Holiday Stout failed to carbonate??

[DeutscheMaster]

So I brewed AHS' holiday stout partial mash kit on October 4, brew went well. The OG was a little low at 1.040, corrected for temp. Left it in the primary until 11 November. The beer smelled awesome when it came time to bottle. I cracked open my first one just now, and no carbonation, none. The beer is as flat as board. It still tastes great, smells great, no bubbles. What are my options? I do not want to dump this batch at all.

 

[CDbrews]

How long ago did you bottle? what temp have the bottles been sitting at?

 

[DeutscheMaster]

I bottled on the 11th of November. The bottles have been in a closet at 68F.

 

[vcm1613]

You said your OG was 1.040. What was your final? What yeast did you used to ferment with? What type of priming sugar used and how much? What was your target carbonation level? Have you tried other bottles sense that one? I'd be curious to hear more about this. I hate when a good stout is ruined. Makes me almost want to cry.

-J

 

[klyph]

Dump the bottles in a soda keg and force carb.

 

[android]

you might try using those carb tabs and recap.

 

[Revvy]

Move them to a space ABOVE 70 degrees, give the bottles a little shake and come back in a couple weeks more. If you added priming sugar, then they WILL carb up eventually. More than likely the spices in the recipe and the fact that they were below 70 (yes 68 may seem close to 70 to us, but may be a huge temp gap to the yeasties) more than likely contributed to the lack of carbonation.

You didn't do anything wrong, you won't have to dump your batch (idiocy to even contemplate) your beer WILL carbonate eventually.

I have had stouts and porters take 6-8 weeks, and a Belgian strong (Og 1.090) took 3 months to carb up, but it did....And your will too

More info can be found here; Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."s

 

[DeutscheMaster]

I really appreciate all the replies. I checked the temp in the bottle closet again, 56F. It would seem that nature has conspired against me. I am moving the bottles into the office, constant 70F min. Revvy trust me after reading all your posts, I would never dump a batch. This beer will grow old in the bottle flat as a Bob Saget joke before I dump it. I recently lost my laptop so my brew notes are all gone, I know back ups, so I no longer know the FG.

 

[vcm1613]

Revvy hit it on the head sounds like. (imagine that?!) 56 degrees is kinda chilly. 70 would be awesome. Keep us posted!

The Bob Saget joke was classic!

-j