No Carbonation

[millerspiel]

I recently made a Pale Ale everything seemed to be going well, I was real close on my gravity goals and now 3 weeks after bottling I tried my first bottle last night and there was no carbonation. I added the packet of sugar to my bottling bucket just as I have done in the past so I don't know what could have happened. I tried a second bottle and it had the same problem. Any suggestions of what might have happened and is there anyway to save it? Could I rebottle it with new sugar? By the way the beer tasted great.
Thanks,

 

[VTBrewer]

give the bottles a gentle swirl and get them to 72 degrees. what temp are you at now?

 

[markcurling]

I guess the problem is either a) the sugar hasn't fermented, or b) there wasn't enough sugar. So...

What was the timescale of fermentation before bottling?
What temperature were the bottles stored at?
What weight of sugar did you add to what volume of beer?
Was the sugar properly dissolved (i.e. did the same amount of sugar end up in each or could you have a few bottles that are super-carbonated?)

 

[millerspiel]

this is my second batch and the only thing I did differently was put them in refigerator as soon as I bottled them. I just took them out gave them a little swirl and put them in the sun to warm up a littlel. Hopefully that will help.

 

[VTBrewer]

That was your issue. Carbonation is a mini fermentation process, and should happen at 70-72 degrees.

 

[mlanoue]

That would do it. When you chilled down the bottles in the fridge it put the yeast to sleep. The bottles need to sit at a fermentable temperature for a few weeks first.

 

[dvdanny]

this is my second batch and the only thing I did differently was put them in refigerator as soon as I bottled them. I just took them out gave them a little swirl and put them in the sun to warm up a littlel. Hopefully that will help.

And the mystery is solved. I have the same problem with mine but it's because the temp hasn't risen above 60 for the past month. I'm going to put my bottles in a cooler with an electric blanket and thermostat soon, because I have two beers that have been in bottles for over a month with no carb, I wanna drink them sometimes this year, lol.

 

[Revvy]

this is my second batch and the only thing I did differently was put them in refigerator as soon as I bottled them. I just took them out gave them a little swirl and put them in the sun to warm up a littlel. Hopefully that will help.

Get them out of the sun unless you want to skunk them!!!!!! Just put them in a closet at room temp, or the warmest dark place you can find.

You put the yeast to sleep by putting them in the fridge before they carb...

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. Lower temperatures 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."

Read the above blog, and come back to the beer in a couple more weeks.

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.

And after 3 weeks, put one in the fridge for a day or so to see if it is carbed. Don't put the rest in til you know they are carbed up. Otherwise you are putting the yeast to sleep before their job is done.

 

[millerspiel]

Get them out of the sun unless you want to skunk them!!!!!! Just put them in a closet at room temp, or the warmest dark place you can find.

You put the yeast to sleep by putting them in the fridge before they carb...

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. Lower temperatures 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."

Read the above blog, and come back to the beer in a couple more weeks.

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.

And after 3 weeks, put one in the fridge for a day or so to see if it is carbed. Don't put the rest in til you know they are carbed up. Otherwise you are putting the yeast to sleep before their job is done.

thanks Revvy, I live in San Diego but it has been cold here in the low 60's. I just took them out of the sun and put them in the house. Hopefully we will get back to our seasonal temps in the 70's soon.

your suggestion of "patience" is the hardest part of brewing. I need to get more than one batch going so waiting won't be as much of an issue.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Around a hot water heater is sometimes a good place, or on top of a fridge.

a packet of sugar?

I suggest moving on to sugar that you measure out and boil in water. Batches are never 5 gallons exactly. (unless you top off, which I advise against)