BeerBorg

I 've made four batches so far. The first three I used either coopers or the one that comes with the mr beer kits. The last one, a cherry wheat, I changed to Muntons carb drops. I'm used to about 2-3 weeks for full carbonation. I haven't developed the patience I need so I chilled one bottle and tried it after two weeks and it is nearly flat. Does anyone know if these drops take longer? I hope that is the only problem with the beer.

Read the package. All carb drops may not be the same size.

And develop patience...

First off Welcome to The Borg

Poppajim wrote:I 've made four batches so far. The first three I used either coopers or the one that comes with the mr beer kits.

Not really sure what comes in the MB kits anymore and haven't bought one in awhile, But I just use to use table sugar and bottle primed like I'm assuming what you are doing too. Never tried the carb drops, but would guess many others on here have and can give you a better answer on that. But what I can say, I have seen some batches carbed up in a week and have had some that's taken over 3-4 weeks. A lot depends on the brew and temps you are carbing at.

Bottled in glass or PET?
Crimped caps or re-useable?
How many tabs were added to each bottle and what is the size of the bottle?
How much head-space?

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You can try rousing the yeast by gently inverting the bottles two or three times for several days ... move them to a warmer location (low-to-mid70s) ... then try another one in a week.

Poppajim wrote:I 've made four batches so far. The first three I used either coopers or the one that comes with the mr beer kits. The last one, a cherry wheat, I changed to Muntons carb drops. I'm used to about 2-3 weeks for full carbonation. I haven't developed the patience I need so I chilled one bottle and tried it after two weeks and it is nearly flat. Does anyone know if these drops take longer? I hope that is the only problem with the beer.

What temp did you carb at. I have found that large temp swings can affect carb levels. I have only used the coopers carb drops and I feel they are a little light on carbonation. You might want to think about batch priming. You will get a more even carb level through your whole batch.

Welcome Jim! Keep us posted on what you decide.
We all have brew setbacks, then there are the ones that make it all worthwhile.

I've never used carbonation drops, so I did some googling.

The coopers drops say to use 1 for a 12 ounce bottle, and muntons say to use 3-5.

How many did you use?

I've heard folks say (well type in reviews) that the Muntons drops take a while to break down and work compared to others, to the point where some folks who tried bottles early complained of floaties.

My suggestion if you want to bottle prime and you can find them is to find 2.5 gram Dominos Dots sugar cubes. (look in sugar isle in grocery store). The right size comes in boxes of 198 cubes. 1 cube is good for 12oz in most styles of beer. And they cost a lot less then Coopers or Muntons tabs. Amazon sells them too. Just make sure it's the 198 cube box. They dissolve easily.

This batch was the first time using glass and using the carb drops. They were 12 oz with 4 drops and about 1 to 1-1/2 in headspace. Ferment and carb temp was a constant 68. I'm going to let them sit for another 2 weeks. Thanks everyone.

I think time would be your best ally here.

At the same time, I'm a big advocate of batch priming (although, to be fair, and in the interest of full disclosure, I've always been a batch primer, from Day One). The advantage is more consistent carbonation throughout the batch, and while there's a little more clean-up involved, I don't think it takes that much more time overall than bottle priming, and you've got washing up to do anyway.

But that falls into the category of Brewer's Choice, so by all means, do what suits you.

But give this batch time, and I think you'll be okay.

Poppajim wrote:This batch was the first time using glass and using the carb drops. They were 12 oz with 4 drops and about 1 to 1-1/2 in headspace. Ferment and carb temp was a constant 68. I'm going to let them sit for another 2 weeks. Thanks everyone.

Sounds about right.
Here's hoping all ends well.

FedoraDave wrote:I think time would be your best ally here.

At the same time, I'm a big advocate of batch priming (although, to be fair, and in the interest of full disclosure, I've always been a batch primer, from Day One). The advantage is more consistent carbonation throughout the batch, and while there's a little more clean-up involved, I don't think it takes that much more time overall than bottle priming, and you've got washing up to do anyway.

But that falls into the category of Brewer's Choice, so by all means, do what suits you.

But give this batch time, and I think you'll be okay.

Say no more say no more. Batch priming is the way to go.

Reporting back on the outcome of carbonation problem. Did not see anymore floaters on 9/10/15 so I chilled one bottle and tried. Success! What a great sound that is. Carbonated perfectly. Not much cherry taste. But that's a topic for another time. Thanks everyone.

Patience wins again

Patience, the secret ingredient in homebrewing. Many never learn that, others question it over and over and over and over and over....