Think something went really wrong

[IPAAAA]

So I made a pliny clone (partial mash). I had a og of about 1.090. Didn't get the fg because I am an idiot. I let it sit in the primary for 5 weeks and two of those weeks I dry hopped.

So yesterday I went to test the beer. It has been bottled for 3 weeks. Popped them open and was really disappointed. They had 0 carbonation, the color is almost dark like root beer, it smells weird and definitely not like an ipa and it just tastes bad...basically all alcohol and not much flavor.

So now what do I do? Should I let it sit longer and see if it gets better? Should I just pop the caps now and put some yeast in it? Or did I just mess my beer up real bad and pour it out?

I tasted it when bottling and it was fine and the color was a lot lighter so I have no idea what might have caused all this. Bottles were all cleaned and sanatized before hand too. Please help!

 

[Shooter]

Should I let it sit longer and see if it gets better?

You should do this.

 

[Cheeto]

how about the complete recipe,

for people to offer help we need to know your process.

But my first thought is that it is still way too "green"

Anything that you brew with a starting gravity over 1.060 will give a very strong heat/alcohol taste. The longer you wait the less intrusive that becomes.

I brew large beers often many of them spend over 2 months in the primary and then 2 or more months conditioning either in a keg or bottles.

I have a barleywine that I brewed in Jan that is still sitting in a secondary/conditioning vessel because of it having a starting gravity of 1.128

I would like to see the recipe but I feel that you would be better suited waiting for this beer to mature.

 

[Rguardian989]

I just had a very very similar issue. i did an arrogant bastard clone OG 1.081 or so. hit week three and popped a few bottles with my friends. dead dead flat.

after a few disappointed looks at eachtoehr we drank our flat beers and finished up the night wiht other beers.

let the bottles sit another 2 weeks and they were fully carbonated and ready to go.

rule of thumb:

higher OG, needs longer to carb
lower og, 3 weeks is a good amount of time to wait.

just keep sitting on them they'll be carbed before you know it

 

[Shooter]

rule of thumb:

higher OG, needs longer to carb
lower og, 3 weeks is a good amount of time to wait.

There is a really useful graph around here, I believe Lazyllama made it, that really emphasizes that point well. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Shooter]

This is it:

https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/data/1/medium/chart.jpg

 

[cheezydemon3]

I had one beer that took 4 months to carb.

I had another that still didn't carb after 1 year.

Adding yeast is a bad idea.

Keep them in a warm place and shake them just a tiny bit for a day or 2 (no splashing or bubbles) and then just store them in a coolish room temperature environment for a little while, and for the love of god BREW SOMETHING ELSE....STAT!!!!

 

[carnevoodoo]

Anything that you brew with a starting gravity over 1.060 will give a very strong heat/alcohol taste. The longer you wait the less intrusive that becomes.

This is really not true. Sure, you can get alcohol heat from bigger beers, but if you treat them properly, this doesn't always happen. I have plenty of 1.060-1.080 recipes that are drinkable in the time it takes to ferment and carb up in a keg.

 

[Cheeto]

This is really not true. Sure, you can get alcohol heat from bigger beers, but if you treat them properly, this doesn't always happen. I have plenty of 1.060-1.080 recipes that are drinkable in the time it takes to ferment and carb up in a keg.

I am just stating what I have found that works.
But without the recipe it is hard to tell where his "flavors" are coming from.

 

[IPAAAA]

Thanks for the info guys. So you really think they will carb on their own? I used about a cup of priming sugar.

I am on my phone now but when I get back I will post the recipe I used for this.

Thanks again for the quick responses.

 

[IPAAAA]

This is it:

https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/data/1/medium/chart.jpg

Nice!

 

[IPAAAA]

how about the complete recipe,

for people to offer help we need to know your process.

But my first thought is that it is still way too "green"

Anything that you brew with a starting gravity over 1.060 will give a very strong heat/alcohol taste. The longer you wait the less intrusive that becomes.

I brew large beers often many of them spend over 2 months in the primary and then 2 or more months conditioning either in a keg or bottles.

I have a barleywine that I brewed in Jan that is still sitting in a secondary/conditioning vessel because of it having a starting gravity of 1.128

I would like to see the recipe but I feel that you would be better suited waiting for this beer to mature.

So here it is.

5 lbs US 2-row
7 lbs Extra DME (SRM 1-3)
.75 lbs Crystal 40 Malt
1 lb corn sugar
dry yeast

(calculate how much you need based of AAU%) oz 42.9 AAU Warrior (90 min)
(calculate how much you need based of AAU%) oz 25.6 AAU Chinook (90 min)
(calculate how much you need based of AAU%) oz 12 AAU Simcoe (45 min)
(calculate how much you need based of AAU%) oz 14.3 AAU Columbus (30 min)
(calculate how much you need based of AAU%) oz 20.5 AAU Centennial (0 min)
(calculate how much you need based of AAU%) oz 12 AAU Simcoe (0 min)

Ferment at 68F. Dry hop 2 weeks.

3.25 oz Columbus (Dry Hop 12 to 14 Days Total) - 3 oz
1.75 oz Centennial (Dry Hop 12 to 14 Days Total) - 2 oz
1.75 oz Simcoe (Dry Hop 12 to 14 Days Total) - 2.25
1.25 oz warrior (Dry Hop 12 to 14 Days Total) - 1.25

I forgot the exact yeast I used but I think it was a dry California ale yeast.

 

[Cheeto]

I really do not see anything out of place.

do you have any of the notes from the brew?

just a guess but you got about 55% Eff and is was a warm mash?

This was a Partial Mash recipe correct?

 

[IPAAAA]

To be honest I don't know what my efficiency was. I mashed at around 150-155 I believe and yes it was a partial mash.

I am gonna try and bring the bottles upstairs outta the garage and give them a swirl and keep them up here for a bit. The color is hat really throws me off too. It was super dark which makes no sense.

 

[Cheeto]

the dark can be explained, when did you add the DME?

 

[IPAAAA]

I believe I added it when I added the wort. Might have been once the wort started to boil but I don't believe so.

 

[IPAAAA]

So I went to check a bottle after I put them in my closet for a little while.

Still no carbonation and has a strong alcohol taste to it. Here is a pic so you can see the color. This was bottled on Aug 7th. Getting frustrated with this beer now.

 

[Shooter]

Man, that seems REALLY dark!

 

[Fletch78]

It was clear before you bottled, but then got dark inside the bottle?

 

[Fletch78]

My Men-in-Black Theory-

The trub leftover from dry hopping provided an organic compound solution within the beer that oxidized during the bottling process, becoming tannic over the course of several weeks. This is similar to stained swamp water with a layer of dead leaves on the bottom of the river bed, essentially a dead-leaf tea. Oh, and swamp gas and Venus.

 

[JLem]

honestly, having no carbonation after this long just seems weird. This means that either there were no live yeast in your bottles, there were no sugars for them to ferment in the bottles +/or the caps were not sealed properly. The first is highly unlikely unless you did something to kill and/or remove the yeast. The second is more likely if perhaps you forgot to add the sugar during bottling or used something that was non-fermentable. The last shouldn't really be an issue if you are using standard pop-top bottles and bottle caps, but could be a problem if you're trying to use twist-top bottles.

Do any of these seem more likely to you? What was your bottling procedure?

Also, is this your first brew or have you had nicely carbonated success in the past?

 

[IPAAAA]

Lemme clarify. I ended up drinking that beer yesterday. It had a very very tiny amount of carbonation. Actually, I wouldn't call it carbonation. It had some tiny air bubbles but I definitely wouldn't call it carbonation.

I have bottled before and yes it carbonated perfectly. I used about 3/4 to a cup of priming sugar.

Definitely didn't use twist off caps. These are caps I bought at the brew supply store.

I don't think I killed the yeast. I bottled just like the time before so no idea what could have happened to kill it. Mixed it in my bottling bucket and then bottled.

What do you think my next step is now? Put some yeast in the bottles or just keep playing the waiting game?

 

[IPAAAA]

So what is the best way to go about adding yeast to these bottles? How much would be a good amount to help carb these up? I am guessing I should use the same yeast as I pitched to ferment with...right?

 

[IPAAAA]

Well I added a little bit of yeast into each bottle two weeks ago. Popped one open today and still no carbonation.

I am officially giving up on this batch. I have since moved on to all grain so I guess I will just learn from this.

 

[JLem]

What did you use for priming sugar?

Viable yeast + appropriate amount of fermentable sugar + sealed caps + time = carbonation

No carbonation means something in the above equation is missing

 

[IPAAAA]

I used about 3.5oz cane sugar when I bottled based off the bottling calculator I found online.

It makes no sense to me. Maybe there is not enough sugar? These bottles have been sitting in a 70 degree garage for almost 2 months now and still not one note of carbonation.

I can't pop these open and add sugar now can I?

 

[Sammy75]

Something missed in the questions above was whether you used twist top bottles or not. You said you didn't use twist-off caps, but the bottles are the important part, as the thread on the bottle can prevent the caps from sealing properly.

 

[IPAAAA]

Not twist offs. Same bottles I used in my first batch and also the same caps. That batch came out perfectly.

 

[IPAAAA]

I let the bottles carb in my garage which sits at about 70 degrees...could that be causing me issues?

 

[JLem]

I let the bottles carb in my garage which sits at about 70 degrees...could that be causing me issues?

Everything sounds fine. At this point I have no idea why they haven't carbed up. Just leave them alone for anothe few weeks and see what happens.

 

[adhy]

I am curious if the OP had any luck with this batch as I am having the extact same problem.

Bottled my IIPA close to 2 months ago and it has just gotten worse. Color has darkened to a dark reddish color, it has a weird cherry flavor that has gotten stronger and an unpleasant bitter/sour thing. Also no carbonation. I've been waiting and waiting but it seems like a lost cause. Any idea what could have caused this so I don't repeat my mistake? Beer brewed before and after has been fine.

 

[IPAAAA]

This beer is still not carbed...I have given up on it.