Undercarbonated amber

I used my usual routine for bottle conditioning. 3/4 cup (5 oz) corn sugar in 5 gallons of beer. After sitting in my basement (temp varies from 68-72 degrees) for 3 weeks I tried one and the beer tasted very good but was under carbonated. Is it possible that if I let it sit a few more weeks it will finally carbonate or am I stuck w flat beer?
Thanks,
MIke

I would shake each bottle to rouse the yeast and then try to warm it up slightly, maybe move it to a warmer room for a week or two. If that doesn't work it might not improve, in my experience.

I would roll the bottles to rouse the yeast rather than shake them, and it certainly is possible they will improve if given a couple more weeks. they may not though. I had similar issues with inconsistent carbonation from batch to batch, that improved greatly once I started weighing priming sugar amounts rather than measuring by volume. Something to keep in mind.

ifishsum said:

I would roll the bottles to rouse the yeast rather than shake them.

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+1 on rolling them. Shaking was not a good description of how to do it. I gently turn them upside down a few times.

I had the same problem w/ my pumpkin ale last fall. 3 weeks in the bottle, zero carbonation. I lightly tipped the bottle end over end, moved it in next to the furnace and 3 days later, completely carbed.

Cool. I'll give it a try and report back in a few weeks.

ok, I gently agitated the bottles and moved them upstairs where it is warmer. I let it sit 2 weeks and tried it and it was still flat. I'm going to let it sit for a few more weeks and try again. If it doesn't carbonate I'll keep it around for blending purposes.

MikeM said:

ok, I gently agitated the bottles and moved them upstairs where it is warmer. I let it sit 2 weeks and tried it and it was still flat. I'm going to let it sit for a few more weeks and try again. If it doesn't carbonate I'll keep it around for blending purposes.

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Well, even if it doesn't carb up this time (it should), don't give up! I had one beer that just didn't carb so I gently opened them and added literally one speak of dry yeast and recapped. It worked!

Is the beer a little sweet, like it hasn't fermented out the priming sugar? Or is not sweet, with sediment on the bottom? I'm wondering if your caps didn't seal tightly if that's the case.

ifishsum said:

I would roll the bottles to rouse the yeast rather than shake them, and it certainly is possible they will improve if given a couple more weeks. they may not though. I had similar issues with inconsistent carbonation from batch to batch, that improved greatly once I started weighing priming sugar amounts rather than measuring by volume. Something to keep in mind.

Click to expand...

+1 on weighing anything to do with brewing, grab a small gram scale off amazon.com and weigh your priming sugar additions.

I left the bottles alone and tried one on Saturday (11 weeks post bottling). It was................CARBONATED just right. There was a decent head, little bubbles were visible in the glass and it had the appropriate mouthfeel from carbonation. Thanks guys. I was considering dumping the batch but I'm glad I didn't.
Mike