too eager or a disaster?

[Pioneer28]

Hi, bottled my Bulldog IPA last Wed and have had it sitting at 22° in the cupboard. The instructions say 7 days at this temp then remove to a cold area for two weeks to settle.. Anyway my nose got the better of me and I stuck a bottle in the fridge tonight. Beer tastes fine, strong and hoppy and by far not the worst beer I've tried! However there was very little carbonation! These are 500ml bottles with two carb drops in each.
Now am I worrying over nothing as I need to wait for the two weeks to clear? Or should I be getting fizzier results than this? Help

 

[terrym]

I don't use carb drops but 2 per 500ml is at the lager end of carbonation so you should be getting some fizz. So I would give them all another week in the warm and then try again. If your beer was quite clear when you bottled it is possible that you have not given the yeast that is in there long enough to do its job.

 

[ravey]

If you moved it directly to the cold then the yeast may be dormant, or at least slow enough that you haven't allowed enough time to carb up.

 

[Pioneer28]

So should I get it back in the warm?

 

[Gerryjo]

I would normally use about 6mg of sugar per bottles as I don't use carb drops and my bottles were filled to an inch from the top same as you would have from a bottle filler and no issues with carbonation.
My mate has used 2 drops in the past and only filled to the shoulder with gushing results.
The 22 degrees is high but top end.It took mine three weeks to clear and carbonate.
Is it 22 degrees constant or does it fluctuate and it's only a week so let it go for another week but let temp drop by a degree or two and it should be fine.

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[Pioneer28]

The two carb drops came from advice on another thread. I'll be honest I'm not keen at all on drops, but don't know enough yet on brewing as a whole to feel confident about using sugar to prime bottles

 

[ravey]

So should I get it back in the warm?

It wouldn't hurt but just a bit extra time will probably be enough. I recently had half my bottles warm, and half cold, the warm ones firmed up quicker but the others weren't far behind and all before I'd expect them to be ready to drink.

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[Pioneer28]

The kit I have on the go now has priming sugar supplied, so I look forward to trying this

 

[BeerisGOD]

The kit I have on the go now has priming sugar supplied, so I look forward to trying this

There's lots of threads on 'batch priming' but you can still add the sugar via a funnel to the bottle. These two options both have they're pros and cons, Tbh its hard to say which ones better. I guess whatever is easiest for the HBer

 

[Lord0]

The two carb drops came from advice on another thread. I'll be honest I'm not keen at all on drops, but don't know enough yet on brewing as a whole to feel confident about using sugar to prime bottles

It's easy: start with 1/2 tsp per bottle as your default

 

[Jakeyboi]

Put simply you haven't left them long enough to carb. 2 weeks minimum, some of mine have taken 3/4 weeks.

 

[Sandimas]

Put simply you haven't left them long enough to carb. 2 weeks minimum, some of mine have taken 3/4 weeks.

+1

With cooler household temps I'm leaving mine for 3 weeks in the warm at the mo, then when cooled takes a few days to absorb the CO2.

So yes you're too eager :lol:

 

[Pioneer28]

Right, ehhh guy at work brews and I spoke to him about it, he asks "Did you shake the bottles to dissolve the drops?" So eh total newbie question would this make a difference shaking or not?

 

[ravey]

You don't need to shake them, and I'll bet you can't see undissolved sugar in the bottle.

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[BrewDan87]

i think i've had the same problem as you! I have just done 2 weeks fermentation then a week conditioning. i got too eager and i put a bottle straight into the fridge for a few hours and drank! it tasted awful but i think leaving it longer to condition could be the solution. My plan was to leave for 6 weeks but i've drank one after 3

 

[Hoppyland]

had it sitting at 22° in the cupboard. The instructions say 7 days at this temp then remove to a cold area for two weeks to settle.

The 22C temperature should be absolutely fine for conditioning. How long it takes to carb up will also depend upon how much yeast is present. If your beer was bottled straight from the FV and was fairly cloudy, then I'd expect that 2 weeks would be fine. However, if you'd racked it off before bottling into a secondary FV, and it was pretty clear at the bottling stage (this is what I do), then a month to carbonate in the bottles can be expected. Less yeast means slower fermentation - but also far less sediment, and ultimately a much better beer in my opinion.

 

[Pioneer28]

I racked into a secondary FV and allowed it to sit for a further week and I added finings. I thought this was the way to go after watching some youtube vids where finings where added to clear the beer. After my first attempt at brewing and having very cloudy, sedimenty, tasting beer I thought this would be a way to deal with the issues from my last batch reoccurring. I'm kinda following lots of different advice on lots of different threads and maybe losing something along the way

 

[ravey]

It may take a bit longer for the yeasticles to get going as there will be less of them but should be okay.

You shouldn't need to do any of that though. You didn't move the fv and disturb the trub in your first batch? I even pop a towel under one edge and syphon from the lowest point as I hate to waste any yummy beer and have no problems.

Even if some brews were a little murky looking they've always ended up crystal clear well before they're ready to drink. For me it would seem better to make sure you're doing everything right rather than try to correct what, if anything, you may be doing wrong.

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[Pioneer28]

Lack of space in the house means I move my fv from the kitchen to the stairway. I've adapted my fv and have fitted an internal heater (tropical fish tank heater) and no matter where it goes (cold place that is) I get a constant heat of between 22-24 degrees (thermo strip reading) I need the height drop to syphon properly so usually move back to the kitchen. So yeah I do move it

 

[ravey]

Okay, secondary fermentation should help so that when it's time to bottle there's less trub to disturb. Also if you can at least move it to where you syphon in advance to give it some time to settle a bit.

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