Carbonation :-(

Hello all im in desperate need of help iv dne 3 batches now of hombrew.
1st total disaster was thrown away so i improved my sanitization technique.
2nd batch alot better tasted nice but was flat.
3rd batch again tastes ok however didnt use hopps this time so not as tasty as my 2nd batch but still flat.
Iv bin readin forums of possible causes but cannot get it rite in my head wat i shud change 1st!
If n e 1 out there can help please do as im startin get frustrated now.
Cheers andy

 

I am not a expert and I am sure there are lots of people more experienced here than me but did you prime it before kegging / bottling ??

 

Seems like a lot of things can be wrong with what your doing. A great link to check out is http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html. I have read through this several times, and I bet a lot of others have also.

First thing is don't forget the hops, they are imperative unless you're going old school with an assortment of bitter herbs or make gruit. Next, no carbonation likely means you didn't add priming sugar. You should look at the priming section of the John Palmer link I posted. I'm sure you will see where you went wrong. Priming sugar should be dissolved in hot water, boiled and then added to the bottom of the bottling bucket once cooled. Then you rack on top of that. Here is a calculator for that http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/.

Keep reading and learning. Once you think you have it down, try again. Print out a brew sheet that shows you whats next.

Goodluck,

 

Not much information has been given to provide an answer. Did you Bottle or Keg? Did you prime when you bottled and if so with what? How long since you bottled and at what temp has it been stored?

 

Buy and read How to Brew by John Palmer and follow his first three chapters on "Brewing Your First Batch" to a T and you will learn everything you asked about and more plus get some good recipes. I have been brewing for over 7 years and I still refer to some chapters occaisionally, it will be money well spent.

 

1st 2 batches were kegged priming sugar was added altho didnt boil it in water 1st i just added straight to kegs will try boilin 1st on nxt batch and thanks for the links will b sure to read them b4 i start nxt time.
3rd batch is bottled and again priming sugar was added and boiled 1st this time bottles were all sterilised and enough space left at top of bottles b4 capping and there stored in the kitchen at room temp wich is around 18-20 degrees c admitidly only bottled up last nite but the beer just seems lifeless got home just and nothing has changed just flat flat flat lol

 

Or if you don't want to buy it you can read it online for free at www.howtobrew.com but it is good to have a hard copy.

 

1 day is not long enough. check them in 3 weeks to a month.

 

It typically takes three weeks to hit full carbonation. You need to be patient. If it is still flat in 20 days, we can reassess.

 

Wait at least 2 weeks before opening them or they will not be carbonated. Depending on the beer you may need to wait longer.

 

How much priming sugar did you add to what quantity of beer ?

 

^That's your issue. Bottles take 2-3 weeks, maybe longer, at room temp (70 degrees) and then another couple days in the fridge before they'll be carbed up properly.

 

184g to 23 litres

 

Lol dont no if i can b that patient had no idea it takes that long instructions iv bin following says a week at room temp then fridge to chill and drink will leave this lot then for at least 2 weeks uv made my missis a very annoyed lady lol cheers for the help.

 

Will get on to that thanks for the advice

 

HA!! I know the feeling. It took me a long time to convince my wife that the beer would be ready to drink when it was ready, not before. Love the girl to death, but she would've been perfectly happy to drink all of our homebrew before it's time.
Patience is a very important part of brewing, and if you're naturally carbonating your beers, you have to be that much more patient. Good thing is, it's well worth it, there's a world of difference between a good beer that's finished carbing and conditioning and that same beer three days before it's finished carbing and conditioning.

 

Overnight, there's no chance of your beer being carbed, as you've found. After a week, some beers, particularly lower alcohol ones, may be carbed, though it's quite possible that you'll see a lot of variation from one bottle to the next. After 3 weeks, any "ordinary" (i.e., not super-alcoholic) beer should be carbonated.

It's hard to wait, but the solution is to buy a bunch of beer the day you start your first brew. Let that get you through until it's done. But also make sure you have enough fermenters that you can start up a pipeline so that you have a continuous replenishment. I've been brewing since January, and my wife and I each drink a bit less than one beer per day on average. I don't think we've bought beer more than half a dozen times since the first batch came through at the end of February, and most of those were because my wife likes stouts and the first beers was a light ale.

Sure, you have to wait for the brew you did yesterday, but it's ok because the one you did last month is ready.

 

Militant kegger posting warning.

I don't get it. If you kegged, you can force carb. Crank the tank to 30 PSI and you be carbed up in day or 2.

You can toss some beer/water/soda/whatever in a 2L bottle and carb it in 30 seconds. This is usually what I wind up doing with my bottling efforts. No damn way I'm waiting a month for bubbles.

If you have time in your pipeline, you can naturally carb a keg. I don't know dollar wise if its cheaper than gas.

Or rack it green from the primary and let it finish under pressure in the keg.

If you got a CO2 tank, you got bubbles. And we got to have bubbles

 

Our first batch is done sitting in bottles i opned one 7 days after bottling at 68 dagrees or so. It was carbed tasted great and had good head. Altho I could taste that it still was a bit green. We are going 3 weeks in bottles to be sure. Oh it is a Robust Porter BTW.

 

I also keg (and greatly prefer it), but my experience has been that my beer needs time to reach its peak anyway. Even if I had bubbles on Day 2, I'm usually better off waiting until Day 20 to drink it. YMMV.

 

Thanks for the militant warning. Many of us lack the space to make kegging practical, and while it's convenient in some ways, bottles have many attractive features. I'm a patient guy, and bottling saves significant equipment $ and suits my consumption patterns far better than kegging.

 

I agree, but there's always someone who answers a bottling question with "why don't you keg"

At least this time it was admitted first

 

Agreed, definately tastes better on day 20

Hello, my name is Charlie. I don't have a drinking problem; I have pipeline issues.