the basement to the fridge to room temperature without problems. Light and heat are the most problematic issues with beer. Lightstruck beer tastes skunky (think Grolsch, Corona, and Rolling Rock) and heat damaged beer just tastes bad.

Lew Bryson has a pretty interesting article related to this with some info from Siebel, including:

"I thought I was onto something here, that hot/cold cycles would really crock the beer. After talking to my Siebel man I guess I should have stuck to room temperature. "Warm/cold cycles will affect a beer," he explained, "but it's really the warm part of the cycle that's doing it."

"Heat is like over-pasteurizing a beer," Radzanowski said. "It ages it rapidly. The heat caramelizes whatever sugars are in the beer, giving it a differently sweet taste." Heat will also greatly amplify any hint of off-flavor, like dimethyl-sulfide, or DMS (that's my cooked vegetable odor). "

http://www.beveragebusiness.com/bbcontent/art-arch/mmbryson02.html

 

[Oakwood]

lots of good feed back. I will move it out of the fridge and give them a swirl making sure not to shack and add air. My basement is at 69-71 degrees this time of year so I will move them to the coal room in which they would have been anyways and that is where all my beer goes when it is done to age and carb. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[cheezydemon]

You have a coal room? Cool! I guess you burn coal for heat? Is that room hotter in the winter? Cause you know that I heard heat gives off flavor! I know, not funny! Good Luck!

 

[Oakwood]

my house was built in 1927 - it has a coal room but it isn't used any more but for storage. I have a gas furnance now and it is on the other side of the basement. My basement stays around 64-68 degrees year round. The coal room is normally 4-6 degrees cooler as it has not windows in it any more and has a solid wood door to seperate it from the rest of the basement. Great room for storing beer from what I can see.