flat bottled beer GRRRR!!

[Dmanshane]

So yesterday i decided to open a bottle of cream ale. Beer was flat.. Well maybe cap leaked. So i opened another flat also. I know i put priming sugar in and stirred. I have bottled alot of beers and never have had this problem, maybe i put these 2 bottles in the fridge a little too soon and stopped the carbonation process? Guess i should put one thats still at room temp in fridge and then check it.. If they are all flat im pretty much sol? Right or is there something i can do

 

[Subdivisions]

How long in the bottle?

 

[Dmanshane]

How long in the bottle?

4 or 5 weeks

 

[djbradle]

4-5 weeks is plenty of time to carb if your primary was not too long. Being a cream ale I expect very short. Temps in the 70's? Maybe you missed a step? Priming sugar too thick and not stirred up in the bottling bucket? You said maybe the cap leaked? How so?

 

[Rhumbline]

I've heard of folks opening each bottle and re-priming, using a few grains of yeast. I've never done it, but it would seem like it has to work.

a lot of work, but you'll save the beer.

 

[djbradle]

I've done that and it does work though I'd want to troubleshoot the root cause before that amount of labor

 

[Dmanshane]

I brewd it end of June and bottled early mid august can't remember when I put a couple of bottles in fridge.. I am going to put another in fridge and see how it is

 

[slym2none]

I'm right there with you, OP. I brewed an Oktoberbeast ale, bottled 6 weeks ago. Last week, I checked a bottle and was completely flat. I understand bigger beers need time, and this is a 9%er, but to have not even a wisp of gas and the slightest of "whshh" when I open one? So, tonight I checked another, and it is just as flat.

I primed each bottle individually, and I always double-check to make sure I don't miss one. I am thinking I am gonna have to crack them all to put some yeast in there...

*SIGH*

 

[b-boy]

Flat bottled beer...it makes the rockin world go round.

 

[jmikeb]

I have been following this thread and maybe I have a similar problem. I am new to brewing and doing well with kits. recently I found a recipe for an Irish Stout and, with a few variations boiled up what seemed nice although a little low O.G. but the recipe was light on extract and I figured time would tell. I fermented 2 weeks, got close TO F.G and bottled. based on some reading I used about 2/3 cup of brown sugar dissolved to prime it has been just short of 3 weeks and the beer is very wet and flat. there is good carbonation dissolved in the beer - visible bubbles boil off. But no head, poor retension. like a soft drink maybe - wet, not dry is how I would describe it. Anyone with ideas? Maybe just more time? I am aging at about 68 degrees ambient.

 

[djbradle]

At 68f it will be a little slow going. Give it more time. I give 4 weeks for primary and 3 weeks or more for carbing and then cold crash for 2 weeks then maybe try my first bottle. Works everytime with good yeast health as well as doing all grain.

Wet? Maybe you mean cloying because it's extract but you mention "light" on the extract so was it more liquid or more dme?

It's difficult to get a "dry" perception from liquid extract dark beers. I'm not saying impossible, just difficult. Extract must be high quality and yeast health optimum for such efficiency.

 

[Dmanshane]

I still have not put another in fridge to check it been extremely busy at work

 

[jrcrilly]

I recently discovered a case of poorly carbonated bottles from a batch a few months ago. Some were fine, some were completely flat, and most were undercarbonated. They had plenty of time to have conditioned properly. Turned out that the batch of caps I had used were defective (undersized?) and leaking. Even the ones that were somewhat carbed would "hiss" if I pressed on the edge of the cap. The good news is that I color-code my bottles by using various caps, so those caps hand't been used on anything else. I threw away the rest of those caps, opened and reprimed the bottles (didn't reprime the good ones), and recapped with good caps.

 

[jmikeb]

At 68f it will be a little slow going. Give it more time. I give 4 weeks for primary and 3 weeks or more for carbing and then cold crash for 2 weeks then maybe try my first bottle. Works everytime with good yeast health as well as doing all grain.

Wet? Maybe you mean cloying because it's extract but you mention "light" on the extract so was it more liquid or more dme?

It's difficult to get a "dry" perception from liquid extract dark beers. I'm not saying impossible, just difficult. Extract must be high quality and yeast health optimum for such efficiency.

I will give it more time, it is a 5 gal batch and typically there seems to be 6.5lbs or so of LME and/or DME, this was only 3.5lbs of amber LME and 2 lb of light DME with 1 lb of roasted barkey. that's seems light in comparison to other recipes I have brewed. Oh well brew and learn.

 

[jmikeb]

thanks for the tips.