Carbination???? - Brewium.com Community Forum

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packrat1969 Member	# Posted: 31 Jan 2008 20:30:25 I'm a new brewer I use malt extracts and get my recipes from different places. The last two batches i have done for some reason has not carbonated right ! I don't know if it's because of the difference in temperature of my house from sumer to winter or what. I've been using 5oz of priming sugar for a 5 gal batch, after my 2nd fermentation. Not sure what the problem is ??? If anyone has any suggestions please let me know! The beer taste good just flat??? Thank you Packrat
scwenger	# Posted: 31 Jan 2008 22:45:01 Hi Packrat, There are many variables to consider. - Have you ever got good carbonation in previous batches with 5oz of priming sugar? If not, 6 oz is ok for 5 gallons. - Could there be an issue with leftover chemicals in the bottling bucket or bottles after sterilization? I probably don't need to say it, but just in case, don't use soap which negatively affects beer head. - Is there a good layer of sediment at the bottom of the bottle? If yes and still no carbonation, the problem might be contamination. If there is little or no sediment (which I have personally never seen), it would probably means there is no active yeast. - Do the flat beers have an extra oily ingredient like nuts? Oils will keep a beer flat. - Have the last two batches conditioned long enough at an appropriate temperature? You mention summer and winter temps so without knowing where you are storing the beer, remember ale yeasts slows down below 60F and will take a lot longer to carbonate at lower temps. - As a last resort, if nothing above applies, you can try an experiment. Get 4 bottles and open half. Put 4 grains of dry yeast into one bottle and 8 grains in the other, recap and mark them so you know which one they are and then store the whole lot somewhere dark like a closet with a consistent temp around 70F for about 2 weeks. After a couple weeks, open one of the original control bottles and one with the extra 4 grains of dry yeast and compare carbonation. If the control bottle has improved, the problem is probably just temperature, time or both. If both the control bottle and the one with extra yeast are still flat, you probably have an environmental issue. If that happens, let the remaining 2 bottles sit another week or 2 at around 70F before opening them. If still no carbonation, it is pretty certain an environment issue. I hope something here helps. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Steve
packrat1969 Member	# Posted: 1 Feb 2008 06:39:16 Thanks Steve I live in a small 1 bedroom apt.after bottling i put them back in cardboard boxes and stack them in my hallway ( its pretty long with the most room) but after i read your reply i noticed that there is no baseboards in the hall my thermostat says about 70 but thats in the living room. The hall is a little cooler so moved the beer int the room with the thermostat so i can have a better ideal on temperature. As far as sediment on the bottom of the bottle there is very little as for the second fermentation seems to settle a lot of it. I might also try your yeast theory the last 2 batches were offbeat recipes.(black cherry ale and a honey clove wheat beer. The wheat beer is what i have now the black cherry ale did carbonate but it had to set for about 4 weeks. All the other batches (about 5 I'm just starting) seemed to carbonate in the 2 weeks but they where straight beers (stout,wheat,and a porter) I will try a few things and keep you posted . Thank you again.
scwenger	# Posted: 1 Feb 2008 17:44:41 Packrat, black cherry ale? mmmm..... Sounds good. Since you said it finally carbonated after a few more weeks, it sounds promising and you don't have any environmental issues. Keep us posted. Steve
packrat1969 Member	# Posted: 9 Mar 2008 19:18:33 Steve Thanks for your help after letting the batch set in the warmer room for a couple of weeks it was perfect!!! The last batch was a honey clove wheat and it turned out really good. I'm getting ready to do a IPA and i just picked up another fermenter so I might make an irish stout at the same time. Thanks again for your help it was perfect Great Brewing To All Packrat
paintchips Member	# Posted: 28 Mar 2008 19:06:40 I think this thread is done, but I want to add my two cents in case someone new comes along with this problem. When making my very first batch I (like most of us) had no idea what I was doing, so I followed the instructions to the T. The instructions told me how long to ferment and when to bottle, based on days of fermentation not based on monitoring the airlock action. At bottling, the instructions told me to dump the dry priming sugar into the beer and stir. When I did this the beer bubbled up and nearly overflowed the fermenter. Not knowing this wasn't normal, I proceeded to bottle. The beer came out nearly flat and was real hard to drink. I'm still not 100% sure where I went wrong, maybe someone out there can explain it. Regardless of the explanation, my point remains the same: that most, if not all, of the priming sugar was fermented instantly when I dumped it in. This left little sugar to ferment in the bottle. So if you see something similar happen, don't bottle. Probably the best way to try and salvage something like that is to cover up your fermenter again and wait for the airlock to stop bubbling. Then try priming again, making sure to dissolve the sugar in boiling water first - make sure to let the sugar-water cool to room temp before mixing it in.
John carlos Member	# Posted: 5 Sep 2009 11:26:51 ? Edited by: John carlos The hall is a little cooler so moved the beer int the room with the thermostat so i can have a better ideal on temperature, and there is no baseboards in the hall my thermostat says about 70 but that's in the living room. _________________ [url=www.iaqsource.com]Humidifier filters[/url]