My beer didn't carbonate?

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Rguardian989

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I recently finished an arrogant bastard clone that recently just hit 3 weeks in the bottles so i figured it was time to start giving them a try.

what i found was something of a shocker...the bottles have extremely low levels of carbonation (of the 6 or so that have been opened) I can detect a very slight tingle from the bubbles on my tongue but there is no head at all.

when i racked from my primary to my bucket i racked it directly on top of my priming solution and didnt stir it because i figured that would have been enough to mix the sugars in.

after looking at all the bottles they all have a very fine layer of yeast on the bottom and are pretty consistent from bottle to bottle

could this be the result of my not stiring it or do i have a bigger problem here as far as suspended yeast is concerned?
 
My AB clone was pretty high in ABV, so it took over a month for them to carb up. You can gently turn the bottles end over end, and keep them someplace warm, and I bet they'll carb up for you in another week or two.
 
What temp are they at? 3 weeks at 70F is the MINIMUM time required for proper carbonation, and the higher the ABV the longer they will take. My guess is that they just need more time.
 
og was around 1.081 so yeah i guess that makes sense that they might take longer. they've been bottled for 3 weeks this past monday.

i used standard left over 12 oz pop tops from beers ive drank before (cleaned out of course) theyre sitting at around 65 to 70 degrees depending on the weather as they are in my basement.

so i should just wait longer? any ideas on how long is a good period?
 
so I have a parallel thread on pop top (grolsh type) bottles; I am running 1 good bottle to two bad. Are yours the same? Flip top with the rubber O-ring? The advice I have received is that I should have replaced the O-rings.

I am now wondering if it is possible to re-carb by adding more sugar and using different bottles.
 
so I have a parallel thread on pop top (grolsh type) bottles; I am running 1 good bottle to two bad. Are yours the same? Flip top with the rubber O-ring? The advice I have received is that I should have replaced the O-rings.

I am now wondering if it is possible to re-carb by adding more sugar and using different bottles.

Okay, I say this with a certain amount of trepidation since you can easily make deadly bottle bombs, but yes you can. Grab some of those sugar tabs sold at morebeer or your local shop, and when you find a dud add a single tab and recap. However, this is not to be done on a bottle younger than a month, and still can ruin it. Frankly it's probably better to use to use your duds in ne'er cheese soup, braised cabbage, or corned beef (or a milkshake if it is a stout)
 
Stir the yeast up like Yooper said and wait a few more weeks. All my stronger, darker beers take longer to carb for whatever reason.
 
**CORRECTION**

i didnt mean swing tops i meant a normal 12 oz bottle eg; crown capped. sorry bout that.


ill leave em a few more weeks and repost if theres a change. if not im emptying them all into a bottling bucket with a little more sugar and possibly a vial of yeast and re bottling them.
 
**CORRECTION**

i didnt mean swing tops i meant a normal 12 oz bottle eg; crown capped. sorry bout that.


ill leave em a few more weeks and repost if theres a change. if not im emptying them all into a bottling bucket with a little more sugar and possibly a vial of yeast and re bottling them.

Oh, no don't do that! You'll oxidize the beer, and ruin it. If it's not better in 3 weeks, you can uncap and add a carb tablet (or two- check the "dosage") and a tiny pinch of yeast and recap. Don't pour the beer- that will ruin it.
 
^^ What he said :D
Splashing oxidizes, and even I as a Real Ale nut won't let a beer oxidize for more than a week.
 
^^ What he said :D
Splashing oxidizes, and even I as a Real Ale nut won't let a beer oxidize for more than a week.

Quit calling me "he" for heaven's sake! :D

Oxidized beer can taste "interesting" for a couple of days- beyond that it's ruined. You don't want to pour any finished beer, unless it's in your glass! But if it's truly undercarbed, it can be fixed without pouring it back into a bottling bucket. We can definitely help with that.
 
Rguardian989,

I had a similar problem 2 months ago and followed the advice Revy gave you (which he also gave me) and now I have 2 cases of very well carbed beer. Didn't have to add carb drops either.

Hope this works for you.

Mick
 
Rguardian989,

I had a similar problem 2 months ago and followed the advice Revy gave you (which he also gave me) and now I have 2 cases of very well carbed beer. Didn't have to add carb drops either.

Hope this works for you.

Mick

wait what advice was that? i dont see a post from him anywhere in this thread
 
He must mean this advice. ;)

There's nothing wrong. You are dealing with a big beer here. Big beer needs more time. Not weeks, months.

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that 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 ore 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.

Lazy Llama came up with a handy dandy chart to determine how long something takes in brewing, whether it's fermentation, carbonation, bottle conditioning....

chart.jpg


So forget about this beer for awhile. It will be fine.
 
1.081 is a pretty high gravity. like what was said about the higher the abv the longer it takes is true if you dont store at the right temp. if you do store at the right temp and you put the right amount of dextrose when bottling it should only take like 2-2.5 weeks. i drink after two and everythings fine. did you use a mash tun? is it extract, partial mash, or all grain?
 
Hi lads
I have the same problem wit a coopers lager kit and its carbonating 2 weeks, i opened a bottle today and it is still flat no head only a small psst when i opened it, hardely any life in it at all.
I might try leaving it near the heater for a few days and see how it goes as mentioned above.
OR is it different with lager.
 
Hi lads
I have the same problem wit a coopers lager kit and its carbonating 2 weeks, i opened a bottle today and it is still flat no head only a small psst when i opened it, hardely any life in it at all.
I might try leaving it near the heater for a few days and see how it goes as mentioned above.
OR is it different with lager.

It's the same, regardless of it being a lager or ale, the three weeks at 70 is the minimum time it usually takes for normal grav beers.
 
1.081 is a pretty high gravity. like what was said about the higher the abv the longer it takes is true if you dont store at the right temp. if you do store at the right temp and you put the right amount of dextrose when bottling it should only take like 2-2.5 weeks. i drink after two and everythings fine. did you use a mash tun? is it extract, partial mash, or all grain?

it was an extract with steeping grains.
im going to give it a few more weeks and ill crack open another one and i guess we will see from there
 
it was an extract with steeping grains.
im going to give it a few more weeks and ill crack open another one and i guess we will see from there

:mug:

right on. sounds like a partial mash to me. ya just let it go another week and a half then crack one. if not, one more week should definitely finish it off. Are you using dry yeast or liquid yeast?
 
:mug:

right on. sounds like a partial mash to me. ya just let it go another week and a half then crack one. if not, one more week should definitely finish it off. Are you using dry yeast or liquid yeast?

i used a vial of WLP 007 and made a starter out of it the day before pitching into my primary. it fermented very very vigorously and krausening was done within 3 or 4 days.
 

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