Carbonating a year-old lambic

I brewed my first lambic in October this year and I'm expecting it to be ready for bottling in October next year. However, I'm guessing there will be little live yeast left in the brew by then so bottle-carbonating it may be difficult.

Should I add fresh yeast to the brew before bottling?

If so, will a single package of some Wyeast or White Labs yeast suffice for a five gallon brew? And, should I stir the yeast together with the sugar added for carbonating the beer, or should I add the yeast and let it settle a few days before adding the sugar and bottling? (The former seems more reasonable to me, because there's nothing in the brew left to ferment, so the yeast can expected to basically shrug in disappointment and drop to the bottom.)

Edit: OP didn't need my help.

ThunderpantsBrewing said:

Make sure you watch your FG at bottling as well, because if you add too much sugar, and your bacteria is still working on the beer, you could wind up with bottle bombs.

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Yes, of course. Any beer that isn't fully fermented can turn into a bottle bomb regardless of whether the sugar is consumed by bacteria or by yeast.

I don't expect that to happen, though: the beer was initially fermented with plain beer yeast and the bacteria culture was added a few days later. Any yeast fermentables in the beer are probably long gone by now and certainly will be in nine months.

Have you tried brewing a lambic yourself and added fresh yeast (and sugar, obviously) before bottling?

Edit: OP didn't need my help.

ThunderpantsBrewing said:

I guess what I meant by the bottle bomb thing is that bacteria can ferment a beer way lower than 1.010 or whatever, so you have to be careful.

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True. Still, I feel confident that after about a year anything edible will have been consumed.

ThunderpantsBrewing said:

I have brewed lambic and bottled it, but I didn't use fresh yeast. I used dry champagne yeast, and it worked just fine.

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Dried yeast qualifies as fresh yeast, too.

Edit: OP didn't need my help.

I used champagne yeast as well. It's supposed to work better in an acidic environment I believe. I used half the packet, which is 2.5g.

You have to use more priming sugar though, if you want it carbonated to style. Also the fact that after a year there will probably be little to no carbonation in solution anymore. Using belgian bottles is a good idea too, supposed to hold up better to the higher pressures.

ThunderpantsBrewing said:

Maybe I couldn't fathom your use of the word "fresh" meaning "anything but what is not fresh". Nobody with any sense uses yeast that isn't fresh.

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I meant "as opposed to the mostly dead yeast left in the carboy." In most books that I've read on brewing, "fresh yeast" means yeast that you add to the carboy to reinvigorate slow or stopped fermentation.

Ok, sorry, I didn't realize that the guy asking questions had all the answers. Maybe you'll find better help in the books you've read on brewing.

In my one and only sour beer batch, I added about 1/3 of dry beer yeast packet to my bottles. I think just Muntons that I had lying around. Didn't want to contaminate my bottling bucket, so I added measured dry sugar and some yeast to each bottle. Then filled each with a racking cane/bottling wand.

Although not my normal process of bottle conditioning by any means, it appeared to work out really well.

I like using champagne yeast for funky/sour beers that have aged. It's neutral, can withstand harsh environments, and leaves a thin, compact sediment. I use a half pack of dry yeast - Lalvin EC-1118. Rehydrated and mixed into sugar solution.

I just pour the yeast/sugar solution into the bottom of the bottling bucket and rack the beer on top. Maybe stir gently with a sanitized racking cane to make sure it's uniformally mixed.

Agree with the suggestion to use a bit more priming sugar if the beer has sat for a year or more. There's a calculator on The Mad Fermentationist's website that can help you with priming.


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