[Lazy Ant Brewing]

I've got a red ale bottle conditioning that spent 14 days in primary, 18 in secondary, and 13 days bottle conditioning at about 73 F after being bottled with plenty of sugar per priming calculator.

When I opened a chilled bottle last night and put it in a very cold mug, the beer tasted fine, but was otherwise quite flat i.e. very minimal carbonation.

I inverted all the bottles for a few seconds then turned them back upright and plan to do this every other day for about a week before sampling another bottle.

I used Safale US-05 and the beer was properly fermented, but carbonation is low.

Any other suggestions.

[denny]

It's possible that your very cold mug provided nucleation sites for CO2, which knocked it out if solution and made the beer less carbed.  Try it in a room temp glass to see if this may have been the issue.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

Denny,

You may be right, but what is puzzling to me is that other brews that I've made have developed a good head instantly as they are being poured.  And, I am one of those crazy guys that like to drink ales at 40 F versus the "politically-correct" temp of 55 to 57 F.

Thanks

[beersk]

Don't invert the bottles more than once. Once should be enough, otherwise, you're risking oxidation. It takes more time than 13 days sometimes. You need to be patient.

[denny]

Denny,

You may be right, but what is puzzling to me is that other brews that I've made have developed a good head instantly as they are being poured.  And, I am one of those crazy guys that like to drink ales at 40 F versus the "politically-correct" temp of 55 to 57 F.

Thanks

Yes, and it's not "politically correct"....it's simply the best way to perceive flavors.  After all the work I out into my beer, I don't want it hidden by drinking it too cold.

[kramerog]

The extra time in secondary may have dropped out enough yeast to make bottle carbonation slow. 

[denny]

The extra time in secondary may have dropped out enough yeast to make bottle carbonation slow.

I don't think that's enough time to matter.

[HoosierBrew]

  After all the work I out into my beer, I don't want it hidden by drinking it too cold.

Yep, I agree.

[dls5492]

I brewed an Irish Red this spring and bottled conditioned it. I also had low carbonation, at first. But, I let it age another six weeks and the carbonation and flavor turned out quite nice. Sometimes, just a little more time in the bottle does wonders.

[sbruening]

I had a question closely related to this topic and instead of transferring my beer to a secondary, I'm going to leave my beer in the primary for an extended period of time to see how that works out.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

Thanks for your tips.

[klickitat jim]

I remember a time when I would see a sign reading Coldest Beer In Town and think Oh Ya! Nowadays I just chuckle and think... whatever.

[Stevie]

I remember a time when I would see a sign reading Coldest Beer In Town and think Oh Ya! Nowadays I just chuckle and think... whatever.

Twin Peaks does this. They have a large red LED display on the wall showing the temp of their beer. Makes me burp too much.

[beersk]

Well, you can always let the beer warm up. Easier to do that than having it be too warm and wanting to cool it down.

[reverseapachemaster]

How warm was the beer in secondary? Temperature will affect the amount of CO2 already dissolved in your beer (from fermentation) and priming calculators assume you have the amount of dissolved CO2 in your beer for a beer that has been sitting at 70F. If the secondary got much warmer than that then you likely lost some of that CO2 and needed to prime with additional sugar.

However, your beer may just need a few extra days to finish carbonating.