Flat Ginger Beer problems

[NWC]

Hello - I've made a batch of ginger beer as per recipe on here and it tastes good.
Trouble is I can't get it to carbonate - I primed into bottles with 1 tsp sugar per pint as normal - but we have only a mild hiss when opening, and no sparkle in the drink.
I have just read that some people are dissolving the priming sugar in water and nuking in the microwave for 2 mins - should I have done this?
Is there any rescuing of this batch - or do I put it down to experience, and make another

Cheers

[edit1now]

What kind of yeast did you use? Might you have left all the yeast behind in the demijohn?

[NWC]

Hi - I think I used champagne yeast.
Would this make a difference? It fermented OK

[Jim]

How were the bottles stored after priming?

If it was too cool, you might need to bring them into the warm (20C or so) for a few days, then return to a cool place.

[NWC]

Hi Jim - Yes I did that. I had them in the a-c for 4 or 5 days and then transferred to the shed.
Its a puzzler.
Can I try and prime again - will that work?

[Jim]

Hi Jim - Yes I did that. I had them in the a-c for 4 or 5 days and then transferred to the shed.
Its a puzzler.
Can I try and prime again - will that work?

I wouldn't prime again at this stage until you know the cause. There are a few possibilities as to what can go wrong with secondary fermentation: -

1. There was no viable yeast in the bottles so no secondary fermentation took place (hence the need to be careful about putting more sugar in)

2. A secondary ferment took place, but the gas was lost because the bottles weren't sealed properly. If the beer tastes quite dry, this is probably what happened.

3. Conditions were unsuitable for fermentation (e.g. temperature low, but you seem to have eliminated that possibility)

If it's (1) you would need to get fresh yeast in there somehow - I've never had to do that so maybe someone else can advise the best way to do it.

Alternatively, if you're a corny keg owner you could force carbonate it....