Problem - bottles not carbonating

[BrewDan]

Hello I've been having a problem with brews not carbonating in bottles. I have been using youngs red crow caps from wilkinsons and an Emily capper bought from there too.

I know it must be a problem with the caps as every brew I have made has been still or has had a tiny, and I mean tiny as you wouldn't notice it unless you looked hard, bit of fizz to it which dies off after a couple of minutes.

My recent brewferm pills was bottled in standard brown bottles bought from wilkinsons and a couple of swing top grolsch bottles. Tried the ones in the swing top and they were nicely carbonated, but it died after a few mins in a Stella glass. I then tried one from the brown bottles which was totally flat. Both bottled and stored same time same place, both ha 1tsp brew sugar to prime.

Anyone else had a problem similar to this?

Any suggestions welcomed :hmm:

 

[cosmicnut]

Silly question. How long have you left them in the bottles?

I tried my first brew after a month of secondary fermentation and it was OK, not the best taste and went flat VERY quickly.
After a few more weeks it got better and better.
Now I get a pretty good head that lasts quite a while and a great tasting pint.

It sounds like either you aren't letting the brew age for long enough (the ones in the swing top) or you aren't getting a decent seal (the ones in the capped bottles)

If you are really unsure about the seal, try a secondary fermentation stage in a 1 or 2 litre soft drink bottle. The benfit here is a ready made seal screw top cap and you can get a rough idea about the internal preassure by squeezing the bottle. I tried my latest brew in some square style still water bottles. Fun but not a good idea as the bottles are now fully round with almost no little feet! I have to keep them in the bath in case they go pop. Lucky I have a shower in a differnt room :grin:

 

[Hollow Legs]

could be leaking caps but would have thought some would be ok out of the brew, what size bottles are they?

I have had two brews now that were crystal clear when bottled so without as much yeast in as if it was cloudy they took alot longer to condition, I think they took 5-6 weeks but boy were they worth it

Another thing that can cause low carbonation is lack of rinsing after sterilising

Have you ever thought about batch priming?

How long are you leaving them in a warm place for after bottling?

 

[BrewDan]

The brown bottles are 500ml and the swing tops are just grolsch bottles. I've never had a good carbonation out of those brown bottles, I've made quite a few different brews, some 6 months ago but still no fizz. Maybe I am leaving it too long before I bottle. But the brewferm I made and bottled in little shandy bottles had ok carbonation, batch primed that, all the others were done individually.

Ah well I will get it right one of these days I'm sure, going to be trying another pills from a grolsch bottle in a bit once dinners cooked :drink:

 

[Peapodmaster]

I am also experiancing problem with little carbonation with my cider. will it just become more fizzy as the days go by? and should i leave it in cold or warm place. the instructions say to leave it in a warm place for 3 days (which i did) and then put them in a cooler place. :)

 

[Runwell-Steve]

The general approach to carbonating bottles is to leave in a warm place for a week or 2 for the pressure to build up, then move to a cooler place for the CO2 to get absorbed into the solution.

The colder the beer, the easier it is for the CO2 to be absorbed into it.

 

[Muddydisco]

How long are you leaving them before bottling? Are you getting a sediment layer in the bottom of the bottle and is it compacted or loose?

 

[BrewDan]

Some were left for around 4 days and some other were a couple of weeks, but none have had good carbonation in these brow bottles, or some re used bulmers bottles.

Normally leave them in the warm for a few weeks to a few months, then stick in the fridge before I drink them, I cant quite work out whats going on, the grolsch ones though worked very well, so I think I am going to continue building up stocks of these, and use the brown bottles for still TC and Ales, yep theres always sediment at the bottem. Most have been fairly compact, but my coopers mexican cervezas had sediment that was quite easy to disturb.

Maybe I am just not adding enough prmiming sugars or not leaving them in a warm enough place :?