Still not carbonated - worried. :(

[cerevisia]

Ok, I'm worried now. It's been 7 days and my beer STILL isn't carbonated. Normally this happens within four days, but nothing. Sure I live in a cold house in Titirangi Auckland, but I've been keeping the "beer room" warm. I used the safale (blue sachet) yeast and it bubbled and burped and did its thing in the fermenter but now it seems to be playing hard to get since bottling.

 

Any idea why this could be, or am I just being impatient?

 

(I remember this happened a few years ago when I moved into a cold house in Northland Wellington and brewed a bock beer using Lager yeast - the result was flat beer, yet funnily enough the beer I bottled in plastic bottles was fine.)

 

??

[Chris Banks]

Wouldnt worry to much bro in my experience 7 days is early days especially if the beer had completed fermenting and was reasonably clear at bottling give it a few more weeks I reckon it will come right.

Out of curiosity when you say the "Beer room is warm" what sort of temp?

 

[martin w]

i keep my beer in a big polystyrene box with a heater on a thermostat in there and after a week there is only a slight psst,it starts to come good from about 2 weeks.

is there any hint of a psst when you open a bottle?

[cerevisia]

@ Martin - yes, there was a very short psst! Beer is slightly carbonated...

[cerevisia]

@ Chris - Good question!

 

I normally have a heater going, might reach 30c but normally between 20 - 25. It's always worked in the past for me before..

[Matt Smith]

Ive found my bottle conditioned beers can take up to three weeks to be fully carbonated in cooler weather. I had an old ale that was crystal clear going into the bottle and 8.5% abv, after about a month there was no carbonation and I thought it was a lost cause, that there wasn't enough yeast left and what was left couldn't handle the alcohol content...anyway sure enough, after about 10 weeks it was fully carbonated. You should be fine.

[cerevisia]

Cheers man, fingered crossed anyway...

[Brett Mason]

I find inverting the bottles to stir up the yeast can help for slow carbonations, particularly with carbonation drops since they sometimes dissolve into a thick syrup in the bottom of the bottle that the yeast can't seem to ferment.

[cerevisia]

Thanks! I'm bottling another batch of beer tonight so I'll try that

[cerevisia]

Hey thanks for all the advice people - the beer is awesome! I opened one for a taster again and it's perfect. :)