Nate & Laurie Benzing wrote:[color=blue]
> I am new to brewing and I started with a kit my in-laws gave me for
> Christmas. from wal-mart. So I made the first batch in a 1 gallon plastic
> container. It did not ferment real aggressively but it did ferment. So I
> then bottle it and they had me put in some powdered dextrose in each bottle
> for carbonation. I let it rest for about 20 days and then refrigerated.
> The brew had the right color but it was flat. No bubbles at all! so I open
> a couple more and I getthe same thing. I then Dump an unchilled bottle down
> the drain and there is Tons of carbonation. In fact I Pour the rest in a
> glass and I get a nice two inch head. so I know that chilled the beer is
> FLAT and at room temp (72 degrees) is has bubbles. both batches of the
> wal-mart kit did this. My yeast was old. I got the kit at Christmas and
> made the first batch in June. The yeast was labeled brewers yeast but it
> looked allot like the yeast we make bread with.
>
> I now have the first real batch going. Extra pale ale. I started it in a 6
> gallon carboy. It fermented like crazy! monster foam and lots of bubbling.
> I have bottled it. and I dissolved the priming sugar and mixed it in the
> bottle bucket as directed. SO the question is. When I put this beer in the
> fridge will go flat? or can I relax and know All is well and wal-mart
> should stay out of the brewing supply business?
>
> Thanks for your time.
> Cheers!
> Nate
>[/color]
Chilling beer will tend to reduce the bubbles a little. I'd guess your
Wal-Mart kit beer wasn't completely flat, but just a little weak in the
carbonation department. Maybe they didn't have you put quite enough
dextrose in the bottles, which is better than putting in too much
anyway. You can get "gusher" bottles that you have to chill and then
open over the sink, or worse yet the legendary "bottle bombs".

That can happen if you bottle it before it's done fermenting, too.

Mixing the priming sugar in the bottling bucket is better all around
(especially for getting every bottle the same!) and I think you'll
probably get enough carbonation. How much priming sugar did you mix into
the beer?

Karl S.


--
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.
Matthew 20:27 KJV