No Signs of Carbonation after 2 months!

On the weekend of National Home Brew Day(May 3rd) I brewed a Barleywine. I used California Ale V Yeast(Whitlabs- WLP051). My OG was 1.104. I left in my primary @70 Degrees Fahrenheit for 2 weeks. I moved to my Secondary for another 2 weeks @ 70F, and then bottled(The FG had came down to 1.029). I used 4.5OZ priming sugar dissolved in 2 cups of water that I added to the bottom of my bottling bucket, and then siphoned the Barleywine into that so that it swirled toghether, and then bottled. My Barlywine has been in bottles for comming up on 4 weeks now, so I opened a 12OZ bottle last night to check its progress, and there are absolutely no signs of Carbonation...It pours like wine. THe flavor is fantastic, and the "flatness" didnt stop me from drinking it, as the flavor is excellent. My question is what to do next. Ive read through what I can find on HBT, and everyone says...just wait longer...but at what point to I become proactive and do something, and what do I do???? I was considering popping all of the tops and adding a touch more of yeast to each, thinking that maybe it was all spent during fermentation, but I dont know if thats the correct course of action! Pleas help!

--Dennis

dennisowens41 said:

My Barlywine has been in bottles for comming up on 4 weeks now, so I opened a 12OZ bottle last night to check its progress, and there are absolutely no signs of Carbonation
--Dennis

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It's Barleywine...that means it's a big beer, it simply may need a few more weeks to carb up...My porters and stouts take between 6-8 weeks, and yours is much bigger than my stout.

Consider rolling the bottles on their side to re-rouse the yeasts, and check back in another few weeks...A lot of people set their barleywines aside for 6 months to a year...

I agree. Big beers take longer.

Some of my stouts don't get carbed for 2 months.

You can't rush a natural process.

My Dark Strong (1.114 - 1.021) has been 4 months now and just starting to carb up properly.

Thanks for the advice...just wasn't sure how to proceed...or when to be concerned! Will continue exercising patience(which I believe to be the hardest lesson to learn in making your own beer)!

Make sure those bottles are resting at around 71-72 degrees at a minimum.

Will do! I have a room in my house I installed a window unit in to keep it @ 69F-71F...which my wife appreciates since I wont let her turn the house AC below 78F!

dennisowens41 said:

Will do! I have a room in my house I installed a window unit in to keep it @ 69F-71F...which my wife appreciates since I wont let her turn the house AC below 78F!

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Remember that is 71-72 minimum.

A little warmer is a little better.

BierMuncher said:

Remember that is 71-72 minimum.

A little warmer is a little better.

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Amen. I always place mine about three feet from a small space heater that I turn on low/ocillate for an hour each morning and each evening. I also pick up each bottle, invert it and give it a swirl every other day, just to rouse the yeast. I can carb most big beers in a few weeks like this. I had an Amber carb in four days like this once.

-Todd

All that alcohol is toxic to the yeast, so they aren't going to be primed up to ferment out your dextrose like they would in a lower gravity batch. Just give them some time and a bit of help (i.e. proper temperature, and resuspend the yeast at the bottom of the bottles every week or so). For a barleywine of that size, you really want them to age for at least 6 months anyways, so there shouldn't be any rush to drink them too soon (although I certainly understand your anxiety to see how the batch turned out!).

I'm happy to hear the encouraging words. I'm going to link to and from another forum where there's three of us having similar issues.

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