Why is my beer flat??

[LuNchBoX1371]

So we bottled a blonde ale and an IPA about a week and a half ago and one is carbed up, the blonde ale, which taste great and the other, the IPA, is not. Our IPA we dry hopped in a secondary fermenter after a week and then let it sit for 3 weeks; at 2 weeks it had a lot of acetelyhyde so thats why we let it sit for 2 weeks more. Now it taste like beer and smells wonderful but its flat as cant be. What do you think it is??

 

[Yooper]

So we bottled a blonde ale and an IPA about a week and a half ago and one is carbed up, the blonde ale, which taste great and the other, the IPA, is not. Our IPA we dry hopped in a secondary fermenter after a week and then let it sit for 3 weeks; at 2 weeks it had a lot of acetelyhyde so thats why we let it sit for 2 weeks more. Now it taste like beer and smells wonderful but its flat as cant be. What do you think it is??

The IPA has a higher Og than the blonde ale, and probably needs more time to carb up due to the yeast being a little more tired out. It'll carb up with a bit more time.

 

[tacks]

Try buying some carbonation drops and port all the caps off, drop one in and recap. Sounds like you didn't use enough priming sugar. It's a pain but 10 bucks for more caps and can drops is a lot less tragic than pouring out a whole batch.

 

[andy6026]

Possible reasons:

1) You may not have put any or enough priming sugar in.

2) You're storing them too cold. They ought to be at room temp.

3) Your priming sugar didn't mix in (if you racked the beer first and then poured in the sugar without giving it a bit of a stir?).

4) You haven't waited long enough.

5) Your cap on the one you opened wasn't sealed properly and had a leak.

6) The beer sat in the fermenter for a year (or maybe several years would be required).

 

[andy6026]

Try buying some carbonation drops and port all the caps off, drop one in and recap. Sounds like you didn't use enough priming sugar. It's a pain but 10 bucks for more caps and can drops is a lot less tragic than pouring out a whole batch.

I wouldn't do that unless you're absolutely certain you didn't put any or enough priming sugar in. Otherwise you significantly over-carbing the beer, or even bottle bombs.

 

[adamelb]

Just wait it out. Adding more sugar could be dangerous and likely isn't the solution.

Like yooper said higher alcohol beers tend to take longer to carbonate as the yeast is a bit tired or stressed.

 

[kcmobrewer]

I agree with Andy. I've had some bigger beers take upwards of a month to carb. Just give it some time before you jump to any conclusions.

 

[LuNchBoX1371]

I used the drops for my beer so it wasnt anything about it not mixing, i just think it hasnt had enough time to carb up so ill see how it is next week.

 

[BigFloyd]

Try buying some carbonation drops and port all the caps off, drop one in and recap. Sounds like you didn't use enough priming sugar. It's a pain but 10 bucks for more caps and can drops is a lot less tragic than pouring out a whole batch.

Bad idea. Nothing the OP said indicated how much priming sugar he actually used. Simply tossing more sugar into the mix is a good way to get bottle bombs.

Did I read the first post to read that you dry hopped for three weeks??? With certain hops that would turn out quite grassy.

 

[shortyz]

even at 2 weeks the only beer ive brewed that was carbed up properly was a wheat... All these home brew recipes and pre mixes should just change the instructions to "wait a month before opening a bottle" instead of this 2 week bull****.

not to flame but theres like a 1000 of these posts, perhaps the search could help you. keep on brewing.

 

[LuNchBoX1371]

Did I read the first post to read that you dry hopped for three weeks??? With certain hops that would turn out quite grassy.

No i dry hopped for a week- i took the hops out at 1 week.

 

[Flipadelphia]

Ya dude there's literally like 5 new threads about this a day, with the same answer

 

[jmcquesten]

Was this a recipe kit beer with a pre-portioned amount of priming sugar? If so, check a priming sugar calculator to be sure it was enough. I found that the 5 oz. portions that came with the kits I used to get wasn't enough for the beers I was making. Sometimes it would take 6 or 7 oz to get the proper carbonation I was looking for. Anyways, wait a couple more weeks and try it again. Be sure it's kept at room temperature for that period, then refrigerate for a few days before drinking. Good luck.

 

[brandonman]

even at 2 weeks the only beer ive brewed that was carbed up properly was a wheat... All these home brew recipes and pre mixes should just change the instructions to "wait a month before opening a bottle" instead of this 2 week bull****.

not to flame but theres like a 1000 of these posts, perhaps the search could help you. keep on brewing.

While I agree on waiting longer than 2 weeks (I'm a total newb with only 1 batch of beer under his belt and some toying with meads and ciders so take my opinion with a grain of salt), I think mileage varies significantly. I cracked one of my first brews for testing at 2 weeks and was pleasantly surprised to see a decent head, good retention, and an agreeable flavor. I then resigned to waiting another week, at which point I considered it pretty darned good for a first try. Another week later and it's even better.

My point, is that even at 2 weeks, depending on ambient conditions, the recipe, and so many factors we probably hardly even know about, sometimes they can turn out to be alright. I think the 2 week line DOES need to have a disclaimer of "pop a couple so you're not so anxious about your beer and know it's doing ok, but know it will get a LOT better"