Another Carbonation Question...

Sorry for redundancy. I looked up a few threads and some are close to my issue but most seem to be a problem with some bottles carbing and others not. Or others not waiting long... these don't really apply to me, i don't think

I made a nice Belgium strong dark, Trappist style ale. I double pitched some whitelabs Trappist yeast and everything went pretty much perfect. When it came time to bottle i dissolved 4.5 oz of priming sugar in a couple cups of water, cooled and added to bottling bucket first, then siphoned in the brew. I have never had a problem with carbonation using this technique. The ABV is 11.8%

It has been conditioning at around 72 deg for 4 weeks. Popped one, nothing.. pretty much a still beer. It has a very very slight fizzy taste at first but, maybe it was just me wishing it did.
The flavor is spot on but the carbonation is non existant.
Any suggestions?

That is some pretty high ABV % there. What are the specs on the specific yeast you used?

Sine it was probably my writings you stumbled across in every thread on carbonation, didja happen to notice the part where I say that the 3 weeks at 70 is just a rule of thumb, and that the higher the gravity the longer it takes?

If not then read the blog that I usually link to: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/1030387-post8.html

Your issue is like 99% of them...it really is a matter of patience.

I have had stouts and porters take 6-8 weeks to carb, and had a 1.090 belgian strong not carbonate for 3 months.

This chart really sums it up...



When in doubt, wait it out.

this is from the website. I double pitched the yeast. Fermented fine.

WLP500
From one of the few remaining Trappist breweries remaining in the world, this yeast produces the distinctive fruitiness and plum characteristics. Excellent yeast for high gravity beers, Belgian ales, dubbels and trippels.
Attenuation: 75-80%
Flocculation: Medium to low
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-72°F
Lower temperatures (under 65) will result in less fruity and more earthy beers.
Alcohol Tolerance: High

Yes. I read your thread and figured that was it. I just wanted to make sure my suspicions were correct as this is my... 6th batch and I am still going through the learning process. I am just going to let this stuff sit until Nov. or Dec. then i guess and see what happens.

Let it ride. I recently did a Barleywine of that same ABV and even though I probably didn't need to, I pitched a bit more yeast into the bottling bucket just to be sure. I might get a bit more stuff on the bottom of the bottle, but these babies are going to sit a long time and will have plenty of time to clear up again.

I've heard of big beers taking a few months to carb up properly.

The belgians usually pitch some fresh yeast at bottling, especially for the big beers. The yeast in your beer is tired and depleted of resources and is possibly not up to the task of carbing your beer, especially in such an alcoholic environment. Reyeasting is also recommended in Brew Like A Monk. I've done it myself to great effect on big beers, only took a few weeks to carb up noticeably altho they weren't as big as yours is. Also remember to put the bottles somewhere nice and warm like a boiler cupboard.

Bosium said:

The belgians usually pitch some fresh yeast at bottling, especially for the big beers. The yeast in your beer is tired and depleted of resources and is possibly not up to the task of carbing your beer, especially in such an alcoholic environment. Reyeasting is also recommended in Brew Like A Monk. I've done it myself to great effect on big beers, only took a few weeks to carb up noticeably altho they weren't as big as yours is. Also remember to put the bottles somewhere nice and warm like a boiler cupboard.

Click to expand...

It's not always necessary. Like I said above, my 1.090 OG Belgian Dark Strong took three months (mostly due to temps in my loft in the winter) but carbed up beautifully eventually.)

It's usually done with huge beers that have bulked aged for months and months, like Barleywines that have bulk aged for a year...but usually even with big beers, if it's been a short time, the yeast is still in enough good shape to do the job.

And often in Belgians the reasoning behing re-yeasting is more to disquise the primary fermentation strain from breweries and homebrewers trying to steal their highly prized, and therefore guarded strains.

I have a feeling the OP didn't bulk age his long enough for that to be an issue.

okay, so I'm about to do a belgian quad, and I don't really want to mess it up. I have everything ready, the spring water, all the ingredients, and I'm just waiting to do it up. So you guys are saying that AFTER secondary, I need to add yeast to the bottling bucket? Is sugar not enough to get carbonation? This concept throws me for a loop, although reading these forums usually confuses me anyway. do I add sugar AND yeast, and how much of each? or JUST yeast? wow, these forums really are helpful.....confusing sometimes, but I guess it's better to have someone tell you something you don't know than to do it without knowing and screw it up. what's the bottling procedure for the big belgian beers?