No carbonation at all! What to do

[zappadragon]

So I brewed up a batch of the Midwest Black Dog Ale and I followed the directions to the T! Now its been in the bottles for 2 weeks and one day. Brand new blue ez cap bottles I might add. Not even the slightest bit of carbonation, no POP, nothing. Beer tasted good just flat. I gave each bottle a little shake and will wait another two weeks, but what else could have gone wrong? Has this happened to anyone else? Will the little shake and another two weeks do the trick? Just bummed. I was excited to hear the POP of my beer.


***********Update posted on post 17************************

 

[jeepinjeepin]

What temperature is it being stored at? 2 weeks is young. Wait at least another 2 before popping another.

 

[HopHound12]

Did you boil the priming sugar before you added it to the bottling bucket? If not it may not have gotten mixed well.

 

[WhineinAlbany]

I would give it at least another week. 3 weeks at 70 is minimum. It may take at little longer if your room temperature is colder. It took 4 weeks on one of my stouts at 63 degrees. Patience is key. There's not an exact time frame.

 

[bighorn_brew]

Are you for sure you included additional sugar in your bottling bucket? IF yes, drop a couple grains of Safeale US-05 in each bottle and wait a couple more weeks, be sure to place bottles in warm spot, cover from light.
And, if you can't remember distinctly including additional sugar, or recall omitting the sugar. Get your self some bottling sugar drops (coopers) and drop 1 in each one, and (if you want) some US-05 yeast.
You should have room in each bottle but if you don't have enough room somehow remove some beer from each one, but you should be fine...

 

[zappadragon]

Thanks! The bottles are stored under a cabinet and in the dark at 72. I will wait a bit longer and see what happens. With my other two batches before this one (different types of beers) I never had a problem.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Thanks! The bottles are stored under a cabinet and in the dark at 72. I will wait a bit longer and see what happens. With my other two batches before this one (different types of beers) I never had a problem.

That sounds like good storage conditions for carbonating. Give it some time and hope for the best. Did you measure your final gravity before adding the priming sugar? If so, measure the gravity of the next bottle you open and compare it to your final gravity. That along with the carbonation level should lead you towards whether it is a yeast or sugar problem or no problem at all.

 

[drhookmec]

My thought is after 2 weeks he should see some form of carbonation.
But since he didn't i need to ask
what kind of priming sugar did you use?..Corn sugar..DME..Etc
How did you go abought preparing it?
Or did the kit come with carb tabs? if so how did you use those.

Basically the beer needs sugar at the bottling stage to carbonate.
Now if you added sugar when you bottled you should see some form of carbonation.
Also keep in mind when storing bottles for carbination DO NOT store them on a cold basement floor.
It is best to keep them at room temperature.

tim

 

[bighorn_brew]

My thought is after 2 weeks he should see some form of carbonation.
But since he didn't i need to ask
tim

^That's what I was thinking...There should be some (at this point) if any is going to happen at all...but,,,who knows...stranger things have occurred...

 

[zappadragon]

I used the package of bottling sugar (corn sugar) that comes with the kit from midwest supply. I boiled it just like it said and followed all directions and I stated before. I would think I would see some carbonation at this point too.

 

[danmdevries]

I was in your shoes not long ago. I brewed a holiday ale on 9-14, Bottled 10-6. 11-7 I popped the top, heard a small hiss but not what I expected. Poured and only got a faint ring around the perimeter. Flavor flat. I noticed minimal yeast sediment at the base of the bottle. I figured maybe too much yeast dropped out so I split the 24 bottles left at that time and uncapped half, adding 3ml of rehydrated yeast to each bottle. Immediately recapped and left them sit a few more weeks. 11-20 I opened a bottle of the ones sealed from the start and noted full carbonation profile, yeast sediment in the bottom. I opened a bottle of the re-yeasted and same thing. No discernible difference between the two.

Lesson learned: give it time. If that doesn't work, give it more time.

 

[drhookmec]

Maybe try moving the bottles to a warmer climate, Like if have them downstairs
try moving them up stairs and see if that makes a difference.

just a thought..

tim

 

[Ogri]

Can I also jump on this 2011 newbie bandwagon we've got here?

How heavy a gravity is the brew?? Revvy's constantly preaching the mantra of something like a minimum of three weeks at 70ø for an average gravity beer and exponentially longer for a considerably heavier one.

 

[zappadragon]

Can I also jump on this 2011 newbie bandwagon we've got here?

How heavy a gravity is the brew?? Revvy's constantly preaching the mantra of something like a minimum of three weeks at 70ø for an average gravity beer and exponentially longer for a considerably heavier one.

Final Gravity was 1.006. My hydrometer is not the best or easiest to read though. My other batches of other brews finished at 1.010 and I had no problems at all.

 

[Revvy]

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.....

 

[Revvy]

My thought is after 2 weeks he should see some form of carbonation.

Not necessarily....If it's a high grav beer that is destined to take 8 weeks or more to carb, I wouldn't expect even the tiniest "pfft" when I opened one....

 

[zappadragon]

Well I have carbonation now..... in some of them....

So I waited and did get good carbonation in some of them. I have still have a few with no carbonation. I did notice yesterday at my friends house the first was had good carbonation, then the second one had none. While I was going to get the third one out of the fridge I notice on the second one, that had no carbonation, it had a little beer stain/dried candy like beer above the rubber gasket. Now these are brand new bottles and all of the gaskets look ok. Could it just be some bad gaskets letting the C02 out?

 

[helibrewer]

Just a technique question; did you mix the sugar in the bottling bucket or add a small amount to each bottle?

If some are carb'd and some are not, you are probably right on the edge of your minimum carbonation period...more time!!

 

[zappadragon]

Just a technique question; did you mix the sugar in the bottling bucket or add a small amount to each bottle?

If some are carb'd and some are not, you are probably right on the edge of your minimum carbonation period...more time!!

I used a bottling bucket.