I bottled a chocolate stout 2 weeks ago. it's been conditioning at ~68 degrees. tried one yesterday and when i opened it there was a small hiss but the beer was pretty flat, very little carbonation. i'm hoping i just have to be patient and wait another week or two. i just need some affirmation... does any one think i should be worried. could there be a possible problem, if so what & why.
Carbonation question
- Thread starter pineknot
- Start date
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how heavy a beer is it? could you post the recipe, or a link to the kit? how big was the batch, how much priming sugar did you use? 68* is about right for temp.
but by and large for brewing, waiting a while longer is always the prescription.
but by and large for brewing, waiting a while longer is always the prescription.
webgodhog
Well-Known Member
Nah, I wouldn't be worried. 2 weeks isn't long enough for the beer to fully carb up, especially given that it's a stout. Give it a couple more weeks.......
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
How long did you chill the bottle in the fridge for? The typical minimum for bottle carbonating is three weeks at 70f followed by 4-7 days in the fridge to chill and get the CO2 fully into solution.
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.
And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.
Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.
Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."
If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them more time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.
I've carbed hundreds of gallons of beer, and never had a beer that wasn't carbed, or under carbed or anything of the sort (Except for a batch where I accidently mixed up lactose or Maltodextrine for priming sugar). Some took awhile, (as I said up to six months) but they ALL eventually carbed.
If your beer is cooler it would take longer for the beer to get to the correct level of carbonation, because sluggish yeast do things slower than more awake ones, and the cooler a beer is stored, the sluggish the yeast is.
Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.
And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.
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.
If your beer is cooler it would take longer for the beer to get to the correct level of carbonation, because sluggish yeast do things slower than more awake ones, and the cooler a beer is stored, the sluggish the yeast is.
Seedly
Well-Known Member
So I have a Barleywine that is almost (but not entirely) flat after 3 weeks @ 68* and 2 days in the fridge. I was worried until I read Revvy's response and linked thread. I am a bit of a high-gravity monster (its what drew me into brewing), so I guess I just need to get cracking on building up a supply line!
voodoocurt
Well-Known Member
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.
And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.
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.
If your beer is cooler it would take longer for the beer to get to the correct level of carbonation, because sluggish yeast do things slower than more awake ones, and the cooler a beer is stored, the sluggish the yeast is.
+1000000
I ran across this by Revvy a few weeks back for my double chocolate stout and tried it. BOOM! Perfect. I have had a hit and miss with carbing lately and decided to just wait...and wait....and wait...3-4 weeks @ 70* was PERFECT.
V
mpenn35
Well-Known Member
I did a stout that I split after a few weeks in primary. Bottled half and racked the rest to secondary on split vanilla bean and cacao nibs. The regular stout was carbed nicely at two weeks and perfect at three weeks, but the one I added nibs and vanilla to isn't anywhere near where the other one was at two and three weeks, even though I used the same ratio of priming sugar and stored at the same temperature. Kinda strange.
Sweetcell... here are the ingredients.
5 gallons
Partial mash
Safale s-04 dry yeast
OG = 1.070
FG = 1.021
1 lb. Chocolate malt
1 lb. Crystal 40 L
1/2 lb. English Black
6lbs. Traditional Dark dme
1lb. Golden Light dme
2 oz. Kent Goldings
I added 4 oz. of chocolate extract at bottling
5oz. priming sugar
Its heavy! I haven't figured out color or ibu's. how would I go about figuring that out? I also don't know how to list a recipe on my profile.
Thanks to all for easing my mind.
5 gallons
Partial mash
Safale s-04 dry yeast
OG = 1.070
FG = 1.021
1 lb. Chocolate malt
1 lb. Crystal 40 L
1/2 lb. English Black
6lbs. Traditional Dark dme
1lb. Golden Light dme
2 oz. Kent Goldings
I added 4 oz. of chocolate extract at bottling
5oz. priming sugar
Its heavy! I haven't figured out color or ibu's. how would I go about figuring that out? I also don't know how to list a recipe on my profile.
Thanks to all for easing my mind.
You have to go to the recipe forum at the top off the page,& list it under that style,ag,PM,or Extract,etc. When it posts there,it'll show up under your recipes on your profile page.
5 oz is plenty of priming sugar for 5 or even 5.5 gal.
did you hit 1.070? i plugged your numbers into hopville (http://hopville.com/recipe/1211863/american-stout-recipes/pineknots-chocolate-stout) and it predicts 1.066, so 1.070 would be about right. you could have been more efficient on the steeping grains, or you used a little less that 5 gals of water.
at ~1.070, i wouldn't be surprised if it took you longer than 2 weeks to carb. you're probably going to want to bottle condition that beer for several weeks before drinking anyways. start planning your next batch, if you haven't already, and get that pipeline going!
did you hit 1.070? i plugged your numbers into hopville (http://hopville.com/recipe/1211863/american-stout-recipes/pineknots-chocolate-stout) and it predicts 1.066, so 1.070 would be about right. you could have been more efficient on the steeping grains, or you used a little less that 5 gals of water.
at ~1.070, i wouldn't be surprised if it took you longer than 2 weeks to carb. you're probably going to want to bottle condition that beer for several weeks before drinking anyways. start planning your next batch, if you haven't already, and get that pipeline going!
It will likely take more time,definetly. My Burton ale was a 1.065,& it took the better part of 2 months to carb & condition properly. And a solid 2 weeks fridge time for decent head & carbonation. Darker &/or bigger beers seem to go that way. So patience will def be rewarded here as well.
don't know if anyone is interested but... everything turned out great. It took a few more weeks to fully carbonate. I will def. make this beer again. thanks for the piece of mind everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good!!!
I say it a million times, carbonation is fool proof....it just takes exactly as long as it needs to.
