Failed secondary fermentation??

[andrew.johnson]

I have recently started brewing, simple kits at the mo, then hopefully into more techical brews after a period.

I have recently had 2 kits (woodfords wherry, and coopers bitter kit)that although seemed to ferment well, have produced hardly any CO2 (no fizz when openiing) after a few weeks in bottles. The beer also tastes a lot sweeter than expected.
In order to try and clear the beer a little before bottling, we syphoned the beer into another FV and added liquid finings, and left for 3 days, before priming bottles with sugar and bottling.
Could this second clearing stage have adversely affected the yeast, and stopped secondary fermentation in bottles.

Could I also ask if it is worth using a yeast nutrient, and if supplied granular yeast from kits is sufficient, or could another method or better types of yeast make a difference. I have not had a problem before, but these 2 failed batches have got me puzzled, and I would like to be improving my practice anyway.
Jono

 

[Vossy1]

How long has the beer been bottled up for? Minimum should be around 4 weeks really, though it should be well carbed after 2. Did you leave the bottles somewhere warm for the first 2 weeks?

There should still be enough yeast in solution to produce C02, even after using liquid finings on the beer. If the finings were super efficient it may simply take longer for the bottles to gas up.

The priming sugar shouldn't really be noticed in the beer, certainly not as sweet. What was the final gravity of the beer before racking and how long was it in primary for?

 

[corby_brewer]

I have recently had 2 kits (woodfords wherry, and coopers bitter kit)

i recently made the Werry kit, About 5 weeks ago i bottled a couple of pints and put the rest in a cornie. When i tried the first bottle after about 3 weeks that was sweet and lacking any head. But last night i tried the other bottle and the sweetness has gone and the head is as good as anything. Also it was crystal clear. I would say just leave it in the bottle for about 5 weeks, let it mature a bit and you will be rewarded with a cracking pint.

 

[andrew.johnson]

Thanks vossy and corby
Beer has been in bottles for around 3 weeks, we may be a little premature in expecting it to have reached its best. Will keep it maturing and review its progress in a couple of weeks.

Both kits were fermented for around 8 days, then syphoned into another bin with finings and left for another 3 days before bottling, I arent sure the finings helped clearing much more. Maybe it isnt worth using them for kits - what is the consensus on this.

I generally leave bottles for 5 days in a warm room after priming before moving them to cold storage - would you recommend leaving in warm for longer - from my experience 5 days is usually ok for lager, but any tips on improving what we do is much appreciated.

Thanks again, will post again in a couple of weeks to let you know if improvement has been seen.

Jono

 

[Sean_Mc]

To keep things simple for myself I like to ferment for 10days, when bottled keep in a warm room for ten days then store in the cool workshop....Best drank after three months

I never use finings. This current cold weather may have effected the bottles, Whats the temp in your cold storage?