Flat Beer!

[travkv]

Hi,

So i'm a bit restless...bottled 2 batches 6 days ago, a coopers pale ale and a B & B alskan ice beer.

Both used same bottles, out of same storage, carbonated and steriized the same way.Different sugars, Coopers BE2 with the coopers and 500g dex & 500g lme with the ice beer. the coopers fermented ok but the alaskan ice beer is flat as a tack...

Should i be patient, do the 'fermentables' used make a difference? or try re carbonate now with some more sugar and re-cap?

Help AHB forum members!

TC

 

[buttersd70]

the fementables that went into primary are irrelevant (usually), what were the bottles primed with? how much? what was the target volume of co2? what yeasts were used? what temperature in tertiary? 6days????? wtf??

Sorry, guy, but expecting your beer to be fully carbed after 6 days in the bottle has about the same chance of my ex wife getting playmate of the year. There are many many factors affecting tertiary (bottle) carbonation, and none of them have been addressed in your post. So the short answer is, be patient. The (slightly) longer answer is, give me all the relevant info (as above), and I can at least give you an idea if it will carb or not. Sorry to sound terse, but.....

 

[Mantis]

the fementables that went into primary are irrelevant (usually), what were the bottles primed with? how much? what was the target volume of co2? what yeasts were used? what temperature in tertiary? 6days????? wtf??

Sorry, guy, but expecting your beer to be fully carbed after 6 days in the bottle has about the same chance of my ex wife getting playmate of the year. There are many many factors affecting tertiary (bottle) carbonation, and none of them have been addressed in your post. So the short answer is, be patient. The (slightly) longer answer is, give me all the relevant info (as above), and I can at least give you an idea if it will carb or not. Sorry to sound terse, but.....

I agree with all the above.
Butters, you need a new wife

 

[buttersd70]

Butters, you need a new wife

I can't get a new wife. I've already driven 2 different divorce lawyers to nervous breakdowns.

 

[travkv]

kit yeast,
all king browns,
primed half bottles with drops-2, and half with cane sugar...um brown scoop thing with the 750ml side(noobie alert!). did half and half to see if there was a difference...
as for the target co2, these were my 2nd &3rd brews... So if i knew i had to check co2 levels, what the targets were, and how to do it., then i might! all i can tell u was sg was 1010(consistently for 3 days before bottling) and 15 days in the primary...

my carbonation concern-
"Sorry, guy, but expecting your beer to be fully carbed after 6 days in the bottle has about the same chance of my ex wife getting playmate of the year" was that one beer (CPA) seemed to be doing ok, yet the other hadn't.

knowledge is key, so any help is much appreciated.

tks

TC

 

[Cocko]

Should i be patient

Yes!

How long did Paul Mercurio tell you?? Hm.
h34r:

 

[buttersd70]

Yes!

How long did Paul Mercurio tell you?? Hm.
h34r:

cheeky beggar.

TC,
Ok, so half were with 2 drops, and half were with a scoop. shouln't be a lot of difference there. Both the drops and the scoops are aimed at "average" levels of carbonation. Thats OK, the main reason I asked about levels is that when you start looking at specific styles, you might want to vary that, and to the uninitiated, a correctly primed English Bitter can look "flat".

The main issue here is the time. If the bottles are at a steady 18-20C, it will still take the better part of 2 weeks for them to carb up properly. If the bottles are cooler, it will take longer still. So be patient, my friend.

If you want to help the bottles on their way, you can rouse the yeast. You will probably noticed that after 6 days, its probably fairly clear-ish, with a compact layer of yeast on the bottom. Tip the bottles up to make it go cloudy again. Do this every day or 2 for about a week, then stop. This can shave some time off. But you still need to have a certain amount of patience.....it will be 2 weeks minimum (in most cases), and sometimes the carbonation will take as long as 4, or even 6 weeks, to even out.

Hope this helps

 

[travkv]

Tks Butters, much appreciated. :beer:

 

[paulp]

Bottle could have not been sealed properly when capped also, most likely though with the need for time. Possibly as there may be very little yeast around in the bottled beer for it to work on the carbonation sugars, hence more time to carbonate, but should produce a clearer beer.

 

[marlow_coates]

+1 for tipping bottles to keep yeast working for getting good carbonation.
I usually tip every day for a week to keep it mixed up and works well.

Secondly, worth filling a few PET bottles and using the 'squeeze' test to check if it is carbing up over time. Saves you wasting beer by pouring one to find out

Thirdly, as said, give it time. 6 days is way too fresh even if it has carbed up (depending on the style and personal taste of course). I think you will find a big difference in the beer given 4 or so weeks to mature.

Hope it carbs up eventually

 

[buttersd70]

Secondly, worth filling a few PET bottles and using the 'squeeze' test to check if it is carbing up over time. Saves you wasting beer by pouring one to find out

Didn't even think of mentioning this for some reason, even though it's something I do myself as a matter of course (and a lot of other glass bottlers do as well). If its hard, chill it. If its still hard when cold, you should be good to go.

 

[katzke]

the fementables that went into primary are irrelevant (usually), what were the bottles primed with? how much? what was the target volume of co2? what yeasts were used? what temperature in tertiary? 6days????? wtf??

Well do not want to go too far with this but

With 2 different brews bottled that same day and one carbed up some at an early stage, I wonder if fermentation was finished? May want to keep a watch on that batch.

 

[buttersd70]

Well do not want to go too far with this but

With 2 different brews bottled that same day and one carbed up some at an early stage, I wonder if fermentation was finished? May want to keep a watch on that batch.

It is a possibility, certainly. Hence the use of "(usually)".

However, the OP said that he had 3 days of consistant hydrometer readings of 1010. And given the ingredients for that brew, ie coopers pale + be2, I would not expect it to go under 1010.