Beer Didn't Carbonate

[duboman]

Dude, you may be onto something there. Looking back the OP says "added 5oz of sugar to bucket" before racking. I assumed priming solution, sugar/water, but if it was just sugar, that's could be the culprit.
Also, if that's the case, get those bottles into somethings sealed and safe, because just a couple/few have all the sugar and are really likely to explode.

After reading enough of these problems I don't assume anything anymore

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

After reading enough of these problems I don't assume anything anymore

Yeah, true. I saw sugar in the bucket and the thought didn't even occur to me, kudos to you for catching that. Seems likely.


And I have a feeling the thread's about to be derailed.

 

[bose301s]

Just to confirm: did you just dump the priming sugar into the bucket and rack or did you boil the sugar in a cup of water and add the simple syrup into the bucket, this was not clear in OP.

If you just dumped the sugar in then that's your problem

We made a priming solution, 5oz corn sugar in half or one cup boiling water, poured that into the bottling bucked then racked to it. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[JustLooking]

No need to, it's not a difference in moles, it's a difference in process. You goin' somewhere with this? Have something to offer to the contrary that could help the OP?

Your are correct. The process is different, but the end result is the same. There are possible flavor compounds and mouth feel that could used to distinguish a difference between natural and force carbing, but that is not the topic.

I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said, but eliminating unrealistic possibilities that have been presented is something that could be helpful to the OP. You suggested that his lack of carbonation could be that the bottles were not left in the fridge for long enough. You then try to support the claim by saying that natural carbonation is different from force carbonation. I don't agree with either.


All those high-five's for nothing.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

We made a priming solution, 5oz corn sugar in half or one cup boiling water, poured that into the bottling bucked then racked to it. Sorry for any confusion.

How about the caps? Do they seem to be on tight? Is your capper working well? Trying to trouble shoot here, sorry for all the questions.

 

[stagedivesandhighfives]

Really? This was our first batch of our own concoction, was our 4th overall, and all the kits we've done have you primary only a week, so that's why we transferred it when we did.

We broke our hydrometer making our first batch and just haven't replaced it. My work schedule has me working every other weekend and we do all of this on weekends so usually everything is in 2 or 4 week steps and since I have been told that letting the beer sit extra time, as long a its reasonable, say under a month or so, isn't a big deal we figured we didn't need a new hydrometer since everything would be done by the time we were ready for the next step, lol.

Anyway, how long should we have primaried it for? Also, only used 1 yeast pack and no starter, should we have used a starter?

A rule of thumb I go by is "let it ferment and then add 8-10 days." you don't wanna pull to early. And letting it sit a few days as long as its at temp won't hurt it it'll only refine it

 

[bose301s]

How about the caps? Do they seem to be on tight? Is your capper working well? Trying to trouble shoot here, sorry for all the questions.

They seem tight, but maybe not as tight as before. We have a good wing capper, has worked on every previous brew great. Only other thing I think is that these were different caps than we've used before, they were "O2 Absorbing" caps as opposed to standard, would that make a difference in tightness or anything else?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

No, it shouldn't. I'm stumped. I do think you need to try keeping a bottle fridged for two or three days and try one. Not saying that that's it, but contrary to what some posters have said here, you do need to fridge a beer for at least a day or two for the co2 to dissolve into solution fully. That's common knowledge around here, and a simple search will show many threads where just that has been the issue with no/little carbonation.

 

[ncbrewer]

They seem tight, but maybe not as tight as before. We have a good wing capper, has worked on every previous brew great. Only other thing I think is that these were different caps than we've used before, they were "O2 Absorbing" caps as opposed to standard, would that make a difference in tightness or anything else?

I’ve found that the caps can be on good and tight, but still not seal well. My theory is that the sides of the cap can be squeezed in, holding it on, but the cap might not be pressed completely against the end of the bottle – it might even be cocked a little. In my case, I changed cappers and the problem immediately disappeared.

OP: I hope you will eventually pass along what you find. I’m almost as curious as you are about what could be causing the flat beer. I understand this is a frustrating problem – good luck.

 

[bose301s]

Well, tried the inverting method followed by 24 hours in the fridge and IT CARBONATED!!! Actually a pretty good little beer,not earth shattering or anything but still pretty good. We are learning to be more patient now, lol.

 

[twistr25]

Glad you got it resolved. I find that there is even a big difference between 48 to 72 hours in the fridge, so let those sit for a bit longer and you just may get something earth shattering