My beer didn't carbonate...

Back in September I brewed 2 batches of beer at my parents house then left them in primary until Thanksgiving when I bottled them. After 2 weeks I opened 1 bottle from each batch and neither beer appeared carbonated. I checked the bottle caps on the other bottles and they appear to be well sealed. After another week the beer still did not appear to be carbonated. Is it possible that the yeast died or went dormant in primary? I kept it in the cellar which is fairly consistent at 65-68 F. Will the yeast "wake up" with time and carbonate the beer? Thanks in advance!

 

Did you add priming sugar? 2 months in primary is usually considered a long time but the yeast should still be there to carbonate. Are the bottles sitting at room temperature now?

 

Yeah I agree that 2 months is a long time but I've left beer for 6 weeks before and it turned out fine. From reading a lot of posts on HBT I've gathered that 2 months shouldn't be a problem. The bottles were stored in the same basement as primary (and I keep them off the concrete floor which is typically colder) i used 3/4 cup priming sugar for one batch and a 7 oz (i think) packet of kreamy x (which I understand is essentially just DME) for the other. Neither batch is carbonated yet... : (

 

ok I figured out the problem... my buddy who brews with me took some of each batch and brought them home. He mistakenly put them in the fridge when he got home. Those are the bottles we opened. Problem solved.

 

Too cold - 70 degrees is the magic number for carbonation - it CAN happen colder but it's a LOT more work.