Flat IPA beer and fixing it?

[Supernova]

Hi troops, just new to homebrew and been making a few IPA beer from dark rock sessions and storing it in the plastic water expandable 15 liter container. All beer is flat and slightly lacking taste.. So question is it savable and what needs to be done. If not what's best storage for early beginner brewer.. Thanks in advance guys and galls

 

[Tanglefoot]

You need something pressurised to store your beer - a barrel,keg or bottle.
Did you prime it ? Usually beers are primed with sugar or carbonated with Co2.
Is it an extract or all grain kit ?
All the information you need is on this site if you look hard enough.

 

[Supernova]

You need something pressurised to store your beer - a barrel,keg or bottle.
Did you prime it ? Usually beers are primed with sugar or carbonated with Co2.
Is it an extract or all grain kit ?
All the information you need is on this site if you look hard enough.

Thanks tangle foot... Yeah followed all guidance on back of pack with prime sugar and even bought beer enhancer.. Tastes stale . Not sure just to go and buy corny keg . The last batch I made was stored in 500 ml bottles and was great.. Thinking it may be water expandable or bag in box... Last question should you vent off after its expanded or leave it. I was at times opening it up to vent as fear of exploding

 

[Jim Brewster]

If it's clear you need to keep it out of the sunlight in a cupboard for example.

For 16 litres you'd be better with 8x 2L fizzy drinks bottles, re adding the priming sugar. 2L of cheap lemonade can be bought for next to nothing just for the bottles.

Might be too late to salvage now if it tastes stale. Does it taste of cardboard (oxidised)? Or just not it's freshest? Flat beer never tastes great.

 

[moto748]

I'd agree with Jim. Bottle it and give it time. If you've already primed it with sugar, well, OK, but if you think that's not going to work, you could always add a small amount of sugar to be maybe half the batch to see. Taste it. Does it have a bit of a tingle on the tongue from a bit of fizz? If so, it probably doesn't need any more priming.

 

[Supernova]

Thanks guys I'll try and see if not I will go back to storage in bottles..

 

[Agentgonzo]

Last question should you vent off after its expanded or leave it. I was at times opening it up to vent as fear of exploding

Ideally, you shouldn't vent off the gas, as the pressure well force the CO2 into solution making it fizzier. But if the bags not intended to hold pressure, it could burst (so probably a good thing in hindsight). The bottles you used in the previous brew would be far better. Ex-cheapo-lemonade bottles are ideal for starters as mentioned by Jim.

It may be salvageable by repriming and reboottling, but risks further oxidation. When using plastic bottles/bags, squeeze all the air out of them to help reduce oxidation, which could have caused the stale flavours.