cyberkrime
Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2013
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 0
Hi all!
This my first post here, but I've been a member for a couple of months. I'm very confused about a very simple batch of pale ale that WILL-NOT CARBONATE!
I did this batch back in late Feb. It isn't very high gravity stuff. Just 2 # of light DME and 3.3 # of light LME. 2 oz centennial hops, White Labs #1 ale yeast, 5.5 gal batch, 45 min. boil, yadda yadda yadda. It was the basic beginner recipe that came with my home brew kit. I primed it with 5 oz. corn sugar and bottled. Here's where I'm confused: The recipe calls for 7 days fermentation prior to bottling. Well, when one week was up, I was sick as a dog with a bacterial sinus infection. A week later, I was down with a VIRAL sinus infection. So, there's no way I was going to think about trying bottle beer even if I felt up to it, which I didn't. Long story short my ale sat in the fermenter for over 3 weeks.
Now, as a faithful reader of this site, I've learned (at least I thought I learned) that the longer your brew sits on top of the yeast cake, the better it comes out. I thought that 3 week fermentation wouldn't hurt my beer. (Indeed, the flavor is at least as good as some commercial pale ales I've had) But, the lady at the LHBS told me that 3 weeks was WAY TOO LONG that there was no yeast left to carbonate the beer. She told me that I'd need to add fresh yeast.
Fast forward through a month and a half of procrastination and the brewing of a second batch. When I finally got around to opening my bottles to add fresh yeast, they would fzzzzzzt! when I popped he tops!
Well, I'd seen threads where guys would ask "Why isn't my beer carbonating?" and the answer would be: "Be patient! Give it two more weeks, agitate the bottles every couple of days and then wait some more." Well, I thought: "Hooray! It's true! Wait long enough and it'll happen!" So, thinking my ale was finally ready, I put a six pack in the fridge and waited. When I opened the chilled bottles....they were FLATTER THAN HOT BEER IN HELL.
Any ideas on what I should do now? Why did the room temp bottles fizz and the cold ones not? Do I need to add fresh yeast? What's the best way to go about that?
Forgive my long-windedness, please.
Thanks!
PS: 2nd batch was a porter that spent 1 week in a primary and 1 week in a secondary and came out GREAT!
This my first post here, but I've been a member for a couple of months. I'm very confused about a very simple batch of pale ale that WILL-NOT CARBONATE!
I did this batch back in late Feb. It isn't very high gravity stuff. Just 2 # of light DME and 3.3 # of light LME. 2 oz centennial hops, White Labs #1 ale yeast, 5.5 gal batch, 45 min. boil, yadda yadda yadda. It was the basic beginner recipe that came with my home brew kit. I primed it with 5 oz. corn sugar and bottled. Here's where I'm confused: The recipe calls for 7 days fermentation prior to bottling. Well, when one week was up, I was sick as a dog with a bacterial sinus infection. A week later, I was down with a VIRAL sinus infection. So, there's no way I was going to think about trying bottle beer even if I felt up to it, which I didn't. Long story short my ale sat in the fermenter for over 3 weeks.
Now, as a faithful reader of this site, I've learned (at least I thought I learned) that the longer your brew sits on top of the yeast cake, the better it comes out. I thought that 3 week fermentation wouldn't hurt my beer. (Indeed, the flavor is at least as good as some commercial pale ales I've had) But, the lady at the LHBS told me that 3 weeks was WAY TOO LONG that there was no yeast left to carbonate the beer. She told me that I'd need to add fresh yeast.
Fast forward through a month and a half of procrastination and the brewing of a second batch. When I finally got around to opening my bottles to add fresh yeast, they would fzzzzzzt! when I popped he tops!
Well, I'd seen threads where guys would ask "Why isn't my beer carbonating?" and the answer would be: "Be patient! Give it two more weeks, agitate the bottles every couple of days and then wait some more." Well, I thought: "Hooray! It's true! Wait long enough and it'll happen!" So, thinking my ale was finally ready, I put a six pack in the fridge and waited. When I opened the chilled bottles....they were FLATTER THAN HOT BEER IN HELL.
Any ideas on what I should do now? Why did the room temp bottles fizz and the cold ones not? Do I need to add fresh yeast? What's the best way to go about that?
Forgive my long-windedness, please.
Thanks!
PS: 2nd batch was a porter that spent 1 week in a primary and 1 week in a secondary and came out GREAT!