Carbonation issues

[zackattack784]

2 and a half weeks ago i bottled 2 batches of beer. I bottled an Irish ale ~4% abv and a nugget nectar clone ~6.5% abv. My nugget nectar is perfectly carbonated but my irish ale is borderline undrinkable the carbonation is so low. I used a priming calculator for both and even used more sugar in the Irish ale since post fermentation temps got higher for that beer. I used 4.25 ounces of dextrose in the Irish ale. I've tried shaking the bottles every couple of days and I've tried to keep them as warm as possible, though that is a bit of a struggle this time of year.

Im going to wait until this weekend which would be 3 weeks since bottling, but I don't expect much change in the carbonation level. If nothing changes should i boil up some more priming sugar and put a little more in each bottle? Should I add a pinch of yeast as well? Fwiw, there is a mini yeast cake in each bottle but I guess a little more yeast couldn't hurt anything. Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[PrinceOfThePoint]

That is a little mysterious. But I would continue keeping the bottles above fridge temps and wait a bit longer. I've seen bottle conditioned batches be slow. Sorry it's hard to say right now. At least the nugget nectar came out ;D

 

[TennBrewer]

+1 on keeping the bottles above fridge temps. What kind of yeast was used? Are the bottles sealed properly, if they leak they can't build pressure, it's the CO2 in the headspace that gets forced into the liquid. I would not open the bottles unless you intend to drink the contents. I've had a batch or two that was slow to carbonate, one day nothing, a few days later it was ok. Yeasts are funny little critters.

 

[flars]

Four and a quarter ounces of priming sugar in the Irish ale should give you fairly high carbonation, for any beer, unless you bottled 8 to 10 gallons. Was this brew larger than 5 gallons?
If this was 5 gallons, warmer and more time will give you carbonation, as long as the bottles are well sealed.

 

[zackattack784]

It was a 5 gallon batch. I used Wyeast American Ale II. When I uncap a bottle the cap seems to come off a lot easier than other beers, but it opens with a pssh and nothing leaks out even when keeping the bottles upside down for a couple days so Im assuming the seal is ok.