Low carbonation problem...
- Thread starter SoulBrew
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1. Did you add priming sugar? How much? (I assume you're doing 5 gallon batches?)
2. What temperature do you store your bottles at? If less than, say 62, they will produce CO2 slower. I suppose we should also ask what yeast did you use?
3. The OG for that beer, if I have the right recipe, is 1.066, which makes it fairly big, though not huge. Two weeks is just on the outside for a normal beer to carb. Bigger beers take longer. I'd wait at least four weeks for that beer.
So, depending on your answers to the above, you just need to show patience and wait a bit longer. To wit: RDWAHAHB.
2. What temperature do you store your bottles at? If less than, say 62, they will produce CO2 slower. I suppose we should also ask what yeast did you use?
3. The OG for that beer, if I have the right recipe, is 1.066, which makes it fairly big, though not huge. Two weeks is just on the outside for a normal beer to carb. Bigger beers take longer. I'd wait at least four weeks for that beer.
So, depending on your answers to the above, you just need to show patience and wait a bit longer. To wit: RDWAHAHB.
born3z
Well-Known Member
It just needs more time. At least three weeks. I have an IPA that's been bottled for three weeks and is not ready yet. It's close, but not there.
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."
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.
At two weeks I wouldn't expect ANY of my beers to be carbed yet.....
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."
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.
At two weeks I wouldn't expect ANY of my beers to be carbed yet.....
DMartin
Well-Known Member
Adding more sugar won't make it carb faster, just like turning up your thermostat won't make your house get warm faster. In both cases it just ramps up the potential maximum.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
Adding more sugar will make your bottles explode when it does carb. I would seal your bottles in a plastic tub to contain the damage.
A lot of new brewers who have carb issues often think that adding more sugar is the answer. That's where the risk of bombs come in. If they've added priming sugar to begin with, and it's not carbed, then the problem is not with the sugar, it's with the yeast. The sugar hasn't been consumed by the yeast for whatever reason (in your case they're tuckered out) adding more will just make too much co2 if the yeast ever does eat it.
Adding more yeast is always the safer bet. But yeah in your high grav beer, making sure all the original fermentables in the primary were consumed is probably a good idea, if the yeast tired out before terminal gravity was reached, the yeast would start chewing the other sugar.
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OP
SoulBrew
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I did have a problem with my wyeast nutrient pack not fully popping with this batch... can I add yeast at this point? And if so how?...I'm gonna give it another couple of weeks since I have another batch already bottled that should be ready in a week... see I thought, and there I go thinking again, those Carb tablets just made Carb. If I had known it was just sugar I would of for never bought the dumb things... I tried one of those Carb tablets and taste just like corn sugar... why do they even sell those? Oh wait that's right for newbies like me that think Carb is just gonna magically appear... lol DAMNIT...
DMartin
Well-Known Member
SoulBrew said:
Lesson learned. Carb tabs are mostly just individually measured corn sugar, just enough for one bottle. It is difficult to consistently measure out one bottle's worth of priming sugar if you are only bottling a few. That's what they are useful for.
born3z
Well-Known Member
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