Carbonation problem

Sully11 · Post by **Sully11** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 6:39 pm

I bottled five gallons of Oktoberfest two weeks ago and opened a couple of bottles today.

It seems a little under-carbonated. Is there anything I can do to save it?

prieff · Post by **prieff** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 6:50 pm

A little more info would help. Did you lager it for a length of time before bottling? What was the temp for the 2 weeks after bottling? How much priming sugar?
If it was to cool, you could place them in a warmer place for a while. If it wasn't enough sugar you could pop in a carb tab into each. If all of the yeast had been removed from a long lager or secondary.....I'm out if ideas for that one.
I'd keep them at 75F for a week and see if it helps. You said they were somewhat carbed so I am assuming you still had some yeast in there. Give it some time and don't worry.
Cheers. On Sep 18, 2012 7:39 PM, "Sully11" <brew-tech@crbeernuts.org (brew-tech@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

I bottled five gallons of Oktoberfest two weeks ago and opened a couple of bottles today.

It seems a little under-carbonated. Is there anything I can do to save it?

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Sully11 · Post by **Sully11** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 6:53 pm

Thanks. The guy at the brewshop in Cedar Falls suggested I use ale yeast to speed up the fermentation.

Temp was around 70 or so. It was in the primary for a week and the secondary for two weeks. It was bottled for two weeks.

The flavor seems ok, just a little flat.

prieff · Post by **prieff** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:00 pm

How much sugar did you prime with? Doesn't sound like a yeast problem.
Octoberfest beers I have done have started around 1.070 and primary was 2-3 weeks and lager for about 6 weeks. What yeast did you use? On Sep 18, 2012 7:53 PM, "Sully11" <brew-tech@crbeernuts.org (brew-tech@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

Thanks. The guy at the brewshop in Cedar Falls suggested I use ale yeast to speed up the fermentation.

Temp was around 70 or so. It was in the primary for a week and the secondary for two weeks. It was bottled for two weeks.

The flavor seems ok, just a little flat.

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JimF · Post by **JimF** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:06 pm

I'm going to assume you added the appropriate amount of conditioning sugar to your secondary prior to bottling, so try moving your bottles to a warmer area. If they are in the basement, moving them upstairs may be all that is needed. Try that and give them another couple of weeks. On Sep 18, 2012 7:39 PM, "Sully11" <brew-tech@crbeernuts.org (brew-tech@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

I bottled five gallons of Oktoberfest two weeks ago and opened a couple of bottles today.

It seems a little under-carbonated. Is there anything I can do to save it?

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

Sully11 · Post by **Sully11** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:08 pm

My OG was 1.056 and finished at 1.016. I used Nottingham Ale Yeast. I carbed with extract. I usually use dextrose. Used about 5 oz of DME.

prieff · Post by **prieff** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:21 pm

From what I understand DME would require more to be used. If it called for 5oz of corn sugar 7-9oz of DME would be appropriate. I have never used DME for priming but that is what I recall seeing. Anyone have experience with this? On Sep 18, 2012 8:10 PM, "JimF" <brew-tech@crbeernuts.org (brew-tech@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

I'm going to assume you added the appropriate amount of conditioning sugar to your secondary prior to bottling, so try moving your bottles to a warmer area. If they are in the basement, moving them upstairs may be all that is needed. Try that and give them another couple of weeks. On Sep 18, 2012 7:39 PM, "Sully11" brew-tech@crbeernuts.org (brew-tech@crbeernuts.org))> wrote: : I bottled five gallons of Oktoberfest two weeks ago and opened a couple of bottles today.

It seems a little under-carbonated. Is there anything I can do to save it?

Jim Fuller

Life is good, when the beer is too...

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Bear · Post by **Bear** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:05 pm

i haven't tried it myself, but papazian's 'joy of homebrewing' discusses priming with gyle (unfermented wort specifically saved for the purpose of priming). his formula is based on the OG of the original wort and the size of the batch.

quarts of gyle = (12 x gallons of wort) / [(specific gravity - 1) x 1000]

(3rd ed., appendix 3, p327)

his example is a 5gal batch of OG 1.040.

QoG = (12 x 5) / [(1.040 - 1) x 1000]
= 60 / (0.040 x 1000)
= 60 / 40
= 1.5

hope that helps!

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:32 am

Simplest way to try to get some carbonation is get them warm, at least 70 F. Take each bottle and turn it upside down and shake. This worked for me back when I bottled. Getting the yeast warm and back in to suspension was helpful.

Best solution, keg. Put beer in keg, hook up to gas, drink one week later.

Sully11 · Post by **Sully11** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:42 am

Thanks everyone. I added a little more sugar to each bottle and turned them upside down a couple of times. I put them somewhere warm, so hopefully all will be well in a week or so.