Too late to prime?

I've heard that if you allow your beer too much time in the fermenter before bottling then the yeast will eventually die off. Is this true? and does it mean that I wouldn't be able to carbonate by priming it? I made an all grain last year that came out completely flat and it spent about a month all together in the primary and secondary, although it was crystal clear. I've took a step back and decided to make a coopers kit and don't want to end up with flat beer again.

triskelion said:

I've heard that if you allow your beer too much time in the fermenter before bottling then the yeast will eventually die off. Is this true? and does it mean that I wouldn't be able to carbonate by priming it? I made an all grain last year that came out completely flat and it spent about a month all together in the primary and secondary, although it was crystal clear. I've took a step back and decided to make a coopers kit and don't want to end up with flat beer again.

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It takes a VERY long time for this to happen. Unless you have a massively high ABV, most beers will carb up just fine, even after months in primary/secondary.

A month is an eyeblink. I always do 3-4 weeks in primary, followed by at least 1-2 weeks in primary. I had an imperial nut brown ale (8.66% ABV) that did ~4 weeks in primary, followed by ~4 months in secondary... no carb issues whatsoever. Saw another guy that had an oaked whisky stout at ~8 months in secondary, no carb problems.

I've never had a problem with carbonation after extended fermenter times (up to 6 months in secondary), but some folks like to repitch yeast when bottling if they're aging for an extremely long time. A month is not a long time. Most of my beers get a month or more in primary with zero problems. The only way I could think of a beer not carbonating after only a month in primary is a) you forgot the priming sugar b) you exceeded the alcohol tolerance of the yeast or c) you kept it stored too cold to carbonate. How long was that first beer allowed to carbonate and at what temperature?

Now, if you're lagering very cold and for a long time I could see it being more of a problem with all the yeast floccing out.

With all grain there are so many factors that can produce "off beers" that, without the recipe and your process, it would be imposable to know what caused the issue. Extract or partial mash doesn't carry as many issues. I have never used the coopers before but I have in the past used just extract. I have had batches in the secondary go for a month as I just couldn't get to them. You should have no issues with the one your making. Keep the ferment temps in check though. And make sure you use enough sugar to carb those bottles up. After that its just 3 weeks at 70 degrees.

thanks guys, I feel much better about leaving it alone now. I did lager my all grain, that could be what did it.

Guys, its been in the primary for 2 weeks now, I've checked it with the hydrometer again, hasn't changed at all in the last week. I wasted it and it has a slight soapy taste, I hear this could be caused by being in the primary too long. Any experience of this? its not a pleasant taste to me

Give it another 2 weeks in primary. Trust us. It will be fine.

You're right about soapy taste if indeed you are tasting soapy flavor. Get a second opinion from a friend about the taste. But my guess is that you are tasting something else like acetyl or fusel alcohols. If that is the case then longer in the primary will help and a lot of these off flavors deminish with time once in the bottles lagering.

Bit of an update. I bottled after 2 weeks in the fermenter and have just cracked one open and shared a pint between myself and the hydrometer (1.017) after 1 week in the bottles. (I was too excited by the prospect of beer to wait any longer). Its very sweet and not very strong, even a noob like me knows what that means. lol
its not bad though, it's drinkable as it is. no weird off flavours at all. I'll let the rest of the bottles bubble away for another few weeks.

next time I'll likely put in more fermentables, maybe even double it, I like a bit of body. It will need some hops, not sure if coopers pre hop their lme or not. and I think i'll try wyeast 3068, it's suppose to be one of the best for hefeweizen.

btw, I've had a bag of dried hallertau for about 6 months, think it would be ok? not sure if I should have kept it in the fridge or not

I'm also very new to brewing, but I didn't think that you could take a hyrdometer reading after carbing. Won't the carbonation cause the hydrometer to float higher than normal, resulting in a higher reading? Or is the difference negligible?

John

You're probably right, although I did let it go flat and shook the bubbles of the hydrometer.