Low carbonation

[gatorbrew713]

I bottled my first batch (True Brew German Style Light Ingredient Kit) 12 days ago. I decided to refrigerate one bottle last night to sample it this evening, and do the official tasting with friends and family this weekend.

Well, it tastes pretty good, but I was surprised when there was not much of a head. Not really flat, but not as much carbonation as I think there should be.

I followed the directions for bottling, by heating the water and priming sugar until thoroughly dissolved, brought it to a boil, etc. then left it in the garage.

Could the temps in the garage affected it? I'm in Florida, but over the past two weeks our temps have ranged from the 40's up to the 80's. It never got that cold, or warm, in the garage, but could the variance be the cause?

 

[DWavs]

You should wait a minimum of 3 weeks at 70 degrees. I would think the lower temps at night could have hampered the carbing process.

Keep it at room temp for another couple of weeks and you should be pleasantly surprised.

 

[drhookmec]

Yes, Temp. differences are the most common causes of under carbonated beer.
Try to keep it at a consistent 65-70deg.

If at anytime the beer goes below 60deg this can cause the yeast to go dormant
and settle out of the beer.