IPA not conditioning

I was trying to use up some of my leftover ingredients and decided to try and make an IPA. It's been 4 weeks and it hasn't conditioned yet and was wondering if because of something done wrong if it ever will. I went with the following:

Belgian aromatic malt
crisp pale malt
light DME

hops: Mt hood / Amarillo / Fuggles / Cascade

Yeast: Wyeast 1056

3/4 cup Priming sugars

Like I said it has been 4 weeks and no carbonation. Bottles have been sitting in my basement around 68 degrees. Couple days ago I wrapped a blanket around it to try and keep it a little warmer. Haven't tasted it yet but I was wondering if there is even hope?

Thanks

 

No bubbles at all?

 

Minimal. And that is with a sloppy pour just to see if I can get anything.

 

If the temp goes far enough below 68F,the yeast may well have gone dormant. If it stays around 68F,then it might just take a little longer to carbonate.

 

What was your total volume of beer prior to bottling? For future reference, I would recommend weighing out your priming sugar, it's much more accurate.

 

What's the OG and FG?

 

The temperature is pretty steady. Will never go within a degree or two of 68.

It was a 5 gal batch.

Mistakenly I didn't write down the OG when I first made it so I had forgotten what it was by bottling time and then didn't bother to take the FG. Amateur mistake.

 

how did you add the sugar?

wrapping a blanket around something that doesn't produce its own heat, like a beer bottle, isn't going to warm it. blankets work because they allow you to keep in the head - so a precondition for them to work is a supply of heat.

do you have any warmer parts of the house you could move the bottles to? or even a few of them, just to test out if that's the problem?

 

If you added the correct amount of priming sugar and mixed it well (it's best to boil the sugar in a little water first, as dry sugar is difficult to mix), the beer WILL carb up. Three weeks is the baseline, but some beers just take longer.

 

Boiled the sugar in a cup of water and added to the top of the bottling bucket. I didn't stir because no matter how well I sterilize I still don't like putting anything into the beer.

I was thinking the blanket would help at least keep the temp steadier.

And thanks for these quick replies. They have all been helpful. I haven't brewed too many batches all these tips are helpful for future ones.

 

Adding the priming solution to a full bucket of beer without stiring could be the problem. Bottling from the spigot will give only the beers bottled from the top of the batch anywhere near normal carbonation in theory.

 

it once took one of my beers 5 weeks before good carbination...

 

Pretty sure that's the problem. If you didn't mix the sugar in, then how do you expect the beer to carbonate?

To avoid stirring it, pour the sugar water into the bucket and then rack the beer to it. That's what I did when I bottled.

BTW you are sanitizing, not sterilizing.

 

When I remember to do it,I sanitize my plastic paddle with my spray bottle of starsan & then give the bottling bucket a few gentle stirs to be sure it mixes evenly.

 

a stainless steel paddle or spoon is even better than plastic, since plastic can harbor stuff in the scratches (risk is still very low). i keep my star san in a bucket so i dunk the entire spoon in and leave it there for 15-30 seconds.

 

I will agree that your issue is probably putting the boiled sugar on top. You normally rack on top of the sugar water mixture to mix it up. I always stir it gently too. Two other things though that no one mentioned:

1. With all the sugar on top, it will only be in a handful of beers. These beers that actually have the sugar will very likely become bottle bombs.
2. You must put the carbonated beer in the fridge for 2+ days for the CO2 to be absorbed in the beer. CO2 will only be absorbed at lower temperatures.

 

Actually CO2 will be absorbed at ambient temperatures, but the priming must produce more pressure and if too warm the gas quickly leaves solution once pressure is released. Cooling means you don't need as much pressure for the gas to go into solution. I often carbonate kegs with priming sugar and store at ambient temperatures. The beers carb just fine, and the gas goes into solution when enough builds up. Saturday I pulled a sample of a Wee Heavy that I have carbonating naturally in a keg. It's been in there for a little over a month and when I pull off the sample (it has built up enough pressure to pour from a beer line with no gas line ever attached) the beer comes out with a beautiful dense head that lingers as well as any beer and this keg has not been below 70 degrees--the gas has gone into solution just fine. I also checked the carbonation on an IIPA that is carbonating the same way and, though it has only been in there for a week, it already is getting a head when poured (without a gas line ever attached) from a beer line.

My carbonation chart shows that a beer at 68 degrees to get 2.8 atmospheres only needs to build up 32 pounds of pressure (2.0, reasonable for British Ales only needs 20 lbs at 68 deg). Will it go in suspension as well? No. Will it stay in solution as well when pressure is released? No. But it will go into solution.

Cooling a carbed beer means that more of the gas will go into solution. So I would restate your last bit of advice as, "CO2 is absorbed better at lower temperatures." If "CO2 will only be absorbed at lower temperatures" then only cool beer would ever show carbonation.

Likely the problem was the lack of mixing. If you know which bottles were pulled from the bucket last check one of them. Yes, you should chill it before checking because more of the gas will absorb and you'll get a better picture of how it is doing.

 

Whoah. Hold on there. Relax. I'm sorry I forgot to say *properly*. CO2 will only be absorbed properly (as in what you would expect) into beer at lower temperatures.