HELP!!!! Bottle Conditioning Flat Beer

[WaltersWort0821]

Backstory: I have bought and brewed 3 kits, with the first 2 bottled after 3 weeks each sitting in a FastFerment fermenter (transfered to Secondary after checking FG about 1.5 weeks). The 3rd kit is 12 days in FF, and done fermenting. The first 2 that I bottled I mixed the 5 oz of Corn Sugar with the boiling water and dissolves. The first batch I dumped the corn sugar in the FF and bottled from there, the second batch I racked from the FF to a bottling bucket on the corn sugar mixture. BOTH batches, same result, beer tastes flat with a very minimal amount of "head" and carbonation.

What am I doing wrong? What do I need to do? Should I try to "bottle bomb" just so that I can actually find out that I can carbonate?

Experienced brewers, HELP please!!

 

[mgortel]

After fermentation you should boil a cup of water and add corn sugar to it.

pour corn sugar water into bottling bucket then rack your beer into bottling bucket. Stir GENTLY to mix up sugar in beer.

Bottle your beer.....then place beer in house somewhere.....70F temps are good. You did not state this.,...but just in case...if you placed beer in fridge immediately after bottling it will not carbonate....yeast will go dorment at cold temps. If you did this just place all beer in warm area of house and give them time...they will carbonate)

It will take at least 2 weeks to carbonate....maybe 3 weeks. I used to wait 3 weeks for bottle conditioning (before I started kegging all of my beers) in order to ensure carbonation.

Chill beers in fridge for at least a day after conditioning is done before you try drinking.

You can place a beer in fridge after 2 weeks as a test on carbonation level as well but make sure beer comes down to serving temperature.

How long did you bottle condition previous batches?

 

[bigdawg86]

I had a beer that didn't carb well... probably cold crashed too long. I made a sugar tincture and rehydrated some US05. Using the 5ml syringe that I had laying around from some childrens tylenol, I pulled up 2.5ml of sugar water and 2.5ml of rehydrated yeast slurry and added it to the bottles (12oz... did double for bombers). Recapped and waited. They ended up carbing great and the 3mL of sugar isn't going to pose a bottle bomb risk but was a small kick starter for the newly added yeast IMO.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Move the bottles to a warmer place (70+) for a week and check again. Bigger beers, older or stressed yeast, etc., can make it harder for the yeast to bottle condition. My Pliny clone (9% abv, insane IBU) didn't carb at all after a month in the basement; after I moved it to a warmer place for a week, it poured a nice, thick head that sticks around.

 

[NickTheGreat]

How longs it been? I haven't bottled in many years now, but it seems like if my beer was flat, I usually hadn't waited long enough.

 

[WaltersWort0821]

Thank you everyone for the response. This community (beer brewers) is very helpful.

I followed directions to the T, 3/4 cup water boil, add 5 oz corn syrup, let sit at room temperature in my closet for 2 weeks. I didn't stir the beer, much if at all because I was warned not to aerate the beer, bottling my winter ale today, will try that (gently of course). Then stuck in the fridge, some have been sitting for longer now at room temp, same result. I am going to try the uncap add more corn sugar.

Is it possible that my yeast has died? (Two Hearted Clone and Hopslam Clone - so not big beers)

I think I will also try the sugar & yeast method stated, can I hydrate a yeast in warm water to do this? I used US04 for both these and US05 for the Winter Ale, so I don't want to cross yeasts. Was just going to purchase a new US04.

 

[bigdawg86]

an I hydrate a yeast in warm water to do this? I used US04 for both these and US05 for the Winter Ale, so I don't want to cross yeasts. Was just going to purchase a new US04.

Yes... just google rehydrating dry yeast on youtube. Essentially heat 1/2 cup water to 170 or something to pasteurize the water, sprinkle in yeast once at 90ish degrees IIRC... cover and wait 15 minutes. Then stir to make a evenly distributed slurry. Then you can draw up using a pipette or syringe or whatever you have on hand.

Same for the sugar solution... maybe 1oz in 1/2-1 cup water should do.

Using different yeast won't matter flavor wise since so little fermentation is going on. Just use what you have on hand.