Bottles won't carb up.

[jdman65]

I bottled a witbier on 7/20. I disolved my sugar then poured it into my bottling bucket. I then siphoned wort on top of that giving it a gentle stir. I have stored the bottles in a closet in a upstairs bedroom around 75 degrees. I have rotated the bottles trying to jump start my yeast. Nothing. I have sampled 5 beers and they are all lightly carbonated with no head. The beer tastes great but obviously a Belgian wheat needs carbonation. Advice?

I am now set up for kegging. Can I gently pour my beer back in to a bucket and siphon into a keg to force carb it? Will this cause to much oxidation?

Thanks as always.

 

[jamina1]

Is it possible that you didn't cap your bottles snugly enough? Someone in another thread had the same issue, and it ended up that they were reusing Abita bottles and their capper couldn't get the crowns on as tightly as they needed to be so CO2 was escaping.

 

[flars]

Pouring the bottled beer back into the bucket will oxidize the beer. It is not only splashing which adds oxygen to the beer, but the surface area exposed to air picking up oxygen during the pour.

How fast will you drink the beer, if you keg it? It takes time for the off flavor notes of oxidation to appear. These off flavors would be noticeable sooner in a Wit compared to a DIPA.

Did the bottles you sampled have a very weak CO2 release when you opened them? If so probably under carbonated. If the CO2 release was pretty good, did you chill the bottles for a few days before opening? A long chilling period will force the CO2 into solution, providing more of a head when poured.

What was the volume bottled and how much priming sugar, and type of sugar, did you use?

 

[jdman65]

I only chilled the bottle for half a day. How long is a while for off flavors from kegging to kick in. 5 oz of corn sugar in 4.5 gal bottled.

 

[flars]

I only chilled the bottle for half a day. How long is a while for off flavors from kegging to kick in. 5 oz of corn sugar in 4.5 gal bottled.

Before you worry to much, chill a couple of bottles for three days.