FlyGuy
Well-Known Member
Recently, there have been an unusually high number of threads on the topic of secondary fermenters and bottle carbonation. Specifically, a number of users have been discussing leaving a beer in the secondary for an extended period of time (e.g., an imperial stout) to bulk condition, and then wondering if adding yeast is a requirement or not to ensure carbonation in the bottle. Alternatively, a number of people have reported very slow carbonation after spending a prolonged period in the secondary, while others have reported no problems whatsoever.
I know that there are a lot of variables at work here, but I wonder if it would be possible to generalize about whether adding yeast is necessary at bottling. I have adopted that approach because I am cautious, but I was thinking this would make a great experiment.
I have a big porter that has been in the secondary for over three months, and I have decided to bottle it up. My plan is to bottle some without adding any yeast, and the other bottles with some dry yeast added. Then I can compare directly how fast each sub-batch carbonates, and whether the end product is different once carbonation is complete (assuming it all completes in the first set of bottles).
If anyone else has done this already or wants to try it, I will happily compile the results by yeast type, length of time spent in the secondary, etc.
I know that there are a lot of variables at work here, but I wonder if it would be possible to generalize about whether adding yeast is necessary at bottling. I have adopted that approach because I am cautious, but I was thinking this would make a great experiment.
I have a big porter that has been in the secondary for over three months, and I have decided to bottle it up. My plan is to bottle some without adding any yeast, and the other bottles with some dry yeast added. Then I can compare directly how fast each sub-batch carbonates, and whether the end product is different once carbonation is complete (assuming it all completes in the first set of bottles).
If anyone else has done this already or wants to try it, I will happily compile the results by yeast type, length of time spent in the secondary, etc.