I currently have and ESB that sat on an oak spiral for a month. Are there any issues with the beer not carbing in bottles as well because it was in the secondary so long? It has been around 3-4 weeks bottled and has very little carbonation. It was at 68* for two weeks and another week or two at 50*. I also just bottled a pilsner that was in a secondary for a month and I'm worried it will also be flat. Thanks for the help.
Secondary and bottle carbing
- Thread starter kramerica
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Being in secondary for only a month won't be an issue. I've had beers in primary or secondary for 6 months that carbed just fine. After 6 months or so is when you start to worry.
THIS is why your beer hasn't carbed yet. Not because you secondaried it;
The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.
Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.
Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.
Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."
If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them more time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.
I've carbed hundreds of gallons of beer, and never had a beer that wasn't carbed, or under carbed or anything of the sort (Except for a batch where I accidently mixed up lactose or Maltodextrine for priming sugar). Some took awhile, (as I said up to six months) but they ALL eventually carbed.
I don't believe there are ANY carbing problems (besides the rare capper that maybe puts a bad seal on a bottle, or tired yeast in a HIGH gravity beer) that isn't simple impatience.
As I said in my bottling blog, it's really a fool proof process, you add sugar, keep the beer above 70 and wait.
You need to get your beers above 70 again, and give them a couple more weeks. If they're in the 50's the yeast is asleep, so they're not carbing your beer.
THIS is why your beer hasn't carbed yet. Not because you secondaried it;
The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.
Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.
Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.
Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."
If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them more time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.
I've carbed hundreds of gallons of beer, and never had a beer that wasn't carbed, or under carbed or anything of the sort (Except for a batch where I accidently mixed up lactose or Maltodextrine for priming sugar). Some took awhile, (as I said up to six months) but they ALL eventually carbed.
I don't believe there are ANY carbing problems (besides the rare capper that maybe puts a bad seal on a bottle, or tired yeast in a HIGH gravity beer) that isn't simple impatience.
As I said in my bottling blog, it's really a fool proof process, you add sugar, keep the beer above 70 and wait.
You need to get your beers above 70 again, and give them a couple more weeks. If they're in the 50's the yeast is asleep, so they're not carbing your beer.
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