Disappointing Irish Red ale

I brewed nearly 5 gallons of the NB Irish Red ale. The only difference from their recipe is that I used fizz drops instead of the corn sugar packet that came with the kit. The beer is totally flat and without carbonation. It also seems to have very little alcohol. I’ve brewed many NB recipes with success until now. Any thoughts? Thanks

Fizz drops… period…
Sneezles61

How long has it been conditioning and at what temperature?

This does seem to be common with the Fizz Drops. Tell us how everything went. More info is better.

Need to know specifically what your OG and FG were, how long in fermentation and how long in bottle conditioning. Did all the bottles taste the same or just one? In addition, is it extract brew or all grain kit. If all grain, how was mash done if different from directions. This is not a high alcohol beer since target OG is 1.044.

Not a fan of fizz drops here because they stick together with time break etc and don’t get consistent sugar additions. I mostly keg but for few bottles out of batch that are bottled I use a scale from harbor freight to measure grams of sugar per bottle. https://www.harborfreight.com/home/household-kitchen/scales/digital-pocket-scale-93543.html

If one experiences a senior moment, its also possible to forget to drop a fizz drop or sugar in a bottle…not that I have ever forgotten something like that cough cough :slight_smile:

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Thanks. I followed the NB recipe. Ten days at room temp (~ 65 F) after bottling, then into fridge for 5 days. All of it flat.

Thanks. Based on OG and FG, the ABV is 3.7-3.9%. This ABV is in the “low” range - the recipe says this is a low alc beer. This was an extract recipe. Ten days at room temp (~ 65 F) after bottling, then into fridge for 5 days. All of it is flat. I’ve kegged about 2 gal under CO2 pressure for 7-10 days in the hope that it carbonates. I’ve used fizz drops several times before with different extract recipes. So I’m perplexed. Perhaps this would not have happened if I hadn’t done the transfer into the secondary fermenter. Any ideas would be welcome.

Just give the bottles more time at room temp. 10 days isn’t long enough for full carbonation, although I would expect there to be some minor carbonation by the 10 day mark. Maybe the fizz drops aren’t fully dissolved?

Thanks. All fizz drops were dissolved by the 2nd or 3rd day at room temp. Interesting that the last bottle I filled, which had some residual solids, was the only container that had any carbonation and a reasonable taste. Perhaps the transfer to a second vessel for conditioning (so called secondary fermentation) was a bad idea because any yeast at the bottom was lost.

I think it’s a time and temperature thing. I’ll bet if given some time at 70’ish, say a week or so, you’ll be okay. Bottle conditioning is frustrating for me because I’m not very patient. Give them another week at room temp and try one. If it’s not there, give it another week. I’m thinking they’ll get there.

Reading the yeast book… There is yeast that stays in solution longer… AKA low flocculant yeast… NOT a strain…
The idea is to harvest very active yeast… So going out on a limb here… the alot of active fell out in the primary… So whats left is slow to consume the sugars… And I don’t know if they are pressure sensitive… So throw some bottles in a 70+ as Mr. Noob sez and let it be for at LEAST a week…
Sneezles61

I don’t believe it’s due to secondary at all. There is still plenty of yeast in suspension to carbonate. I’ve not heard good things about the drops. I believe this is time and temp related.

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My rule of thumb for bottle conditioning was 21 days @ 70F. Less time if ambient is warmer, more time if ambient is lower. This was determined by the non-scientific approach of noticing that my beers took a little over 2 weeks in the the summer when my house is warmer, and up to a month in winter when my house is colder.

and that was with corn sugar in the bottling bucket. I understand the candy drops take longer.

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The last batch I brewed was an altbier and it took freakin forever to carbonate. At least 5 weeks at room temp and then several days in the fridge. Some advice I received in this forum was to turn my bottles upside down for 24 hrs, then right them for 24 hrs, then repeat the cycle and let it settle for a few days. Then into fridge for a few days. seemed to work well.

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