Low / nil carbonation

Les Gueux

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Howdy, first post here.

I got back into brewing a couple of months ago, used to do the brew in a bag kits maybe 10 yrs ago, didn't like the results, so I quit. Got back into the game with a bit more knowledge, now brewing either all grain or partial mash. Loving every minute of it.

Anyhow, enough with this, I made a batch of extra blonde ale a while back and it has failed to carbonate so far, it's been sitting in the bottles at room temp 70F for three weeks.

I'm wondering if perhaps racking too cautiously may have caused too little yeast in suspension?

OG about 1.045 FG 1.002
Primary for 14 days
Secondary 20 days

I also used gelatin pre-bottling, made sure it was crystal clear before mixing in. Bottled with sugar pellets / thingies pre-made in each bottle. I also swirl the bottles around once in a while to ensure the sugar gets mixed in throughout the brew / CO2 content contact is optimized.

I'm thinking about delicately putting the whole batch back into bottling vessel and adding some yeast then re-bottling if it hasn't carbed in two weeks. Initial yeast used for fermentation was SAF05, probably would use the same for re-bottling.

What's your opinion yo?
 
That is a long time in the primary + secondary, plus the finings, though I'd be surprised if there were no yeast present because you didn't filter.

What kind of bottles and caps did you use? Rocker cap type bottles with the orange rubber seals are known to leak.

If you repackage the beer, you will be exposing it to oxygen. At this stage oxygen is the enemy of beer. This will cause some oxidation and will harm the shelf life significantly.

I'd just brew another batch and package right out of the primary. I rarely go with a secondary anymore, saves time and effort.
 
Just out of curiosity, How long do you generaly leave in primary for the yeast to clean up before bottle/kegging
 
yeah, long time, I wanted the beer to look really clear. I used 660 ml bottle with regular metal hybrid caps.

I leave in the primary until I witness evidence of floculation and little bubbling then switch to secondary for dry hopping or conditioning.

I'm also worried about oxydation, for which I might add yeast to every bottle individually with a droplet type thing instead of re-putting everything in the bottling vessel...
 
you need at least 3 to 4 pills in most cases, how many did you use
 
Seriously? it said 1 for 340 ml and 2 for 660 ml...
 
Ive used them before and 2 was not enough
its just a sugar pill, crush a couple up and fill a teaspoon or tablespoon
 
I've used one pill per 340ml bottle with previous batches and have achieved a great level of carbonation. Granted the bigger 660ml bottle has a different shape and might require a bit more, but what makes me think it's not lack of sugars is that there's absolutely no carbonation, if there was too little I'd probably jump to a similar conclusion.

Anyhow, I'm harvesting yeasts soon and will conduct an experiment with 3 bottles: one where I simply add 2 sugar pills, another where I add 1ml of activated yeasts and the next where I do both.

Whichever fares best I will replicate the procedure for the whole batch.
 
I see your FG is at 002,I've never been below 008. maybe there is not enough nutrients left to keep yeast alive even with some sugar. I'd try some Diammonium Phosphate or some other yeast nutrient with the new yeast.
 
Thanks for the tip, I would not have thought of that.

I also realized that the thermometer in the room was faulty, so I've since then purchased a new one and upped the temperature by 2-3C. It might carbonate on its own without all the fuss. So waiting is the name of the game for the time being.
 
I will also try an experiment while priming during my next batch witch will not be ready to prime for at least a week or so. I get good results using corn sugar 80% of the time but 100% would be better. yeast I believe are kind of moody.
 
you can always go to C02, never looked back once I started, you can bottle from a keg also with perfect results
 
Counterargument, respectfully, yeast in bottle-conditioned beer do a lot of good things for you. First, they scavenge oxygen, increasing the beer's shelf life. Second, they continue to condition the beer, mellowing flavors over time and changing the balance of the brew. There is the small problem with autolysis if you keep the beer long enough but since when is that a problem? It's more work, sure. But I like what it does for my beers!

And I've finally had the first batch not carbonate, a one-gallon batch I used bottling tabs on. But that's the only batch and one of the few times I've used tabs. When I've carbonated with corn sugar, never a problem.
 
I wouldn't be pointing fingers at the yeast. US-05 is one robust strain, and should be more than able to complete the job. I would say if you have at least a visible dusting of sediment in the bottle you should be ok on the yeast side of things. Add a teaspoon of table sugar to a bottle and see what happens.
 

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