high gravity beer not carbonating

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jwm1485

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I brewed a double bastard clone and it has been in bottles for about 4 weeks but still isn't carbonated. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas.
 
High gravity = longer carb time. I had an imperial stout take 4 months to carb, it had a couple of things going for it (high gravity and dark malts). After 4 months, it was awesome.
 
Higher gravity means longer carbing times.... I wish someone would post that drawing that Revvy post. I stopped bottling a while back and started kegging.... I like being able to force carb my beer!
 
You never mentioned the temp the bottles are at. You wanna keep em around room temp. Also how long are you giving them in the fridge? A few days to a week can make a difference vs a few hours. Other than that it's just a waiting game... Don't worry it will get there in its own time.
 
Give them longer in the fridge so any co2 that's built up in the head space will be better absorbed into solution. Other than that, just give em time.
 
I bottled a 1.090 Belgian tripel in January and they still haven't carbonated. I can see a lot of yeast sediment in each bottle. I even tried adding a bit of extra dry yeast to a few bottles, gave them another month and still there was no change. I've resuspended the yeast several times for each bottle - gently tipping them back and forth. since January they've carbonated the slightest bit but otherwise they're flat as a pancake.

They taste sweet so I know I didn't forget the priming sugar. And they've been kept at room temperature (70 degrees or so) for the whole 9 months. any ideas on what could be the problem?
 
I bottled a 1.090 Belgian tripel in January and they still haven't carbonated. I can see a lot of yeast sediment in each bottle. I even tried adding a bit of extra dry yeast to a few bottles, gave them another month and still there was no change. I've resuspended the yeast several times for each bottle - gently tipping them back and forth. since January they've carbonated the slightest bit but otherwise they're flat as a pancake.

They taste sweet so I know I didn't forget the priming sugar. And they've been kept at room temperature (70 degrees or so) for the whole 9 months. any ideas on what could be the problem?

what kind of yeast are you using? it may have a low tolerance for alcohol which is why your beer tastes so sweet...not because of the priming sugar.
Did you make the recipe yourself or get a kit?
 
I found a recipe online. The yeast was Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity. My intended OG was 1.080 and I ended up at 1.090 and I attenuated down to about 1.020.
 
it's also possible that I just undershot my priming sugar amount. I followed a couple different online priming sugar calculators - which I remember thinking seemed a bit low - but nonetheless I definitely put enough new sugar into them to merit SOME carbonation!
 
hmm, your %alcohol should be under 10% so I dont think that is the problem....that yeast is good for at least 12%. I dont know what the problem could be. What is the temp you are letting your bottles sit at? Where are they (inside, outside, on top of a cabinet?) Are you sure you have a good seal with the caps?
 
they've been at 70 degrees for months. caps are good. the only thing I can think of is I somehow didn't put in the priming sugar. but I'm 98 percent positive I did. oh well. maybe they'll carbonate at some point and be amazing!
 
they've been at 70 degrees for months. caps are good. the only thing I can think of is I somehow didn't put in the priming sugar. but I'm 98 percent positive I did. oh well. maybe they'll carbonate at some point and be amazing!

Yea thats the only other thing I can think of too. You could always grab a keg and force carb :)
 
I'm having the same issues as well, I have a high ABV beer (around 10%) and its been about 4 weeks with absolutely no carbonation. I used WLP565 yeast to ferment the batch but there is zero carbonation, no hiss when I opened the bottle or anything.

Its been hot at my place, so the beers have been sitting in 75-80% degrees temps for a few weeks now.
 
I just cracked another one of my tripels, a nice pop and hiss but still pretty flat when I poured it out. tastes VERY alcoholic. It's been 9 months. ABV should've been about 10 percent although by the taste of it it might be more. I decided to add a tiny bit of extra priming sugar to one of the bottles and reseal. I'll give it a couple weeks and we'll see if that makes a difference. otherwise I guess the yeast just got beat up. I'm onto a nice 1.065 APA. might just leave the big Belgians to the masters....
 
I just cracked another one of my tripels, a nice pop and hiss but still pretty flat when I poured it out. tastes VERY alcoholic. It's been 9 months. ABV should've been about 10 percent although by the taste of it it might be more. I decided to add a tiny bit of extra priming sugar to one of the bottles and reseal. I'll give it a couple weeks and we'll see if that makes a difference. otherwise I guess the yeast just got beat up. I'm onto a nice 1.065 APA. might just leave the big Belgians to the masters....

What was your fermentation temp for your beer?
 
I kept it between 68-70. fermentation was pretty vigorous first couple days. took about two weeks to eventually attenuate down to about 1.020. I kept the bottles at 68-70 degrees since last Jan. it's a mystery. I even added a bit of US 05 to a couple bottle a few months ago and recapped. no difference. I can only think that maybe, somehow I just ended up with WAY more alcohol then expected.
 
I kept it between 68-70. fermentation was pretty vigorous first couple days. took about two weeks to eventually attenuate down to about 1.020. I kept the bottles at 68-70 degrees since last Jan. it's a mystery. I even added a bit of US 05 to a couple bottle a few months ago and recapped. no difference. I can only think that maybe, somehow I just ended up with WAY more alcohol then expected.

That's super interesting.. the only thing I can think of is that your primary fermentation temp was 5 degrees higher during primary fermentation.

What kind of yeast are you using? Maybe your yeast has a low alcohol tolerance.
 
I used Wyeast high gravity Trappist. alcohol tolerance 11-12 % or higher. should have been able to handle it. and I'm certain that my fermentation temps never got over 71 or 72. kept a very close eye on it during the first couple days. 3787's range is 64-78 degrees.
 
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