Why Is My Homebrew Beer Not Carbonating Properly?

[LeonardoRice]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been brewing for a few months now, and I’ve come across an issue with my latest batch. The beer seems to be coming out fine in terms of flavor and clarity, but when it comes to carbonation, it’s just not there. I’ve followed the standard priming sugar method, but after bottling and letting it sit for a few weeks, it’s still flat.

Has anyone experienced this problem? What should I check to troubleshoot? I’m wondering if it’s a yeast issue or maybe I didn’t add enough sugar. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[fluketamer]

hi welcome to hbt.

more info on your process would def help.

did you change anything this time.

recipe yeast temperature timing. what kind of bottles. how much priming sugar etc.

all these things can affect carbonation IMO

3-2-1 always worked for me when i bottled.

3 weeks in primary 2 weeks in bottle at 72 degrees . 1 week in the fridge.

 

[jdauria]

How long does the beer sit in fermenter before bottling? Are you cold crashing beers or lagering any? If beers are sitting for months, or your cold crashing or lagering, there could be not enough yeast still in suspension to eat the priming sugar. Another thought, are you adding the priming sugar to your bottling bucket first, so that when you rack the beer on to it, it's blended well? What temp and for how long are you you letting bottles sit to carbonate?

 

[MikeCo]

Agreed, more info about your process would be helpful. What do you mean by "the standard priming sugar method?" Often, under-carbonation is from 1) an insufficient amount of priming sugar, 2) not enough time to carbonate, 3) bottles not stored in a warm enough place to carbonate.

Did you use a priming sugar calculator like the one from Brewers Friend or similar? Always be sure to use the correct beer volume in the calculator and weigh the sugar with a scale.

Unless it's a high ABV beer or it has been aged for a few months, there should be sufficient residual yeast to carbonate the beer.

 

[BrewZer]

Might also double check how tight your capper is sealing crowns on the bottles. If you can spin it, it's not tight enough.

Oh, and, just to verify -- you're not using screw-top bottles, are you?

 

[fluketamer]

i was going to ask about screw tops. not theres anything wrong with using thme but sometimes you need to tighten them a little bit more and sometimes they get too old and dont seal as good.

(i am referring to pop bottles of course)

 

[LeonardoRice]

hi welcome to hbt.

more info on your process would def help.

did you change anything this time.

recipe yeast temperature timing. what kind of bottles. how much priming sugar etc.

all these things can affect carbonation IMO

3-2-1 always worked for me when i bottled.

3 weeks in primary 2 weeks in bottle at 72 degrees . 1 week in the fridge.

I didn’t change anything major with this batch, but for this one, I used a new type of bottle, and I’m wondering if that could be part of the issue. I used the standard amount of priming sugar, which I calculated based on the batch size, but I’m wondering if I might have under-primed just slightly. I also kept the fermentation at around 70°F, and the primary fermentation went for about 2.5 weeks before I bottled it.

I’ll follow your 3-2-1 method and see if giving it a little more time in the bottle at 72°F helps. It’s encouraging to know that method has worked well for you. I’ll also try chilling it earlier next time to see if that makes a difference.

Thanks again for your help—I’ll let you know how it turns out!

 

[mac_1103]

I used a new type of bottle

What type of bottle exactly?

I used the standard amount of priming sugar, which I calculated based on the batch size, but I’m wondering if I might have under-primed just slightly.

What is the "standard amount" of priming sugar? Why would you think that the standard amount would underprime? And underpriming slightly shouldn't lead to zero carbonation after a few weeks at 70F.

 

[BRbarfanTimmy]

The bottle would only be an issue if they didn't seal properly. The other issue could be time of course. When in doubt wait and check again in another week. I will share that I had a batch that went over 8 weeks with no carbonation. It was a high ABV with significant krausen loss through the blow off tube. On some sage advice from folks on this site, I added a small measured amount of CBC-1 to each bottle and recapped. After a few weeks they were back in business. I have had batches carb up after 7-10 days and some that took twice that so don't expect every one to be the same.