I've been having difficulty bottle carbing and I am quite sure that it's due to lack of yeast remaining when I get to bottling. I tend to prefer lagers and always transfer to secondary so I'm thinking that I'm not getting enough yeast into my bottles to carbonate. Is it possible that a 3 week lager at 38 degrees kills most of the yeast or am I just not sucking enough off the bottom of the carboy? One thought I had was using carbonation tabs but if they require yeast I'd be in the same situation. Does anyone konw? All other threads I've read don't address this point. As always thanks for the help.
Do carbonation tabs require yeast?
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NickN72
Well-Known Member
The tabs still require yeast. The yeast is what does the carbonating in every method other than force carbonation. The tabs are just a measured about for each bottle.
What temperature are you keeping the bottles after you bottle your beer? 3 weeks of lagering shouldn't be a problem.
What temperature are you keeping the bottles after you bottle your beer? 3 weeks of lagering shouldn't be a problem.
If you're transfering over to secondary you are leaving behind some yeast. When you lager, you'll crash out even more yeast. Most people that lager either force carb or add more yeast when it's time to keg/bottle.
TheSlash
Well-Known Member
What about leaving an ale in the primary for 3 months? The yeast cake is sooo tight. I kegged it, but wondered about bottling next time. Seems like the yeast would be dead or settled...?
Some people do, but not nearly "most". How much sugar are you using? I wonder how long/what temp these bottles have been stored at. Also, what kind of bottles, because if they are screw-offs and you don't pay attention it can be difficult to get a good seal?
+1 I don't add yeast to lagers before bottling and have never had a problem with the conditioning. Considerable yeast will remain in suspension even when the beer appears to be very clear.
Correct. You can lager a beer for a couple of months and still have plenty of yeast for carbonation.
I assume that you're keeping the bottles at a warm temperature, and not lagering temperatures. I just wanted to check, because several people have complained of lagers not carbing up, but they were keeping them cold. They can go up to 70 degrees to carb up, just like ales.
If bottle carbing is still a problem, then when you bottle you can add about 1/3 package of dry yeast to the cooled priming solution, and stir well, and then rack the beer into it. Nottingham is good for this, since its' so neutral and makes a nice compact yeast cake when it's done.
I have consistently used about 4-5 oz of primer sugar and never twist off bottles. It sounds like my problem might be the temps I'm keeping them at. I typically keep them in the high 40's or low 50's to carb. I'll try moving it up to room temp and see what happens. Thanks for all the great advice.
Bingo. 70-75 will give you the fastest results, but mid 60's should get the job done too since your house in WI might only be that warm.
Yes, you do have to warm them up. If you're STILL having issues I would consider adding more yeast. It's possible that there's plenty of yeast after lagering, but, adding a small amount of yeast will up your chances and not hurt anything if done correctly.
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