No carbonation

[davidtraher]

Hi all....I bottled my second batch of beer, ever. It was an extract kit, Irish Red Ale. I use the 500ml plastic bottles and put in one carbonation drop in each. The beer sat for almost two weeks at room temp, chilled, and tried them last night. I ended up opening every bottle and not one of them had any carbonation, they were all completely flat. Rather disappointing. My first batch I did in the same fashion, and probably 25% of them were light on carbonation but not completely flat. The caps were cranked on very well, so I don't think it was a leak, especially when every bottle was the same. Is one drop not enough, even though it worked on my first batch, or is something else wrong?
Thanks!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I use the 500ml plastic bottles and put in one carbonation drop in each.

(500ml is ~17 (USA) oz).

What size was the carbonation drop? What does the kit recommend? Is the kit assuming a specific bottle size?

room temp

at lower room temperatures (62 - 65F) it will take longer to bottle condition.

What was your room temperature range?

Is one drop not enough, even though it worked on my first batch, or is something else wrong?

If, for the specific drop you are using, one drop is recommended for bottle conditioning a 12 oz bottle, then there's probably not enough sugar in one drop to properly carbonate the 18 oz bottles.

Temperature is also a factor. In the low 60s, bottle conditioning will more time than bottle conditioning in the low 70s.

 

[Chorgey]

I did a quick search and came up with ⇒ How to use carbonation drops for brewing beer and cider

It looks like the 1 drop is good for 500ml, however, the webpage states "A good length of time is then needed to let your beer condition properly and we recommend an absolute minimum of 2 weeks for that (we won't begrudge you a taste tester one though eh?).

At three weeks your beer should be beginning to become quite drinkable, but as usual, we suggest you wait till that fifth week if you can be so patient."

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

FWIW, dosage is probably product specific

MJ has a carbonation drops product with suggested dosage of "1 per 375ml bottle or 2 per 750ml bottle" (via amazon.com).

 

[davidtraher]

(500ml is ~17 (USA) oz).

What size was the carbonation drop? What does the kit recommend? Is the kit assuming a specific bottle size?


at lower room temperatures (62 - 65F) it will take longer to bottle condition.

What was your room temperature range?


If, for the specific drop you are using, one drop is recommended for bottle conditioning a 12 oz bottle, then there's probably not enough sugar in one drop to properly carbonate the 18 oz bottles.

Temperature is also a factor. In the low 60s, bottle conditioning will more time than bottle conditioning in the low 70s.

I used the Coopers drops. Beer was at roughly 70, and stored in a dark area for probably 13 days before they went in the fridge, and chilled for a day

 

[Zambezi Special]

I don't use drops, but I do bottle carbonate.
My thoughts: even if you would have put too little, there should still have been some carbonation. If you use pet bottles, you can actually follow this by squeezing them.
No carbonation at all sounds like either or both of 2 things: leaking bottles or no active yeast (left).
You state that the bottles were closed properly, so it has to be something with yeast. It's unlikely that there is none left though.
I'm baffled. All I can think of is shake and put warmer

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I used the Coopers drops.

Assuming those drops are for a 12 oz bottle, that is probably not enough sugar to properly carbonate a 17 oz bottle.

eta: time may also be a factor. 13 days at 70F may be long enough. A day in the fridge may not be long enough - people often suggest three days. It's possible that with three days in the fridge, there may be a small amount of carbonation.

eta: There are priming sugar calculators, intended for estimating sugar needed (for a specific CO2 level) for batch priming. One can scale the batch size to 12 oz (or 17 oz) to estimate dosage for individual bottles. The estimates for 12 oz and 17 oz bottles are noticeably different. Can one carbonation drop cover both ranges and produce good results for both?

 

[davidtraher]

Thanks all....it occurred to me that I stored the beer on my garage floor, so perhaps it was simply too cold? My first back was stored on the counter, so no concrete to draw heat out of maybe?

 

[mac_1103]

Yes, your garage floor will act as a heat sink, but... How cold is your garage? What yeast strain came with the kit? What's the optimum temperature range for that strain?

Are you going to try to carbonate these again?

 

[Bobby_M]

I used the Coopers drops. Beer was at roughly 70, and stored in a dark area for probably 13 days before they went in the fridge, and chilled for a day

The plastic bottles should be firm when you squeeze. Until that happens, do not refrigerate. Try putting them in a warmer space and give the bottles a shake. Wait again until the bottles are firm.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

@davidtraher : what @Bobby_M suggests is a good way to attempt to get these bottles "back on track" for a full carbonation.

Given this ...

My first batch I did in the same fashion, and probably 25% of them were light on carbonation but not completely flat.

(and without knowing the status of the other 75% of the bottles in the first batch)

it occurred to me that I stored the beer on my garage floor, so perhaps it was simply too cold? My first back was stored on the counter, so no concrete to draw heat out of maybe?

... there still may be a concern with the size of the carbonation drop and the size of the bottle.

 

[davidtraher]

Thanks all....rightly or wrong I dumped the batch, didn't love the taste anyways. Bottled a Kölsch yesterday, put a drop and roughly a half in each, storing them on the counter, garage is heated, set to about 69, which I can bump up if need be. I earmarked my calendar for 3 weeks before chilling, and only if the bottles are firm.

I brewed a cream ale yesterday, will is be okay at the same temp as the Kölsch?

 

[ncbrewer]

Maybe it's just me, but I had trouble with the seal on one plastic bottle. I think I over tightened the cap and deformed the seat. You might have something like that going on.