Flat Beer

[kevinb]

I brewed the following recipe. It was custom that was put together for me by my LHBS.

-3 gal water
-1.5# Red whet
-0.25# 20L
-1 Oz cascade hops
-3# dry malt extract
-1 Oz chinook hops
-16 Oz buckwheat honey
-Safale US-05

I left it in the primary for 1 week, then 2 weeks in the secondary, and 3 weeks in the bottle. Last night I opened the first bottle. It made a hissing sound when I opened the bottle, but the beer seemed flat to me. Did I do something wrong or does it need more time in the bottle? Should I just expect this type of beer to be low carbonation?

 

[kevinb]

Bye the way, the OG was 1.074. I saw on some other threads that the high OG means it will take longer to carb up? Does anyone know how much longer I should expect?

 

[CastleHollow]

How much priming sugar did you use, and have you stored the bottles at room temp?

 

[BobC]

It's on its way to being carbonated it just needs a little more time. Try another bottle in a couple of weeks. Not only will it have more carbonation but it will taste better as well.

 

[kevinb]

I used the priming sugar cubes. The beer was stored at about 70 -72.

 

[HibsMax]

I am having the same issue with a brown ale clone. At this point I am just going to leave it for about another month and see what is going on. I have checked a couple of bottles and nada.

 

[kevinb]

Anyone else have any ideas? I am pretty concerned. I hope Bob C is correct!

 

[veritas524]

Bob is right... Also give them a few days in the fridge before drinking as it helps the co2 go into solution.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Bob is right... Also give them a few days in the fridge before drinking as it helps the co2 go into solution.

+1. I had a similar OG beer take about a month and a half to fully carb at 75F.

 

[kevinb]

+1. I had a similar OG beer take about a month and a half to fully carb at 75F.

Thanks, that makes me feel better. I will give them more time! I am not sure I have enough patience to homebrew. I think I am better at drinking than brewing

 

[veritas524]

Thanks, that makes me feel better. I will give them more time! I am not sure I have enough patience to homebrew. I think I am better at drinking than brewing

That just means you have to brew a lot! I have a stout that has been in bottles five weeks now and it still isn't fully carved for whatever reason. That pack of yeast must have been lazy... However each week since week three I've been testing them and they'll be ready in about another two weeks at the rate they're curbing.

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

I used the priming sugar cubes. The beer was stored at about 70 -72.

How many tabs did you use per bottle?

 

[brewjamin_Franklin]

out of curiosity how big of a difference does chilling down the beer and getting the co2 into solution to creating a stable head?

 

[bleme]

out of curiosity how big of a difference does chilling down the beer and getting the co2 into solution to creating a stable head?

It is a big difference. I have tested at 24 hours, 60 hours and 7 days. The improvement at each step was significant.

 

[mvcorliss]

You can relax. The higher the OG, typically, the longer it takes a beer to carbonate. Also I find that darker beers take longer to carb and get to that "ahhh, that's good beer" stage.

 

[kevinb]

How many tabs did you use per bottle?

1 tab per 12 oz bottle

 

[beerman0001]

1 tab per 12 oz bottle

Is that how much was called for?

 

[kevinb]

Is that how much was called for?

That is what was on the package.

 

[Revvy]

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.


Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

Lazy Llama came up with a handy dandy chart to determine how long something takes in brewing, whether it's fermentation, carbonation, bottle conditioning....

If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them more time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

1 tab per 12 oz bottle

That seems a little low to me. Ive always seen 2-3 tabs per bottle, granted I have only seen 3 different types of tabs. I could be wrong, but 1 per bottle seems a little low.

 

[kevinb]

That seems a little low to me. Ive always seen 2-3 tabs per bottle, granted I have only seen 3 different types of tabs. I could be wrong, but 1 per bottle seems a little low.

According to the Coopers package, it is one tab per 350 ml.

 

[kevinb]

Thanks Revvy, I will keep waiting. It has been five weeks. It is a little more carbed than last time, but still has a way to go. I know patience and keep waiting...........

Damn lazy yeast..............