What are my options for flat, bottled beer?

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hellbus

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Hello! I tried searching for suggestions, but have not found anything solid (If there is a thread that exists, I apologize in advance)

I brewed a big beer (O.G. 1.10). I ended up leaving it in the primary for 3 months, after which I bottled it (F.G. 1.02). In hind site I should have probably pitched more yeast prior to bottling, but thanks to my inexperience, I did not.

Anyway, It has been bottled since 2/17 and has not carbonated at all. I read through the forums and tried some things, such as moving it to a warmer room (It has been there for about a month now), and occasionally shaking the bottles to try to re-suspend any yeast.

I am convinced that it will not carbonate now, so I am wondering what I can do with it, save for dumping it.

I do not have any kegs or Co2, but if that is my only option, I can procure them.

I am wondering what I can do to end up having it in the bottles, and carbonated nicely (I am trying to avoid buying any new hardware right now).

I saved some of the yeast I used to brew it, but I am unclear on what process I would have to go through to help it.

Would I just make a starter with the yeast I have, slowly pour it in the bottling bucket, pitch some yeast, then re-bottle, or is there a better way? Should I let it sit in a fermenting bucket for a day or so after I pitch more yeast in it?
 
The problem may be that you are at 10.5% ABV, which could be close to the upper threshold for your yeast. What yeast did you use?

You may need to add a little yeast of another type to get them to carb up.
 
Yeah, I figured the higher ABV may be effecting it. I used White Labs Belgian Golden Ale Yeast (WLP570). I picked that specifically because it *should* be better with bigger beers.

Is there a type of yeast that you would suggest to pitch? Once that has been determined, what is the process for re-pitching? Do I just pour it into a bottling bucket, then re-bottle immediately?
 
Hmmm. WLP570 should be good up to 12%. However, Belgian yeasts have been known to decide to be done, and that's just it.

Do not pour the beer back into the bottling bucket - you'll oxidize them all. Instead, uncap, add a few grams of yeast per bottle, then recap.

Fresh WLP570 might be the very best answer. Barring that, you might go with somethign clean and alcohol tolerant.
 
I took into consideration that it may just be taking a while. How long should I wait before it can be safely assumed that it will not carb up? Right now it has been bottled for almost 2 months, and as of today, there is zero carbonation (Well, besides just a little "pfft" when I open it).

If I did cross that threshold and want to put fresh yeast in it, how would that process work? I'd imagine I'd make a yeast starter, then scoop a little of the slurry in each bottle, then recap. I'd imagine at 10.5% the risk for infection is probably pretty low.

Thank you again for your help. I really appreciate it!
 
hellbus, I'm assuming you did indeed put priming sugar in the batch before bottling? I ask, because you didn't mention it in your first post...
 
hellbus, I'm assuming you did indeed put priming sugar in the batch before bottling? I ask, because you didn't mention it in your first post...

Yeah, I should have mentioned that. I used 3/4 C. of corn sugar, which I boiled in 2 C of water.
 
If time doesn't work, another option might be to gently stir some lemon-lime soda in a 1 to 1 ratio into it for some kick-*** summer shandys.
 
Hmmm. WLP570 should be good up to 12%. However, Belgian yeasts have been known to decide to be done, and that's just it.

Do not pour the beer back into the bottling bucket - you'll oxidize them all. Instead, uncap, add a few grams of yeast per bottle, then recap.

Fresh WLP570 might be the very best answer. Barring that, you might go with somethign clean and alcohol tolerant.

hellbus said:
I took into consideration that it may just be taking a while. How long should I wait before it can be safely assumed that it will not carb up? Right now it has been bottled for almost 2 months, and as of today, there is zero carbonation (Well, besides just a little "pfft" when I open it).

If I did cross that threshold and want to put fresh yeast in it, how would that process work? I'd imagine I'd make a yeast starter, then scoop a little of the slurry in each bottle, then recap. I'd imagine at 10.5% the risk for infection is probably pretty low.

Thank you again for your help. I really appreciate it!

As homebrewdad alludes to in his post a yeast (although personally I'd go with a packet of dried yeast for ease of introduction to the bottle) that has the ability to handle higher ABV environments should do the trick. Fermentis T-58 and S-33 immediately spring to mind, there's also champagne yeast which can handle way higher ABV environments.

Having said that, just the fact that you heard a little "Pffft" on popping a cap suggests that a certain amount of carbonation has been achieved so maybe the yeast you used originally just ran out of steam, after having performed a pretty good job already. After uncapping a bottle maybe take a tiny taste to see if you can detect, as yet unfermented, priming sugar then add a few grains of dry yeast and re-cap.
 
Lots of posts on these forums about big beers taking a long time to carb. I'm too lazy to look for them at the moment, but they're definitely on here.

I would give it at least another month before doing anything crazy.

No harm in letting them sit. Brew more beer.
 
Yeah, if you are getting a "pfft", it might just be taking forever. Make sure the bottles are at a ice, warm temp (~70 degrees F) and give them another few weeks.
 
Give it another month or so it will eventually carb, my Trippel took 4 months to carb and that was probably only 2.3 or so vol (I primed for 3.3 vol) that was back in the beginning of Feb just now 6 months and it's starting to be just right, give it some time, don't add more yeast just let it do it's thing... huge beers take forever!
 
My guess is since it was in primary for 3 months the yeast all mostly dropped out. Chances are when you racked to the bottle bucket it was very clear. What little bit of yeast that is in suspension is taking a long time to propagate enough to eat the priming sugar. This process is slowed even further by the high abv. It might take 6 months or more, but it should carb up.
 
i think it is a reasonable mistake to make. whenever anyone asks about repitching yeast on here, people say, 'oh no need to do that.' pitching a bit of yeast (1/4-1/2 packet) when bottling a beer that has been clearing for a while is, as yooper says, 'cheap insurance.'

you could take six or seven bottles, add a pinch of dry yeast (nottingham perhaps) to each, recap and put it somewhere 70+. after ten days, see if you are happy with the carbonation. repeat at two weeks. if so, enjoy those beers while you work on re-yeasting and recapping the others.

if it was me, i sure as hell wouldn't want to wait six months or whatever for it to carb up.
 
Also, do bear in mind that a 10.5% brew is possibly going to take a LONG time to carb up.
+1

I'd bet my last bottle of homebrew that you will be carbed up in a couple/few months.

If time doesn't work, another option might be to gently stir some lemon-lime soda in a 1 to 1 ratio into it for some kick-*** summer shandys.

I like the cut of your jib, sir!
 
I had a similar problem, not such a big beer though. Store your bottled beer upside down for 2 weeks (in the case). Turn them rightside up for 2 more weeks then try one. Good luck
 
Thank you for your suggestion guys! I really appreciate it. I'll probably give it a little more time, based on the suggestions. After a month or 2 I may repitch as others have suggested.

The "pfft" that I mentioned doesn't seem to have gotten any more forceful since about 2-3 weeks in the bottle, so I'm thinking the yeast are on hiatus.
 
There are some things you could try but I don't know if it is worth the effort.

  1. Make a Starter.
  2. Open each beer.
  3. Pour some out
  4. Pour some starter in
  5. Re-cap

  1. Make another batch
  2. Make sure it carbonates "High".
  3. Mix the two together when served (I have done this)

I guess you could also run out an buy a "soda maker" and force carbonate them when serving.

Me? I am to lazy to redo work I have already done once so I would be blending a carbonated beer with my low carbonated beer.

DPB
 
Your carbonation won't get better.

Long story short, I've had carb issues on a couple big beers. Reydrate a $1 packet of champagne yeast. I use EC1118. Using 2oz of water let's you squirt 1mL into each of the 12oz bottles.

And here's a tip. With every batch of beer, bottle one beer in a brown plastic (PET) bottle so you can squeeze it to check carb levels. No need to uncap.
 
I had a 9.5% stout that took the better part of 4 months to carb up. Seems a little long but I would wait a little longer before you start un-capping your bottles.
 
i disagree with posters saying it wont carb. it will. give it 2 more months. put it in a closet forget about it, and youll have some great beer for the 4th of july holiday.
 
i also made a 10% barleywine that took 4 months until it didn't taste flat. I also was discouraged and looked into adding yeast. Decided to wait and now Im at about 6 months and each bottle seems to get better. Id give it a few more months.
 
I'm having the same problem with an IPA that's been bottled for 4.5 weeks. I'm getting a pfft when I open one and very minimal carbonation. I've read on this forum to chill for a week or so to transfer the carbonation from the headspace to the beer. How does that work exactly?

I've tried that a couple of times and got low carbonation after chilling. Now I'm afraid to chill any more cause it will just make the yeast go dormant.
 
I'm having the same problem with an IPA that's been bottled for 4.5 weeks. I'm getting a pfft when I open one and very minimal carbonation. I've read on this forum to chill for a week or so to transfer the carbonation from the headspace to the beer. How does that work exactly?

I've tried that a couple of times and got low carbonation after chilling. Now I'm afraid to chill any more cause it will just make the yeast go dormant.


That suggestion is to make the CO2 in a fully carbed beer absorb into solution so you get lasting effervescence in the glass, CO2 tickling your tongue on each mouthful of beer to the end of the glass, coupled with better head retention.

This isn't going to help an under-carbed beer reach it's potential as fridgeing is going to have the temp of the beer substantially below the optimum for carbing (being around 70f). Your assumption about causing yeast dormancy is not unfounded.
 
Agreed with Ogri. Chilling the beer will get more CO2 into solution, but if it han't been produced yet, you're doing no good. Worse, you are basically pausing any possible fermentation at those temps, which means the beer will never carb up.

Pelican, what temp are your bottles at? You might do well to move them somewhere warmer.
 
Thanks and sorry to hijack this thread. I've been keeping my bottles in my furnace room that keeps a consistent temp of 70 degrees. At this point, it's the warmest place in my house.
 
If your furnace room is at 70f, which is absolutely the optimum temp, it sounds like either your priming sugar addition was insufficient or the ABV of the brew is really high, giving the yeast a steep, up-hill slog to get it carbonated.

What do you reckon the ABV is?? What yeast did you use to make this beer?? Is there any possibility you might have come up a bit short with the priming sugar?
 
Yeah, not sure what the problem is...It's a Racer 5 clone extract kit I bought from my LBS, not a big beer at 7%. I Used Wyeast 1056 American Ale and 1.25 DME for bottling.

I've been trying ones that I bottled last from the bottom of the barrel (so to speak). I did a good gentle stir after I racked on top of my priming sugar but maybe those last beers didn't contain enough sugar to carb quick enough.

I took a bottle from the first that were bottled and threw it in the fridge this morning, we'll see if it's any better...
 
I had this issue once, and my buddy had it once. My issue was that I didn't stir the priming sugar solution into the bottling bucket and it all sunk... I basically ended up with a dozen bombs, a dozen perfectly carbed and a 2 dozen or so flat beers...

My buddy brewed a big belgian, and it ended up taking a year to carb up. It's a great beer now, but he literally opened one bottle every month until he forgot about it. Found it in the back of his closet the other day, opened it and all was perfect. The big beers can take awhile to carb up in the bottle.
 
Your carbonation won't get better.

Long story short, I've had carb issues on a couple big beers. Reydrate a $1 packet of champagne yeast. I use EC1118. Using 2oz of water let's you squirt 1mL into each of the 12oz bottles.

And here's a tip. With every batch of beer, bottle one beer in a brown plastic (PET) bottle so you can squeeze it to check carb levels. No need to uncap.

+1 Champagne yeast
 
There was a post on here recently, it was on the home page. The guy was making a big beer, as well. I remember he had an OG of something like 1.180 like you have and it didn't ferment down past 1.043 and was syrupy. He ended up freezing the batch. As it started melting he put that into one container, that was pretty high in alcohol, he then thawed the rest into a secondary container. He allowed the second batch to continue fermenting as the yeast unthawed and slowly added the high alcohol content beer back into the second container little by little and had a FG of something like 1.015.

Below is a link to the article... It's a good read, pretty interesting...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/ice-concentration-to-resurrection.html

Cheers!!!
 
I had a couple of friends over and pulled out a special bottle of a highly-aged tripel to share. It was dead flat. Fortunately I had started experimenting with modifying soda siphons to work with my Kegging Part invention and decided to give it a try. The beer carb'd instantly but came out as a glass full of foam. I still haven't worked the kinks out of that but in a pinch, putting your beer into a modified soda siphon will carbonate it. Once the foam settles, the beer that remains is carbonated.
</shameless self-promotion>
 
I wanted to thank everybody who responded to this. You all have been very helpful.

I opted for the re-pitching route. I added 1ml of champaign yeast to each bottle about a month ago. I just cracked a test bottle, and low and behold, it was nicely carbonated!

I DID save a bottle untouched, which I plan on opening in several months to see if it would carb up on its own.


Thanks again!
 
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