Witbier undercarbed - help!

[rwberne]

Recently brewed a partial mash batch of Witbier - somewhat Americanized to get a bit more like Blue Moon. OG was 1.054, FG was 1.018, it is delicious.

BUT, it is somewhat flat - not at all fizzy like I had hoped. When you pour, it does form a head, but it doesn't last long, and no real fizz on the tongue. Using a priming calculator I used 4.8 oz. of dextrose at 70 degrees, for 5.2 gallons. I SHOULD have ended up with about 2.5 atmospheres or so, but clearly I am way short of that. I have waited 7 weeks, so I wouldn't think time is the issue anymore. It sits at about 70, so I don't think temp is the issue either.

I have thought of adding a bit more sugar to each bottle (that did work once in the distant past for me). If there is a thought that my yeast are all dead, I could add a little more, though it seems this isn't so high grav a brew that the yeast should have punked out. This tastes SO good I don't want to waste it - suggestions??????

 

[TopherM]

When you say you put in 4.8 oz, do you mean VOLUME ounces (fluid ounces), or WEIGHT ounces? Priming calculators spit out measurements in WEIGHT, not VOLUME. Did you measure in a measuring cup, because that would be in fluid ounces, not by weight.

4.8 oz is about 0.3 pounds of dextrose.

Could that be it?

 

[badhabit]

You have a good one! I would try shaking your bottles and giving it a couple more weeks. If that doesn't work I would drink faster. Adding more yeast or sugar to each bottle is a pain and will end up with other problems...too much carb. The only other thought is that somehow you killed off a lot of your yeast before racking. If you want to share your process there might be a better answer for the next batch.

 

[rwberne]

It was 4.8 oz. by weight (I use a digital scale). I can't think of anything I did that would have killed off the yeast. I used two full packs of Wyeast American Wheat yeast, had a very vigorous fermentation, let it sit in primary at about 66 degrees or so for 4 weeks plus, then boiled my sugar, poured it into bottling bucket, racked the beer gently on top and bottled. Same system I have used since day 1.

I am thinking that if nothing else, it could be a learning opportunity. I might take 3 bottles - put 1/8 tp of sugar in one, a few grains of dry yeast in the second, and both in the third. Then let's see what happens.