Carbonation issue.

[SirWaddlez]

What would cause a beer to be pretty much flat after two weeks conditioning in a growler bottle. I bought the conditioning tablets from my HBS and used two tablets in it since instructions were one tablet for 12oz. I opened one up last night to try and it was pretty flat.

 

[okbecker]

lack of healthy yeast, lack of fermentables, not enough time, to cold temps for yeast, or the growler seal is allowing CO2 to escape.

 

[SirWaddlez]

I pitched brand new yeast with the brew. I did not rehydrate it though. Its very possible with the lack of fermentables. The kit I bought was for a 5 gallon batch and it only came with 3lbs of dme. This batch sat in the primary for 2 weeks, secondary for two weeks, and has been in bottles for 13 days now. Out of 3 of the growlers they were flat. So I don't think its the seal.

 

[flars]

Most growlers are 64 ounces, so two tablets would not be in the same ratio as one per 12 ounce bottle. What size is your growler? The fizz tabs, from what I have read, also take longer to carbonate a beer than corn sugar or table sugar.

Be cautious though. Most growlers do not have the strength to hold the pressures developed during carbonation.

 

[SirWaddlez]

These are 22oz bombers*. My apologies. Dunno why I said growler. I used two tabs in each and even filled it only to the beginning of the bottle neck. I dont want a bottle bomb so I am cautious. But I am really starting to think it has to do with the lack of dme. My new hop vortex brew has all the Signs that it is going to be delicious. And I used 6lbs of light pilsen dme for it. Double the amount of this last brew.

 

[max384]

What would cause a beer to be pretty much flat after two weeks conditioning in a growler bottle. I bought the conditioning tablets from my HBS and used two tablets in it since instructions were one tablet for 12oz. I opened one up last night to try and it was pretty flat.

You've got two problems. First, a growler generally will not hold enough of a seal to properly carbonate, nor is the glass designed for this. Secondly, most growlers are 64 oz, a few are 32 oz. Either way, you don't have enough tablets.

EDIT: Crap. I type slow.

Where are you storing the bottles? Is it warm enough? You're not storing on a cement basement floor, are you?

 

[kh54s10]

1)You probably did not need to add any new yeast.
2) Two weeks is not long enough.
3) At what temperature are they conditioning? 70 degrees and 3 weeks depending on the recipe. High gravity will take longer.
4) Post your recipe. Only 3 pound of extract in a 5 gallon batch will make a really weak beer.
5) Don't assume the seals are holding.

 

[SirWaddlez]

I didnt add new yeast. I used new yeast when I pitched. I am storing them in my closet right now where the temp stays between 75-78 degrees. I know it might be warm for it but until I get a temp controller for my redi whip freezer that's all I have.

 

[TheHappyHopper]

Flip the bottles upside down and let them rest on their caps for a few days to a week and then try one. This did the trick for me on a recent batch - I think it just gets the yeast stirred back up and back to work.

Whether or not there was enough DME in the recipe would have nothing to do with the carbonation since all that sugar was eaten up by bottling time - the carbonation drops are the only thing left for the yeast to eat up. Since you did 2 carbonation drops (which should have been enough for 24 oz of beer), but you only did 22 oz bottles (that were not filled up all the way (so 20 oz maybe?) - I would expect a good amount of carbonation.

 

[SirWaddlez]

Ill give that a shot. Thats sounds pretty accurate about how much is in each bottle. I knew two tablets would be more than enough. Ill flip a couple of em, the bombers and the 12oz bottles and try again in 3-5 days.