ImperialStout
Well-Known Member
My bottled beer didn't carbonate. Have read other lack of carbonation questions but they don't apply to this situation. Here is what I have done:
Been brewing all grain almost 3 years, never had this happen before. Brewed an Imperial Stout and hit all estimated gravity readings, or very close to them. It is a very high alcohol beer at 11.1 ABV. Use a tertiary brewing system in glass carboys in a temp controlled fridge, 3 weeks primary at 68 F, 1 week secondary / Dry Hop at 68 F, 2 weeks cold condition at 38 F, add priming sugar and bottle condition at 68 F for 4 weeks. NO CARBONATION. Added Coopers tabs, one per bottle. What I noticed is most bottles had no reaction but 6 foamed up as soon as the tab was added. I put these in a cooler in the house which is usually 72 F in case I had bottle bombs. I bottle conditioned the beer for another 4 weeks at 68 F in the temp controlled fridge but the beer did not carbonate, except for the 6 beers in the cooler in the house. Thinking maybe I did not add enough sugar or didn't stir the priming sugar well enough so only 6 bottles got enough sugar to partially carbonate. If that were the case the Coopers added to each bottle should have caused all the beer to carbonate, not just the 6 beers in the cooler, but it didn't.
Believe me, have been drinking the flat beer and the 11.1 ABV alcohol is there so the yeast is not dead and did what it is supposed to do, except carbonate when the priming sugar was added.
What is the next step to carbonate this beer? I am thinking of gently pouring all the beer, to avoid oxidation, back into a brew pot, heating to 75 F, pitch 1/3 yeast the recipe called for (1 pack instead of 3 packs, maybe even 1/2 pack), carboy at 68 F for 3 weeks, add priming sugar (assuming the yeast will have eaten all the sugar and produced an even higher ABV), bottle and see what happens.
Any thoughts?
Been brewing all grain almost 3 years, never had this happen before. Brewed an Imperial Stout and hit all estimated gravity readings, or very close to them. It is a very high alcohol beer at 11.1 ABV. Use a tertiary brewing system in glass carboys in a temp controlled fridge, 3 weeks primary at 68 F, 1 week secondary / Dry Hop at 68 F, 2 weeks cold condition at 38 F, add priming sugar and bottle condition at 68 F for 4 weeks. NO CARBONATION. Added Coopers tabs, one per bottle. What I noticed is most bottles had no reaction but 6 foamed up as soon as the tab was added. I put these in a cooler in the house which is usually 72 F in case I had bottle bombs. I bottle conditioned the beer for another 4 weeks at 68 F in the temp controlled fridge but the beer did not carbonate, except for the 6 beers in the cooler in the house. Thinking maybe I did not add enough sugar or didn't stir the priming sugar well enough so only 6 bottles got enough sugar to partially carbonate. If that were the case the Coopers added to each bottle should have caused all the beer to carbonate, not just the 6 beers in the cooler, but it didn't.
Believe me, have been drinking the flat beer and the 11.1 ABV alcohol is there so the yeast is not dead and did what it is supposed to do, except carbonate when the priming sugar was added.
What is the next step to carbonate this beer? I am thinking of gently pouring all the beer, to avoid oxidation, back into a brew pot, heating to 75 F, pitch 1/3 yeast the recipe called for (1 pack instead of 3 packs, maybe even 1/2 pack), carboy at 68 F for 3 weeks, add priming sugar (assuming the yeast will have eaten all the sugar and produced an even higher ABV), bottle and see what happens.
Any thoughts?