It has been 2 1/2 weeks since I bottled my California steam beer. It still is pretty flat and has only a tiny hiss when I cracked the cap. It tastes that same as it did five days ago. Is my brew busted? How much longer should I wait? Is there anything else I can do to revive it?
What is up with my carbonation?
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dickproenneke
Well-Known Member
dirtfang said:
Are you giving them enough time in the fridge before opening?
How much beer, how much and what kind of sugar, what temp are you storing at? Details will help. It's clear something is happening, so not all is lost.
pelipen said:
I only refrigerated one out of the three that I tasted and I refrigerated it for about 16 hours. The refrigeration for me did not really increase any carbonation . Do I need to refrigerate for longer? It is 5 gallons and I used a prepackaged priming sugar and I am storing it at a temp of 62-68° in the dark. Hope that gives you some more to work with!
flars
Well-Known Member
68° to 72° would be the ideal bottle conditioning temperature. Carbonation would probably develop in two weeks. Then refrigerate for three days to force carb.
Three weeks of conditioning and perhaps two days of refrigeration would then give you the same amount of CO2 in solution.
Three weeks of conditioning and perhaps two days of refrigeration would then give you the same amount of CO2 in solution.
dickproenneke
Well-Known Member
dirtfang said:
Try chilling one down for 48 hours an see if that makes a difference. If you carb'd on the low side, assuming 62F, then it might just take a little longer for those bottles to get fizzy. Warm the bottles to 70F by using a heating pad or simply move the bottles to a warmer spot in your home.
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+1 on what the others said, give it a bit more time. Getting the beers to a bit warmer place will help. I know that in the summer (75F house) my beers carb much faster than in the winter (68F house). Definitely try to chill for 3-4 days before the next tasting, it helps get the CO2 from the head space into the beer.
dickproenneke
Well-Known Member
dirtfang said:
Yes. The increased carbonation will cause the head to foam up more
IF YOU ADDED PRIMING SUGAR AT BOTTLING TIME, and occasionaly gave it a stir while filling the bottles, there should be enough food for the yeast to do their thing. The temp should be kept around 72, and keep the bottles off the floor. Carbonation won't happen in the fridge. The yeast will go dormant and fall out of suspension. I usually give about 3 WEEKS but sometimes 2 is fine. If your beer is flat after 3 weeks, I would invert the bottles once then store in a warmer place.
Refrigeration won't help them carbonate as they need to be warm around 70F. Once carbonated refrigerate to get the carbonation to distribute better into solution. Chill for at least 24-48hrs before drinking.dirtfang said:
dickproenneke
Well-Known Member
dirtfang said:
Refrigeration won't help the beer carbonate, but it will facilitate the absorption of co2... Carb at 70f for three weeks or more and chill for at least 48hours
2 weeks is way too short if you added the right amount of sugar. Get them warmed up to high 60s for a few weeks, refrigerate one and check again. I've found bigger darker beers can take a little longer.
Sorry if I caused confusion. If you invert the bottles 1x. It will just mix some of your sugar and yeast up a little and help get the yeast out of suspension. Keep in mind the yeast need to be active to carbonate the brew. In the cold they go dormant. They eat sugar and crap alcohol and CO2.
JL1103 said:
That reminds me of tech support in the old days when I'd say "open windows" and the user implied there was a heat problem.
WizardBill
Active Member
This is a problem I am having with my latest batch. I created an apple brown ale and it is flat. I used an extract brew and bottled it. There is about a 1/4th inch sediment in the bottom, so I assume the yeast is still in the bottle.
I get a tiny hiss when I open one, but no carbonation. I have done the above mentioned items. I am not sure what to do next. I tried inverting the bottles and letting the seds float into the beers again.
Nothing. So, here is a list of what I did:
1.) Bottled per instructions. Pre-packaged priming sugar at room temperature.
2.) Stored in my basement (65-68F) for three weeks.
3.) Checked. No carb.
4.) Inverted bottles.
5.) Waited a week. Checked. No carb.
6.) Brought the bottled to upstairs (72F).
7.) Checked after a week. No carb.
Can I uncap all of them, boil more bottling water/sugar and recap them?
I get a tiny hiss when I open one, but no carbonation. I have done the above mentioned items. I am not sure what to do next. I tried inverting the bottles and letting the seds float into the beers again.
Nothing. So, here is a list of what I did:
1.) Bottled per instructions. Pre-packaged priming sugar at room temperature.
2.) Stored in my basement (65-68F) for three weeks.
3.) Checked. No carb.
4.) Inverted bottles.
5.) Waited a week. Checked. No carb.
6.) Brought the bottled to upstairs (72F).
7.) Checked after a week. No carb.
Can I uncap all of them, boil more bottling water/sugar and recap them?
WizardBill said:
Yep. I am still having that problem. It has been three and half weeks today and I cracked open another brew and it is still flat. I brought it to a warmer temperature roughly around 70° and refrigerated for three days and still flat. Bummin. I think I'm just going to let them sit for maybe a month or so And see what happens. I have a brown ale fermenting right now, so I'll just cross my fingers for that batch.
flars
Well-Known Member
Going back over this thread no one had asked what you brewed. Original gravity? Final gravity? Amount of priming sugar?
All of these will have an effect on carbonation.
It was a steam beer, OG 1.040, FG 1.010 and 3/4 cup of priming corn sugar into 5 gallons. I put the priming sugar on the bottom of the bottling bucket and siphoned my beer under the priming sugar.
jjefrey
Well-Known Member
Did you boil your priming sugar with water to make a simple syrup before adding to bottling bucket?
Yes. Boiled it then cooled it
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