Bottle conditioned with overnight SMB (PMS) not carbonating..

[sancupanza]

Hello guys,

Very new here and to the world of brewing, just registered. Quick question, already read many threads but could not find the answer to my problem.

I just brewed my first ever whole-grain batch (5 gallons) in a disastrous process but the result (initial taste) was surprisingly not bad prior to bottling.

When I opened the lid of the fermenter, the heavy alcohol smell was encouraging since I was aiming for a Belgian blonde but when I saw some small islands of whitish organisms floating, I was a bit worried.

Didn’t know what to do with it so in a panic decided to add a flat teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite (hope it’s not sorbate, since I got it unlabeled from a winery nearby) and waited overnight.

Next morning tasted the batch and it’s taste had significantly changed to worse but still not so bad. Again in a panic, I prepared some priming sugar with a new pack of yeast and pitched half an hour before bottling.

My question: Bottles are not carbonating. What shall I do? Even my pear cider (without PMS) is carbonating but not my beer.

Shall I put everything back into the fermenter and pitch a new pack of yeast with some priming sugar?

I know I should not get emotionally attached to this batch but it’s my first try and I want to drink it carbonated

Thanks in advance!

 

[jpitz31]

Potassium metabisulfite is normally used in making wine, many use it to stop fermentation. I would be very careful in using potassium metabisulfite as sulfites are known to provoke and worsen certain allergies in humans. Make sure you do not over dose.

The white organisms could be lactobacillus, here is an article on lactobacillus and beer. The Oxford Companion to Beer Definition of lactobacillus

Improve your sanitation procedures. Look at PBW and the use of Star San. or similar products

You do not mention how long you attempted to bottle condition. It normally takes two weeks to bottle condition.

Might be wise to use this as a learning batch and brew again, due to the latcobacillus.

Good luck

 

[ncbrewer]

If you still have the white organisms floating, posting a picture would help. I'm not an infection expert, but there are quite a few on the forum.

 

[sancupanza]

If you still have the white organisms floating, posting a picture would help. I'm not an infection expert, but there are quite a few on the forum.

Well, they were not plain white btw, more grayish let’s say, 3-5mm wide, 3 dimensional (not flat), floating but very easily submerging things..

Guess a simple filtration would have worked instead of metabilsulfites, which I’m hoping to never use again since I cannot force carbonate.

My wild-pear cider (more like a drinkable vinegar) had really white things btw, the ones you have when you pickle vegetables. I just used a simple strainer to get rid of them and put the liquid in a plastic bottle, which carbonated in a day like a bomb

 

[sancupanza]

Potassium metabisulfite is normally used in making wine, many use it to stop fermentation. I would be very careful in using potassium metabisulfite as sulfites are known to provoke and worsen certain allergies in humans. Make sure you do not over dose.

The white organisms could be lactobacillus, here is an article on lactobacillus and beer. The Oxford Companion to Beer Definition of lactobacillus

Improve your sanitation procedures. Look at PBW and the use of Star San. or similar products

You do not mention how long you attempted to bottle condition. It normally takes two weeks to bottle condition.

Might be wise to use this as a learning batch and brew again, due to the latcobacillus.

Good luck

Thanks for the info and your advice, it was a great learning experience indeed. I did almost everything wrong after boiling the batch

The funny thing is, when I primed the batch before bottling, it was sweet but after a week it’s sweetness has decreased, so I guess the yeast are still working. It foams when I shake it but still does not carbonate enough and tastes flat and leaves a slight sulphur aftertaste.

Here is my control bottle for reference, maybe few more weeks will help.



My question still is:

Shall I wait few more weeks or just re-patch with some additional sugar, maybe dry hope for a few days as well?

 

[jpitz31]

Take a gravity reading and see where you are sitting. If using a refractometer, make sure you compensate for the alcohol in the beer. If you are close to your target SG then enjoy. If still too high then let beer sit another few days and take a reading again.

From what you have indicated, it appears that the beer is still fermenting.

Give it some more time.