Virtually no carbonation?

[Goughy]

I bottled my 1st ever homebrew bitter last weekend into 500ml bottles with one Coopers carbonation drop in each bottle (per supplier instruction). I know its only, been a week, but I thought it would be a good idea to make some tasting notes after a week of the secondary fermentation. The beer tastes quite nice, but there's no head at all, and only very faint carbonation sensation in the mouth. Should I be worried, or will the carbonation increase after further fermentation in the bottle?

 

[JLem]

1 week I not enough time to judge.

Also, 1 carb drop in 500ml does not seem enough. I've never used them, but I thought you were supposed to use 1 per 12 oz bottle (350 ml) for low carbonation, 2 for medium carbonation. If that is correct, you won't get much carbonation.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

FROM THERE AMAZON PAGE

"The dosage required is 1 drop per 345-375ml (12 oz) or 2 drops per 740-750ml bottle"

on that note you probably should have used 2 per bottle
they seem easier but have never tried for for this exact reason, with corn sugar i can measure to the tee how much carbonation i will get on each bottle instead of guessing in between 1 or 2 "tablets"

 

[Goughy]

Thanks for the good advice guys. I followed the instructions from the supplier I bought all the gear from - maybe I'll need to "tweak" it for my next brew to get the carbonation right. Hopefully there'll be more carbonation evident when I taste it again in a fortnight.

Thanks again,
Goughy.

 

[msherretz]

Hi guys, a bottling bucket with corn sugar addition is ALWAYS superior to the carb drops for both consistency and fine tuned carbonation. Store the bottles at room temp foe a week and they should be fully carbonated (as long as you did not eliminate all the yeast by settling or filtration) but store them cold for at least a day before tasting to see the real effect. CO2 dissolves into the beer at lower temps, so cold storage is key to a good head. I like 3 weeks if I can stand the wait.

 

[kewlio250]

Hi guys, a bottling bucket with corn sugar addition is ALWAYS superior to the carb drops for both consistency and fine tuned carbonation. Store the bottles at room temp foe a week and they should be fully carbonated (as long as you did not eliminate all the yeast by settling or filtration) but store them cold for at least a day before tasting to see the real effect. CO2 dissolves into the beer at lower temps, so cold storage is key to a good head. I like 3 weeks if I can stand the wait.

they will NOT be carbonated after 7 days, ask any of the regulars here, 3 weeks at 70f MINIMUM, you're just wasting them if you open them earlier than that

 

[starrfish]

You'll get better answers in the
Beginners Beer Brewing Forum

 

[TobiasIsQueenMary]

You will be surprised how much more carbonation you get after 3 weeks vs 1 week. And even more surprised about the difference from 3 weeks vs 5 weeks...just try to be patient, although I know it can be difficult.

 

[Goughy]

You guys are totally right - 3 weeks secondary fermentation and it's got a lovely head - tastes great too. Patience pays!

Thanks again for all the advice

Goughy
Wales, UK.