Flat beer

[Meatymc]

I'm just sampling a brew bottled on 8th October. I know it's not been in there long but it's as flat as a fart - not a bubble anywhere whether uncapped or agitated. The taste and aroma is spot on for my usual Baby Faced Assassin clone and the beer is crystal clear but no sediment. I know for definite it was carbed as usual - the obvious candidate, and the gelatine finings were again the same as usual and the grain bill/process no different to usual.

The following brew was a repeat and although only bottled on the 15th, is obviously carbed OK but isn't clear as yet - but early obviously.

Might be a question of 'familiarity breeds contempt' and whilst I think I've done the same as usual there's something different somewhere but the question is do I hope things change, drink flat beer or try and do something about it - thoughts on the latter can only result in re-carbing/yeasting/bottling which seems a nonsense.

Thoughts?

[guypettigrew]

Perhaps it's just the bottle you've opened? Poor cap etc. I think you should try lots more bottles and see if they are all the same.

Guy

[WalesAles]

Meaty,
Try the syringe thing.
Get a 5ml syringe, pour your fafp (flat as f££k pint), draw up 2ml in syringe, hold syringe 5mm above fafp,
vigourously inject syringe into fafp, you might get a head on your fafp for a few seconds and then you can
sit back and think `Ooooh, that looks great`, then wonder what all the fuss is about!
It will still be FAF!

WA

It had to be you, didn`t it!

[Meatymc]

I knew I could rely on you for the technical solution Wales!

Opened 4 bottles at random and all the same - smell is fine. There is either no yeast or no sugar or neither in there. Fining was the same as usual and I'm struggling to think I didn't carbonate as I use the pan in which I prepare the sugar solution as a drip tray whilst I bottle.

Anyway, as I've opened these 4 I've simply added 2g of dry dextrose to each and re-capped. That should tell me something even if they've been infected in the process.

One thing has occured to me in that this batch might have gone into the garage (cool storage) after only 1 week rather than the usual 2. However, that was a few weeks ago before overnight temps starting falling significantly and even then I'd expect some carb being visible.

[Jocky]

I would expect carbonation after a week.

I think you've done the right thing with adding some dextrose to a few of them.

How does your priming sugar get into the bottle? Ideal is to add it to the bottling bucket as a syrup and then put the beer on top as it ensures it's evenly mixed in.

Most likely is that there's no priming sugar in there, or it might not have mixed in properly (in which case you'll have a few gushers in your batch).

[Meatymc]

How does your priming sugar get into the bottle? Ideal is to add it to the bottling bucket as a syrup and then put the beer on top as it ensures it's evenly mixed in.

Most likely is that there's no priming sugar in there, or it might not have mixed in properly (in which case you'll have a few gushers in your batch).

Cheers Jocky. I always batch prime in solution - always into the bottling bucket before transfer from primary or secondary depending on what the brew is and then a good stir without creating any more surface disturbance than necessary.

Struggling to imagine I've missed this step but only because I use the same pan I've heated and then cooled the solution in as a drip tray whilst bottling - my wand needs replacing and always leaks a bit. Still, got to be favourite hasn't it.

[Jocky]

Unless something has poisoned the yeast (which is quite unlikely) it's the only logical answer.

Might you have boiled some water in the pan but forgot the sugar?

[Meatymc]

Unless something has poisoned the yeast (which is quite unlikely) it's the only logical answer.

Might you have boiled some water in the pan but forgot the sugar?

I normally put powder in first then liquid having made many a mistake with doing it the other way around with DME but who knows - nothing would surprise me at the moment...........................

I didn't want to confuse the issue but this is the middle one of 3 brews I've done all exactly the same. Brews 1 and 3 are carbonated, same colour but cloudy - the 1st cloudy brews I've had in a while (before you get sarky Wales). This one is crystal clear but noticeably darker. 1 and 3 taste exactly the same (allowing for there differing ages) with this one almost but not quite but I'm putting that down to lack of carbonation/CO2

I know the colour difference lends itself to something in the brewing process but I'm damned if I can think of anything that was/went differently.

[Meatymc]

OK - 4 days into the trial of adding some dextrose to 4 sample bottles. I know it's really way too early but I've a full brewing day on tomorrow and thought if there was anything happening I might try the same tactic with the other 30+ bottles to do in and amongst.

No hiss on opening and a very thin head pouring WalesAles style. However there is something there - the most miniscule bubbles rising I've ever seen - but bubbles none-the-less! So, the remainder of the batch gets similar treatment tomorrow then gets 'salted' away for at least 2 full weeks in the warm.

Still struggling to think how I could have missed carbing but everything is pointing in that direction.

[tourer]

Meatymc if you have batch primed have you tried putting a sample in the hydrometer to see if the yeast has died? the OG should be up if it has, at least that will confirm you didn't forget your sugar.
Good luck

[Meatymc]

Meatymc if you have batch primed have you tried putting a sample in the hydrometer to see if the yeast has died? the OG should be up if it has, at least that will confirm you didn't forget your sugar.
Good luck

Good thinking. I ended up dosing the whole lot with 3g dextrose per bottle and a week later..................nothing. The beer tastes fine - good in fact so am simply drinking in and amopngst others.

Still can't see how this has happened - whether no initial carb or killing off the yeast somehow but subsequent brews all fine so putting it down to experience

[yashicamat]

There should always be a hiss when opening the bottle, even if only lightly conditioned; the pressure needs to be above atmospheric pressure to keep the gas dissolved in the beer. If there's no hiss, it's one of two things; the bottles aren't sealing or there's insufficient priming sugars and/or yeast to introduce some CO2 into the beer. It's more likely the latter. I always purposefully introduce a bit of yeast from the FV into my bottling bucket when I bottle beers for this reason (not that it's necessarily needed, but I never get excessive sediment in the bottle, they always condition just fine and the never seem to introduce off flavours - I'm still periodically drinking an imperial stout I brewed 9 years ago!)

[tourer]

Sorry meaty i meant to say FG but my internet went down and couldn't correct it.
Meatymc if you have batch primed have you tried putting a sample in the hydrometer to see if the yeast has died? the OG should be up if it has, at least that will confirm you didn't forget your sugar.
Good luck

Good thinking. I ended up dosing the whole lot with 3g dextrose per bottle and a week later..................nothing. The beer tastes fine - good in fact so am simply drinking in and amopngst others.

Still can't see how this has happened - whether no initial carb or killing off the yeast somehow but subsequent brews all fine so putting it down to experience