Beer not carbonating

[Mjgclutch]

Hi

I'm struggling with my current brew, as it doesn't seem to be carbonating properly.

I added 100g of dextrose to a 22L brew, which seems plenty. This was fermented at 18-20 degrees. I left it at 18 degrees for a week post priming, and it has been in the garage for 2 weeks, at a temp of around 14 degrees.

I realise that 1 week at fermentation temp isn't enough, so I have bought it back in, and I'm going to leave it at 18-20 degrees for another week or so, to ensure that all sugars have fermented, but even so, I would expect some carbonation, but it is as flat as a pancake.

My notes on this beer aren't great, as I got so frustrated with my accidental extract brew, so there could be other mistakes in there. I think the SG was about 1.02, so I think it may have stuck. would that have an impact on the carbonation? It doesn't taste overly sweet, and does taste vaguely like Landlord, which it should be (bar the flatness)

Bit poor that I can't remember, but I have no interest in extract brewing (i'd rather do kits), that I put it down as a bad experience like a big sulky child and moved on! Still, I have a fully barrel of beer, so would be nice if it was drinkable.

 

[Spapro]

Is this in a pressure barrel then ? If so what kind, king keg or budget or something else ?

Leaky pressure barrel would be top of my list if it is truly flat as.

 

[Covrich]

You barrelled it? do not know much about kegging /PB but could it be gas leaking at all? Seem to be notorious for that.

 

[Halfacrem]

My first home brew attempt didn't carbonate because I tightened the pressure barrel top too much and it distorted the rubber seal, leaving an escape route.

 

[Leon103]

Leaky barrel. I rub vasaline around all seals which helps. You could force carbonate it with co2

 

[Tony1951]

I had a newish barrel which formed a crack up at the top. I was as puzzled as you like, trying new priming sugar, new rubber seals - all kinds. In the end I gassed it up with a co2 lid and valve on it and I could hear a faint hiss coming from the body of the barrel. I ran a wet finger around where the hiss was coming from and there was a tiny crack in the thing.

It came from Wilkos and they got in contact with their supplier - Muntons, who replaced it and sent me a beer kit as good will.

I'm less enthusiastic about these barrels now. I've had two crack and some with leaky cap seals. I have about four working now and two knackered ones. One had a leak in the base. To be fair, it had a knock and that might have cracked it, but they aren't as fool proof as I thought they were. Bottles on the other hand just work, even if it is a pain to clean, sterilise and fill them.

 

[Sandimas]

If there's one thing I've learned homebrewing, it's never to trust barrel seals - had so many issues over the years, with cheap and expensive barrels. Now I've replaced all the lids to take a CO2 canister and listen for leaks after a quick squirt of CO2 immediately after putting the beer in, and on one I've fitted a pressure gauge (off eBay) so that I can watch it gas up.

Oh, and 14C in the garage isn't really warm enough to produce a lot of gas, ideally you need it at 18C or above for 2 weeks.

 

[Mjgclutch]

It could be leaking, but I've never had a problem with it before. What is the best way to check? It isn't a KK, it is a generic PB - see link.

If I squirt some CO2, I assume that if the barrel is ok, I won't hear anything?

The sooner I get a corney set up the better I guess.

I'm giving it a few weeks in house, at higher temperature, anyhow.

http://www.brewbitz.com/barrels-keg...FKNwM1HPLjquzzvvpiPq6lX8jMvxtjGI2AaAgHo8P8HAQ

 

[Tony1951]

If you have a small leak, it might still he hard to find. I wasted about three co2 bulbs looking for my crack. I had also primed and re-primed the barrel with sugar. The beer went off of course, which was a pity because it was a nice all grain batch - a real bummer and very discouraging.

Gas leaking even a small amount will soon lose all your pressure over a period of hours or days. If the leak is slow, it might be hard to find. I found mine by having the barrel in a quiet place and carefully listening around. You might need to use the same techniques as when looking for a puncture in a bicycle, only a barrel is a lot harder to manipulate than a rubber tube for example when using water to find the leak (bubbles). You could try painting soapy water around with a brush or a finger. Having good ears helps to locate the leak.

 

[Mjgclutch]

Ok, I'll give it a go. I'm not that bothered about the beer (though it will be £25 down the drain (rip off)). I am concerned about my other brews, sitting nicely in my KingKegs! Is there a period where is it worth testing them? I.e after two weeks drinking a sample. Obviously it won't be fully carbonated, but the signs will be there, plus, when the barrels is at full pressure the beer comes out at a right rate of knots, rather than the disappointing flat trickle I'm experiencing at the moment.

I think I'll try to identify a leak, otherwise, I'll leave it at 20 degrees for a week or so, then perhaps crash cool it for a period to try and ensure max carbonation? I'm gradually starting to pick up fridges, so should have the means to control temperature soon!

 

[Spapro]

I am concerned about my other brews, sitting nicely in my KingKegs! Is there a period where is it worth testing them? I.e after two weeks drinking a sample.

I have changed the lid on both my kingkegs to this lid from Ballihoo:
http://www.balliihoo.co.uk/balliiho...n-valve-pressure-test-point-gauge-p-1090.html

This lid takes all the guesswork out of carbonation as it has a pressure guage/valve on it - plus a square section rubber seal which is much more reliable than the round section king keg standard seal.

Once your beer is primed and kegged you can take a pressure reading after day one and then again after say day 3 or 4, then again after a week. If all is well you can see the pressure bulding - usually gets to about 7psi.

Very reassuring not having to hope for the best and keep your fingers crossed for 2 weeks before knowing !

When I next buy a keg I will buy the ballihoo top tap one as it comes with this lid: http://www.balliihoo.co.uk/balliiho...2-injection-valve-pressure-indicator-p-4.html

 

[Mjgclutch]

Absolutely, Though that is 60 quid for my 3 king kegs. Mind you, better than all the time, effort and cost it takes to make beer!

Is it worth checking them by trying a bit of beer? My KKs have been in for 1 and 3 weeks respectively. I think the latter is at max pressure, cause when I accidentally added CO2, it expelled from the valve (I put too much sugar in also!)

 

[Spapro]

I should be able to check, if you open the tap and beer spurts out 'under pressure', after say a week at 18-20°C then all is well. If you get a dribble then probably got a problem. You should have good signs of carbonation after a week, but it does develop further over the 2nd week carbing in the warm.

 

[Mjgclutch]

Good news and bad. The KK brews are all fine. Over carbonated in fact, so they exploded when poured! I can live with that.

The problem beer barrel had a leak, so I removed the lid, and tried to sort the seal, which frankly looks a bit mangled. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment. I don't want to chuck the beer, but I don't want to buy a new KK when I'm going to go to Corney set up ASAP. Are new seals available at most lhbs (I assume so, even for non KK barrels. If I do replace the seal, how much more sugar to I need to add. Is it a case of circa 100g as normal, assuming it has all fermented?

I can't be bothered bottling, nor do I have the bottles to do so! Any other suggestions would be welcome!

 

[Spapro]

Sure the smaller seals are available, i think I've seen them on ebay also.

You could remove the lid and cover the opening on the barrel with sanitised cling film and a rubber band to hold in place until you get the lid/seal sorted out. You will then need to re-prime with 80g of sugar and carb up gain once all sorted out. Good luck with it, sure it will be fine in the end, beer is pretty resilient to little mishaps.

 

[Mjgclutch]

Ta, we'll see what happens!

 

[Tony1951]

I've 'discovered' that too much Vaseline (anything more than a hint of it) makes the seals too squiggly and they squirm out of the groove as you tighten the lid. Also, over tightening the lid will lead to mangling of the seal.

When I say, 'I discovered,' other people knew this very well before me. I just found out, is what I should have said.

 

[Mjgclutch]

That could be the issue. I was wondering that. How much is too much though? Difficult to judge when it is 'over tight'. I probably do over tighten. Any tips on how much to turn it, and when to know you are going too far.

 

[Cwrw666]

No need to chuck the beer even if you never solve the carbonation problem - it'll keep fine. You could always bottle it if you want. I did this when one of my PBs developed a crack which took me weeks to find. The beer was still ok as CO2 was leaking out under pressure, not O2 leaking in.