I have a pre-lagered lager that has been bottle-conditioning for 3 weeks and it's barely carbonated. The yeast (w-34/70) flocculated very well and the beer pours super clear. Would shaking the bottles up help? My process was 1) ferment, 2) cold crash and fine with gelatin, 3) add corn sugar and bottle. I figured I would be well on my way by this point. I plan to lager AFTER the beer carbs up. Please help!
w-34/70 won't carb up!
- Thread starter RCubed76
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I did 2/3 cup of corn sugar to 1 cup water (for 5.5 gallons of beer), boiled it for 7 minutes, let cool, and then dumped it into bottling bucket. Then I transferred my beer from the primary with a siphon hose on top of the sugar water. I didn't stir for fear of oxidation, but this is the same process I have used before and all was fine.
smata67
Well-Known Member
Forget volume (as in "2/3 cup"). 4 ounces (by weight) of corn sugar will work for any 5 gallon batch. Carbonation needs to happen at room temperature. Did you "carb" at 55F or room temperature for 3 weeks? Also, always stir up your bottling solution in the bottling bucket. There is this thing called "stratification" that will have you ending up with too much sugar in some bottles and not enough in others. Ask me how I know 
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^What he said.
If you are carbonating at lager ferment temps, it’s going to take forever. I had a few carb up last year in the mid 50s, but it took weeeeeeeks. Raise the temp up to 60-70 and then bring it back down cold condition after a solid week or two.
If you are carbonating at lager ferment temps, it’s going to take forever. I had a few carb up last year in the mid 50s, but it took weeeeeeeks. Raise the temp up to 60-70 and then bring it back down cold condition after a solid week or two.
smata67
Well-Known Member
No. Keep at room temperature until carbonation is complete. Did you use gelatin? This will significantly slow up carbonation.
smata67
Well-Known Member
It will carb. Be patient. Six weeks at carb temps will do it. Three to four weeks is typical, but I have found gelatin extends this timeframe a few weeks. I had a belgian ale once that took 3 months to carb properly, but ended up fine. One "trick" to speed up carbonation is to flip the bottle once a day. It puts the yeast back into suspension. Might cut a week or two off the process. Or just wait.
When I used to cold crash with gelatin, I would still have full carbonation after 3 weeks in the bottle, but I would invert the bottles a few times in the first week or so to rouse the yeast back into suspension.
Sometimes when you bottle the gelatin knocks a lot of the yeast into the bottom of the fermenter, so you don't get much into the bottling bucket. You can put maybe a quarter packet of fresh US-05 yeast into the bottling bucket when you add the corn sugar charge to ensure there is plenty of healthy yeast for a 3-4 week bottle conditioning time. Also the fresh new yeast will assist removing the residual oxygen from the bottle, helping to keep the beer fresh longer.
I had a similar batch which would not carb up. At about the 2 month point, I added some US-05 to some distilled water in an 8 ounce Mason jar. Using a sanitized eye dropper, I carefully uncapped one bottle, squirted some yeast solution into the beer and quickly recapped. Uncap them one at a time and recap, do not leave them all open. Worked like a charm!
I had a similar batch which would not carb up. At about the 2 month point, I added some US-05 to some distilled water in an 8 ounce Mason jar. Using a sanitized eye dropper, I carefully uncapped one bottle, squirted some yeast solution into the beer and quickly recapped. Uncap them one at a time and recap, do not leave them all open. Worked like a charm!
smata67
Well-Known Member
I will only invert a few of the bottles from a batch to buy some time. I don't like dealing with the hardened yeast that ends up collecting at the neck.
Keep in mind that the gelatin may not only impact the carbonation, but the conditioning as well. I usually pop my first bottles at 3 weeks and I remember when I first starting using gelatin, I thought my beers were a bust. They were still green at that point. All were fine by 5-6 weeks.
Gelatin will give you some crystal clear beers, no doubt about it.
Keep in mind that the gelatin may not only impact the carbonation, but the conditioning as well. I usually pop my first bottles at 3 weeks and I remember when I first starting using gelatin, I thought my beers were a bust. They were still green at that point. All were fine by 5-6 weeks.
Gelatin will give you some crystal clear beers, no doubt about it.
^^^This! Definitely the reason, you knocked out the yeast with the gelatin.
