Irish Stout carbonation

[TW1Kell]

I bottled a Cooper's Irish Stout batch, 3 weeks ago, today. It tastes great, and is a bit "stouter tasting" than either Guinness or Murphy's, which is a plus for all of us. The problem is that it has very little head or carbonation, at all. I used 2 priming drops per 750ml bottle as instructed (I used a Cooper's kit and the package and followed all of their instructions). Where did I go wrong with the head? Does it need more bottle conditioning time, or will it develop any more head? I really like the taste, but it is just a bit flat...

 

[DoubleAught]

What temp are you conditioning at? Generally 3 weeks at around 70 degrees will carb the beer nicely. The lower the temp the longer to condition.

 

[amd133mhz]

Did you shake the bottles up really good when you capped em after the drops went in? I use priming sugar myself and shook them once a week for 3 weeks,then put em in the fridge for like 3-4 days. What kinda of ambient temp did you have while they sat? I read on here that 70f is a good place to be at 3 weeks (revvy I believe)

 

[kerant]

Did you shake the bottles up really good when you capped em after the drops went in? I use priming sugar myself and shook them once a week for 3 weeks,then put em in the fridge for like 3-4 days. What kinda of ambient temp did you have while they sat? I read on here that 70f is a good place to be at 3 weeks (revvy I believe)

Shaking your bottles after bottling to help in carbination. Never heard that one. Does it really help?

 

[amd133mhz]

I cant say it DIDNT help ha mine came out fully carbed and had amazing head retention ect. I kinda did it on a whim but I was told that if you use carb drops you should shake them at least initially until the tablet dissolves

 

[TW1Kell]

Actually, I was being careful not to upset them, when I bottled. Too late for that, now.

They've been at 60-70 during the conditioning process.