No Carbonation

[AHF]

Brewed a Belgian kit from Northern Brewer in November and bottles in December. For the first time, I've got a batch that just didn't carbonate. Not sure if the temperature in the basement was too low or what the issue was. It had all the normal behavior during fermentation is boozy and coming along decently for taste so not an issue of whether it fermented. Tried two bottles and both were clearly pressurized from the capping but zero carbonation. Any way to fix this now that it is this far down the line or just make do without the carbonation? (I don't have any equipment to force carb - have just mixed in the sugar and water when bottling in the past and with this batch). Thanks!

 

[ncbrewer]

Tried two bottles and both were clearly pressurized from the capping but zero carbonation.

Did you refrigerate for at least a day before opening?

 

[AHF]

No. Put them in the fridge for about an hour before opening.

 

[Jtk78]

No. Put them in the fridge for about an hour before opening.

Thats not long enough. Put three in the fridge. Have one no sooner than 24 hours later. Leave the other two at least a couple of days. The CO2 will be forced back into the liquid by the cold temperature. Report back and let us know if this helped.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Brewed a Belgian kit from Northern Brewer in November and bottles in December. For the first time, I've got a batch that just didn't carbonate. Not sure if the temperature in the basement was too low or what the issue was. It had all the normal behavior during fermentation is boozy and coming along decently for taste so not an issue of whether it fermented. Tried two bottles and both were clearly pressurized from the capping but zero carbonation. Any way to fix this now that it is this far down the line or just make do without the carbonation? (I don't have any equipment to force carb - have just mixed in the sugar and water when bottling in the past and with this batch). Thanks!

What yeast and what kind of ABV are we talking?

 

[AHF]

What yeast and what kind of ABV are we talking?

Omega Yeast Belgian Ale R
9% abv according to Northern Brewer (I did not test it)

 

[AHF]

Thats not long enough. Put three in the fridge. Have one no sooner than 24 hours later. Leave the other two at least a couple of days. The CO2 will be forced back into the liquid by the cold temperature. Report back and let us know if this helped.

Will try this and report back.

 

[Jtk78]

Also, the closer to 70F you can get them, the better they will carb. Some will also recommend inverting the bottles but I prefer to lay them on the side. This keeps the yeast wet and away from the neck of the bottle. If you do this they should be upright a few days before you try them.

 

[RM-MN]

By itself, capping does not create pressure in the bottles. That's the yeast eating sugar and carbonating your beer. With the high alcohol content this may be a slow process and low temperature during the process slows it even more. Give the beer more time and a warmer environment and it should carbonate fine.

 

[blubrewbbq]

For a 9% beer....how much yeast did you pitch? Did you make a starter? May not have enough residual yeast to carbonate the bottle.

 

[AHF]

For a 9% beer....how much yeast did you pitch? Did you make a starter? May not have enough residual yeast to carbonate the bottle.

Did not make a starter - just used the liquid yeast. Also racked to secondary which I typically don't do.

Unfortunately, a week in the fridge didn't help.

 

[tsholl]

I had the same problem with "Dragons Silk" from Northern Brewer. I used two yeast packs and a yeast starter. Came out a 9.7%, great flavor but very flat. I think one of a few things may have happened...

1. It got too alcoholic for the yeast that I used.
2. Secondary fermentation lasted so long the yeast was just dormant when I added it to the bottles.
3. I was too careful NOT to transfer all of the sludge between primary secondary fermentation and bottling, so didn't actually transfer the yeast to the bottles.

To remedy this I actually uncapped all bottles, added a pinch of yeast into each (can't remember the type but the guys at "Brew and Grow" said it should stand up to a high ABV beer). I didn't add any more priming sugar, figuring the priming sugar was still in the beer. I then let the beer stand for another two weeks. This helped, I wouldn't say it tastes flat anymore but it still doesn't have a nice foamy head. If you are still having problem after refrigeration you can try this. I tried this and then told a friend who brews that it was better but still not very carbonated. He said I could have used Champagne yeast which will stand up to very high ABV. You could also try that. Let us know how it goes!

 

[blubrewbbq]

Did not make a starter - just used the liquid yeast. Also racked to secondary which I typically don't do.

Unfortunately, a week in the fridge didn't help.

I would try what tsholl recommend. Uncap, pitch some champagne yeast (or yeast for high gravity) and see what happens.

 

[AHF]

Will try to find time to pick up some champagne yeast and give it a shot. From what I've read, the beer won't hit its prime until 6 months or so from brewing so I've still got time.

 

[AHF]

Seemed to work very well. Pulled the cap from the beer first. Added a sprinkle of yeast to a replacement cap. Capped the beer and turned it upside down. Some showed after two weeks and seemed fully carbonated after 3-4 weeks so very normal progression.

The foam does seem to linger a bit more than usual and the main followup question I had was whether this should be expected to increase the ABV. I’ve seen a very serious kick from these after adding the Champagne yeast. I notice some significant effects after a single bottle which was not the case before.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

It was 9% before the champagne yeast, it was a hitter already before you carbed it.

A beer that big you better feel it after one.

 

[davidabcd]

@AHF
The priming sugar in your beer is a fixed amount, enough to carbonate the beer so the increase is very small. It might be .5%? Easy enough to calculate if you're inclined.

I did the same recipe but bought ingredients separately. I got mine over 11% ABV if not 12%. My OG was over 1.110.
I am always uncomfortable with leaving a beer so long (even though it's probably the best thing to do) for the exact reason you posted originally. I didn't want to add yeast at bottling.
Anyway, I did three weeks in the primary and then bottled. It's been a month and basically fully carbed.

What did/do you think of the whiskey flavor? I used the full 12oz though it was recommended on this site to cut back.
I like it. The beer is still young but I thought it came close to Dragon's Milk.
Cheers!

 

[AHF]

@AHF
The priming sugar in your beer is a fixed amount, enough to carbonate the beer so the increase is very small. It might be .5%? Easy enough to calculate if you're inclined.

I did the same recipe but bought ingredients separately. I got mine over 11% ABV if not 12%. My OG was over 1.110.
I am always uncomfortable with leaving a beer so long (even though it's probably the best thing to do) for the exact reason you posted originally. I didn't want to add yeast at bottling.
Anyway, I did three weeks in the primary and then bottled. It's been a month and basically fully carbed.

What did/do you think of the whiskey flavor? I used the full 12oz though it was recommended on this site to cut back.
I like it. The beer is still young but I thought it came close to Dragon's Milk.
Cheers!

This was the Rochefort 8 clone kit so bit of a different profile from Dragon’s Milk and no whiskey. Color is similar to the inspired brew and taste isnot spot on but you can see the similarity. Taste is good, nice mouthfeel and is not not overwhelmed by the high alcohol content. Just went from strong to really strong after carbing.