No foam after 3 weeks in bottle

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IEpicDestiny

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Hi, new brewer here

I have been making the australian lager from the coopers brew kit and followed eveverything by the letter. Final gravity worked out perfectly etc.

I have tightly screwed caps when bottling and left them for 3 weeks in complete darkness in the recommended temperature.

However when I pour the beer out there is no foam apart from fizzy foam that goes away in about 20 seconds to a minute. The beer looks fizzy and you can also hear the fizz.

Another problem I'm having is that the beer still tastes and smells a little bit yeasty compared to normal beer..

The kit is supposed to make 40 pints, however I have to pour out 10 pints worth of beer because the bottom of the bottles are just too yeasty, is that normal?

Does anyone know what I've done wrong?

I really appreciate the help!
 
These should have carbonated unless the cap isn't 100% sealed (thereby leaking CO2).

Carefully decant the beer from the yeast in the bottles when pouring. Or, do a secondary next time (leaving the yeast from the primary behind).

But that's the thing though, they are very carbonated, that's why they are so fizzy. I made sure the caps were screwed on as tight as possible.

I left a lot of the yeast in the primary when bottling, so I'm guessing that these brew kits saying it makes 40 pints actually only makes 30 (unless you like to drink almost pure yeast)
 
How are they fizzy without foam? How are these being poured?

Yeast is a good source of vitamin B vitamins. Depends on the individual.


I'm tilting the glass as I pour, the same way I would when working at a bar

True but everyone seems to either reuse that yeast or chuck it
 
I did a carbonation test by turning the bottle upside down and quickly turning it back up again and I just get a very fizzy head which fades after 5 to 10 seconds
 
So it's more of a fizzy head rather than a normal foam head if you know what I mean
 
Another factor to consider is rinse aid (from the dishwasher)on your glassware. Makes a big difference in head retention. Try pre-rinsing your glass before pouring.
 
Are you using plastic bottles? If so are the bottles firm? How much priming sugar was added ?

Yes plastic bottles and yes they are very firm, wouldn't be able to squeeze them at all. They are 750ml cooper bottles and I used coopers carbonation drops, using 2 drops per bottle (per 750ml) as suggested by them.
 
No, by carbonation level I meant the levels of CO2.

How do I check the levels of CO2? When I saw other people make the beer kit online, I did exactly what they did (even got the exact same gravity levels) and there's had foam when they poured it after 3 weeks. Even on the coopers advert
 
Another factor to consider is rinse aid (from the dishwasher)on your glassware. Makes a big difference in head retention. Try pre-rinsing your glass before pouring.

That's interesting, thanks for the tip. I'm confused why commercial beers will have the head but just not homebrew beers using the same glass
 
But that's the thing though, they are very carbonated, that's why they are so fizzy. I made sure the caps were screwed on as tight as possible.

I left a lot of the yeast in the primary when bottling, so I'm guessing that these brew kits saying it makes 40 pints actually only makes 30 (unless you like to drink almost pure yeast)

I made 2 batches like that one winter. It turned out to be soap residue from when I washed bottles and used too much soap followed by not rinsing enough. Check your entire process to see if you might have had soap residue. It could be in the boil pot, the fermenter, or bottles.

Much of what you see in the bottom of the fermenter is proteins, not just yeast. Leaving the beer in the fermenter for a longer period lets this stuff settle more and compact some so you can recover more beer. I don't know how long you left this in the fermenter but I'd suggest the next beer stays there for 3 to 4 weeks.
 
How do I check the levels of CO2? When I saw other people make the beer kit online, I did exactly what they did (even got the exact same gravity levels) and there's had foam when they poured it after 3 weeks. Even on the coopers advert

Recipe should indicate. Example, 2.5 volumes, 2.3 volumes, etc.
 
I made 2 batches like that one winter. It turned out to be soap residue from when I washed bottles and used too much soap followed by not rinsing enough. Check your entire process to see if you might have had soap residue. It could be in the boil pot, the fermenter, or bottles.

Much of what you see in the bottom of the fermenter is proteins, not just yeast. Leaving the beer in the fermenter for a longer period lets this stuff settle more and compact some so you can recover more beer. I don't know how long you left this in the fermenter but I'd suggest the next beer stays there for 3 to 4 weeks.

Sadly it can't be that because I only rinsed my bottles (as the instruction told me if they were brand new out the box which they were) so no soap or star san or anything.

Ah okay, I followed the instructions and it told me to leave it in the fermenter for 7 days.. if that's where my problem lies than its pretty bad that the instructional video shows a proper foam head at the end
 
I just found this video:

and mine looks exactly like that after my 3 weeks also. As you can see, the head is very fizzy and not very foamy and the foam fades very quickly. If you watch the coopers instructional video it has a proper foam head however after 3 weeks, must be fake.

(mine is the Australian lager, not the european as shown in this video above)
 
Does it taste good? Does it smell good? Why do you have to have a head? If it’s carbed and is alcoholic them it’s fine.

Like someone said before not all beers will have big heads. I just did an English brown that has very small to no head depending on how aggressive I pour it.

If you want more foam just pour it a little less ‘professional bartender style’ and get it to foam.

I didn’t look at the recipe, but head retention has a lot to do with the grain/malt bill as well, so I’ve read, don’t quote me on that. It might just be the beer.

The video might be an exaggerated version of your beer kit, making it look more appealing and thus selling more units. When was the last time you saw a McDonald’s hamburger looking like the picture on the window...? Food for thought (or rather beer for thought?).
 
That's expected, OK. Relax. The most important thing? Does it taste OK? If so, then we're OK.

I once brewed a Foster's clone for a friend. I knew I'd burn in H**l one day for making such a thing. Person whom I brewed for had tears in their eyes thanking me. OK, I'm good.
 
Did you put in the priming sugar right before you bottled? Also the yeast on the bottom of the bottle is normal, just pour the beer very slowly and when the yeast cloud from the bottom starts to flow towards the mouth of the bottle, stop pouring.
 
Does it taste good? Does it smell good? Why do you have to have a head? If it’s carbed and is alcoholic them it’s fine.

Like someone said before not all beers will have big heads. I just did an English brown that has very small to no head depending on how aggressive I pour it.

If you want more foam just pour it a little less ‘professional bartender style’ and get it to foam.

I didn’t look at the recipe, but head retention has a lot to do with the grain/malt bill as well, so I’ve read, don’t quote me on that. It might just be the beer.

The video might be an exaggerated version of your beer kit, making it look more appealing and thus selling more units. When was the last time you saw a McDonald’s hamburger looking like the picture on the window...? Food for thought (or rather beer for thought?).

You've made some very good points! I guess all is fine then :) I'll be buying my next few kits tonight seeing that this one worked out okay.

The taste is pretty good but not as good as commercial beer sadly and it does taste a bit yeasty also, even when flushing the bottom quarter of the bottle, I'm guessing that will go away in time, I just wonder how much time it would take. The smell is good also just again quite yeasty.

I'll keep the pouring tips in mind and try that next time, I'll also try different beer kits and see the difference in head.

And that is very true, definitely looks alot better than a McDonalds Hamburger in person does haha
 
That's expected, OK. Relax. The most important thing? Does it taste OK? If so, then we're OK.

I once brewed a Foster's clone for a friend. I knew I'd burn in H**l one day for making such a thing. Person whom I brewed for had tears in their eyes thanking me. OK, I'm good.

Oh wow, do you have a recipe for that?
 
Did you put in the priming sugar right before you bottled? Also the yeast on the bottom of the bottle is normal, just pour the beer very slowly and when the yeast cloud from the bottom starts to flow towards the mouth of the bottle, stop pouring.

Yeah I put the right amount of carbonation drops in the bottles before tightening them up. That's what I do but sadly I have to waste a lot of beer doing that, if I did that with every bottle I'd only have 30 pints instead of 40 as mentioned on the kit
 
Yeah I put the right amount of carbonation drops in the bottles before tightening them up. That's what I do but sadly I have to waste a lot of beer doing that, if I did that with every bottle I'd only have 30 pints instead of 40 as mentioned on the kit

Why do you loose so many bottles? Do you have a bottling bucket and bottling wand? If you bought a starter brew kit it would have come with this. If you didn’t I suggest you do. It will have everything you need. You should only loose a bottle or two when racking from the fermenter to the bucket. Maybe three if you are worried about the yeast at the bottle of the fermenter. Tilt the fermenter at an angle and leave for a day or two before racking. This will allow to get a little bit more as the yeast cake settles to the corner of your fermenter.

Look at using priming sugar and put directly in your bottling bucket instead of the drops in each bottle. This will make it easier and less steps. Most beer kits come with priming sugar already in the kit.

Leave the bottles in the fridge for a week or two or three, the yeast will settle out and you just have to pour with it in mind. Leave it in the bottle. A lot of off flavors will settle out over time. Be patient.

Consider doing a gelatin addition to your next batch. Search for it on these forums. Just add some the day or two before you bottle, directly into the fermenter. This will help settle out a lot of dead yeast and debris in the beer.
 
I'll be buying my next few kits tonight seeing that this one worked out okay.

Don't buy too many kits. They will make better beer if the ingredients are fresh. Also you may decide to jump to all grain brewing and then what will you do with the kits. That happened to me and it was painful to have to go back and brew up the kits.
 
Don't buy too many kits. They will make better beer if the ingredients are fresh. Also you may decide to jump to all grain brewing and then what will you do with the kits. That happened to me and it was painful to have to go back and brew up the kits.

I did 4 kits relatively close to each other, then did ordered a 5th to do after learning from any mistakes I made and wrote down, but they sent me an extra one by mistake. After my 6th kit, I'll have tons of beer for the future, and be ready to move into all-grain brewing. First, I need to take care of temperature control here in Florida though before I buy any all-grain gear.
 
I'm a newb and I noticed that the newer and warmer the beers, the less stable the stuff was at the bottom of the bottle. The beer that went in the cooler place and got left longer before opening had a more stable residue that didn't flick up with the bubbles so readily.
 
I'm a newb and I noticed that the newer and warmer the beers, the less stable the stuff was at the bottom of the bottle. The beer that went in the cooler place and got left longer before opening had a more stable residue that didn't flick up with the bubbles so readily.

That's definitely true. Ozzy Osbourne owns a brewery, I heard him call it concrete. It won't be though if you don't leave it long enough! That's what it resembles when I left them all for 3 weeks in primary.
 
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