hi, ive bottled a strong ale and added a teaspoon of unrefined sugar to each bottle but a week later theres no fizz. i tried repriming with another teaspoon and the bottles frothed up so i know theres yeast activity, but theyre still flat a week later.
Any ideas?
Bottles Won't Carbonate
-
sparky Paul
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
Yeast doesn't work that quickly, that's CO2 coming out of suspension - adding anything granular will give it something to form on.ADDLED wrote:i tried repriming with another teaspoon and the bottles frothed up so i know theres yeast activity
I know these suugestions all sound a bit obvious, but are the bottles somewhere warm enough? Or was the beer really bright when bottled... I find it can take a week for the secondary fermentation to even get started when the beer is very bright.
-
ADDLED
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
Tks Sparky,
1) they're indoors approx 20degC.
2) the beer had been in the fv for 3 weeks and was v.v.v. cold when bottled, then brought indoors to secondary ferment in the warm. When i bottled it was clearish but not bright/clear, and still isnt bright in bottle a few days later. In fact its quite hazy, but not chill haze.
Tastes bloody nice tho....
1) they're indoors approx 20degC.
2) the beer had been in the fv for 3 weeks and was v.v.v. cold when bottled, then brought indoors to secondary ferment in the warm. When i bottled it was clearish but not bright/clear, and still isnt bright in bottle a few days later. In fact its quite hazy, but not chill haze.
Tastes bloody nice tho....
-
sparky Paul
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
Perhaps it just needs a bit more time. I tend to do the secondary fermentation around 20-25°C, and also make sure the temperature doesn't drop overnight.
At least it tastes good!
At least it tastes good!
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
Some of mine have been quite flat after a week in bottle. After a month they're fine, though they tend to improve as beers if left for longer.
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
Patience. Even weak beers under 4% ABV need 4 weeks to develop. Strong beers for winter sipping need a couple of months.
-
booldawg
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
I would tend to leave beer in the FV for no longer than 14 days regardless of the gravity. It will then be bottled still at room temp; you still want the same temp for priming and bottle carbonartion (the warm week)
If they've been out in the cold for a small quantity of time (less than a week) then I'd wait for the yeast to liven up. Take it each day as it comes, if its flat then open a bottle every 2 days days to check carbonation.
If the yeast is totally dead then make a fresh yeast starter (500 mls, 4 teaspoons of spraymalt/glucose and a sachet of yeast, ferment for 2 days) then pippette 2.5mls into each bottle)
I make a few Barley Wines that sit in demi-johns for 4 months +; the yeast is always inactive enough for me to employ the above technique for bottling.
If they've been out in the cold for a small quantity of time (less than a week) then I'd wait for the yeast to liven up. Take it each day as it comes, if its flat then open a bottle every 2 days days to check carbonation.
If the yeast is totally dead then make a fresh yeast starter (500 mls, 4 teaspoons of spraymalt/glucose and a sachet of yeast, ferment for 2 days) then pippette 2.5mls into each bottle)
I make a few Barley Wines that sit in demi-johns for 4 months +; the yeast is always inactive enough for me to employ the above technique for bottling.
-
ADDLED
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll try one or two next weekend.
-
haz66
Re: Bottles Won't Carbonate
I always find that mine take between 2 and 3 weeks to be properly carbonated, once bottled mine are stored at around 15C, thats just because thats the temp of the place where i store my bottles.