Lost my head!

[1stbornbrew]

Opened my first bottle of Bourbon Barrel Porter last night and was disappointed that the carbonation wasn't there very much - no head or foam. Added the prescribed about of sugar (3/4 cup) and bottled it about 10 days ago. Will letting it sit for another week (2-3?) give me more carbonation? Short of kegging it all & adding CO2 pressure, how can I get more foam?

 

[jschein]

I have found with BBP that it takes about 4 weeks, what temperature is it sitting at?

 

[NeoBrew]

You can't really successfully take beer out of bottles and keg it. It will be oxidized.

One week is not very much time. 2 weeks at 70 degrees would be more normal. As jschein said, some beers take even longer. It depends on how much residual yeast there was, what temp you are storing it at, and the alcohol content of the beer.

Patience usually pays off in beer making.

 

[Immocles]

Just reiterating what the folks above me have said.

Temperature will make a difference in the carbonation time. You'll want to find a space thats about 65-70F to get it rocking. I usually crack a bottle at about 10 days as well and usually have some type of carbonation, but often not very much. By the time 3 week mark rolls around, its good to go. I've also found that higher abv brews tend to take a bit longer to carbonate than my lower abv.

One thing that has helped me (and I can't remember who gave me this tip, it was definitely someone on this forum, but 100% not mine) was to give the bottles a bit of a daily swirl/invert to kick up the yeast/sugars. When I started doing that, I noticed I was getting more carbonation in a quicker timeframe.

Patience usually pays off in beer making.

This. A thousand times, this. So difficult to master that part of the process.

 

[1stbornbrew]

I have found with BBP that it takes about 4 weeks, what temperature is it sitting at?

One case in garage - temps have been cool but are warming next week. 1 case in basement at 68 degrees. Ambient temps for both. Garage at 55-65.

 

[ncbrewer]

One case in garage - temps have been cool but are warming next week. 1 case in basement at 68 degrees. Ambient temps for both. Garage at 55-65.

At one time, I conditioned in a closet that stayed about 65F in the winter. My beer took about 5 weeks to condition.

 

[SFC Rudy]

Patience, Patience, patience, patience, patience, patience. ALWAYS wait 14 days minimum before popping a top. Opening a beer before it's done carbonating will give you and under carbonated beer.

Go to the liquor store and buy a case of something you like, drink it and forget about your home brew for awhile.

 

[Velnerj]

If you're bourbon barrel porter is high in abv. (sounds like it is) and you're sure you added priming sugar then you'll be fine, just wait. I had a barley wine that took nearly 6 months to carbonate. But it was worth the wait! When alcohol levels are around 10% or more yeast become sluggish but they still get the job done.