Why is My beer flat?

[Fitzy Scrarvortis]

Hi All,

I bottled a Draught beer on 07/10/10 with an F.G of 1014.

It was done with 500g Dex & 500g LDM. Sort of hoping for a Boags Draught clone.

After 6 weeks this beer is still almost flat. It has not changed from week to week & this is a bit disappointing. It tastes ok, but just very few bubbles.[crying]

Is is worth cracking these open & dropping in another carb drop?

Anything else I can try?

Thanks

[Muddy Waters]

It sounds like you had them stored at a temp too low for carbonation - but it seems to be the wrong time of year for that???

 

Do you know what temp you had the bottles stored at fitzy?

 

If they were under 18C they may just need to be moved somewhere warmer (maybe gently upend them a few times to rouse the yeast).

[GregT5]

I had that problem with my first brew, the lager out of the kit. Mistakenly thought secondary ferment in an old fridge would be fine but it got a bit cold at night and didnt warm during day. Once I moved them to a warmer spot it finished ferment & the PET bottles firmed up nicely. Enjoying a quiet frothy now[biggrin] Also, have you checked your glasses for detergent residue?

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

How long did the brew sit in the primary for? If it is in the primary for a long time the yeast call fall out of suspension and result in poorly carbonated beer. I personally haven't found that limit yet and I've had brews in the primary for over 20 days.

[Fitzy Scrarvortis]

Muddy & Greg,

Warmth should'nt be a problem, I had these bottles in the same cupboard as 2 other brews which are fine, so I gave them a shake this morning, see if that works.[unsure]

 

Slurtis,

These were in the F.V. for 7 days, F.G. 2 days running was 1014. A lager was done soon after with BE1 & LDM & it's a ripper.

Another draught then with 500g dex & 500g LDM, again, no bubbles![sick]

Now I'm thinking maybe it's the dex, so I put 1 in yesterday with 500g brown sugar & 500g white sugar, see what that does.

Thanks

[PB2]

Dextrose is not the cause of the problem.

 

Lack of fizz in your bottled beer can be put down to:

not enough priming sugar

not high enough temp' for secondary fermentation

lack of yeast in suspension

not sealed properly