Bottles not carbed...anyone try this?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by funkel81, Nov 29, 2012.

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  1. funkel81

    funkel81 Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2011 Colorado

    so it's been 4 weeks since i bottled up my coffee stout using munton tablets. whether i didnt use enough tabs or there wasnt enough residual yeast or whatever the issue is...they're all basically flat. i have about 4 gallons of delicious beer left and under carbonation really tickles my feathers, so i need to resort to something drastic. i thought about just popping them open and adding more tablets but i also had the idea to dump the bottles into my corny keg and just force carb the sob. anyone try this? see any major issues you could foresee? thx
     
  2. randal

    randal Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2004 Colorado

    If under carbonation tickles your feathers then oxidation will electrify your follicles! Dump away...
     
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  3. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    I don't think I would give up this early. Depending on your FG and temp your bottles are stored at I would give it more time. I would also swirl each bottle around a little bit to get the yeast in suspention. I carbinate my bottles at 66 degrees and depending on my FG it takes 3-6 weeks. Good luck!
     
  4. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    This. It seems like we see a lot of posts like this around this time of year, and I have a hunch that I know why: we tend to brew bigger beers in the fall and winter, and we tend to bottle condition them at temperatures that are at least a few degrees cooler than the rest of the year. I would give it more time, and if possible, put them in a warmer spot.
     
  5. funkel81

    funkel81 Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2011 Colorado

    fair enough. i shall wait a few more weeks and try to warm them up. but, besides oxidation issues, would you think thatd be the only issue with my thought?
     
  6. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    Me Personaly would drink them under carbinated then try to keg at this point.
     
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  7. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    Well, that would certainly be main worry. It'd be pretty hard to transfer all that beer from bottles without oxidating the hell out of it. I imagine the beer would be seriously compromised pretty quickly, although I'd have to defer to others as to how quickly. Maybe if you planned to drink it all right away at a party or something it wouldn't be noticeable.
     
  8. funkel81

    funkel81 Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2011 Colorado

    hmmm. you might be onto something here
     
  9. GregoryVII

    GregoryVII Initiate (0) Jan 30, 2006 Michigan

    If you keg and drink quick you likely would not notice the effects of oxidation. You could give it a few weeks as others suggest, but it depends if it's basically flat or completely flat. After 4 weeks it may not be where you want it, but if there are no signs of carbonation at this point I doubt it's going to get where you want it to go.
     
  10. ghostly

    ghostly Initiate (0) Mar 7, 2011 New York

    I recently had bottles that undercarbonated because a cold crash had dropped too much yeast out. I reopened the bottles, added a sprinkle of dry yeast, recapped, and all bottles were carbonated in a couple weeks with no ill effects.
     
  11. utahbeerdude

    utahbeerdude Maven (1,374) May 2, 2006 Utah

    In order to figure this out, I would ask myself, and then answer, the following questions:

    1. What is the recommended number of tabs vs how many did I use?
    2. What is the temperature of the conditioning beer?
    3. What was the amount of time between fermenting and bottling?
    4. What is the alcohol level of the beer?
    5. Was the ferment strong or weak?

    The answers to these questions should help you decide between tired yeast versus some processing problem.
     
  12. MileHighShooter

    MileHighShooter Initiate (0) Nov 23, 2010 Colorado

    Just MHO, but next time, keg them, get a bottling gun and bottle from the keg at your desired carb level. So much easier, and more consistent, then playing the guessing/waiting game. You'll eliminate flat beer, and bottle bombs. About 100$ IIRC to get set up on a good bottle gun system.
     
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