Blown Batch?

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing
1

Hi all,

I brewed the NB Dead Ringer IP Extract kit and bottled about 2.5 weeks ago. Opened the first bottle only to a small “hiss” and no carbonation. I have opened one more in the past day and same result. There are several factors that possibly led to this, but wanted to bounce it off of you all and see what you think.

  1. Did not have priming sugar, so used 2/3 cup of table sugar in the 5 gallon batch.
  2. Bottle conditioned in basement at around 50-55F
  3. Re-used some commercial 12 oz. bottles. Some of which did not appear to cap/seal like the others.

I know the above could have led to the fact that there is no carbonation, but is there anything I can do to remedy the situation?

I did move all of the bottles to a warmer room (62-68F) to see if the higher temp helps. I have also separated the re-used bottles with the new ones.

Let me know if there are any questions I can help with and any recommendations. I would hate for a batch to be flat…especially since the aroma and flavor (even being flat) were very good.

Thanks!

2

If it is at all helpful, FG was 1.010 (tested several times over 3 day period), so fermentation was finished.

3

Sounds to me like the temperature is your culprit. I’d do my best to get those bottles near 70* and give it a little time. I’ve heard several folks say their bottle carbing took 4 or 5 weeks in some instances. you can turn the bottles upside down for a few hours and try to rouse the yeast a bit.

Also, did you chill the bottles before opening? Chilling for at least 24 hours will help the co2 that is in the bottle reabsorb in the beer.

Good luck,
Ron

4

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the insight on this issue. I did move them to a warmer area in my home and flipped them upside down, which I will turn back over tomorrow sometime. I will give it a couple more weeks and then test another bottle.

Yes, I did chill the ones I opened for 24 hours prior to opening.

Thanks!

5

My SOP now after bottling is to put 12 of them in a box and put the box next to a heater vent in my living room and shake the box daily to rouse the yeast. The rest of the bottles are in the basement at around 60 ambient. So my first 12 beers will carb a lot faster but by the time I drink those 12 the ones in the basement should have finished carbing at the lower temp.

6

How much time does your heating method shave off the conditioning?

7

How much time does your heating method shave off the conditioning?[/quote]

I condition for no less than 3 weeks mostly to allow the flavors to meld well but this pretty much guarantees they will be carbed in those 3 weeks. I’ve had beers in my basement take 6 weeks to fully carb before. This was with a highly flocculant yeast and no rousing. So I don’t really do it to shave off time but so far it has guaranteed full carbonation at the 3 week mark.

8

Thanks for the information all.

I am not looking to push carbonation times, only just trying to see if I give it time, should it work out okay? I am in no rush to drink this batch, but just want to have a nicely finished product.

Last night, I flipped the bottles and let them sit overnight to rouse the settled yeast a bit. I flipped them back over this morning and they are in a location that is 68F. I will give them a week or two before I try another and will keep you all posted.

Cheers!