any simple tests if yeast is still viable before bottling?

I've had a stout in a long secondary just get ready to bottle. Any simple test if the yeast is viable besides bottling and waiting two weeks?

It's been in secondary about 3 weeks, with a 1 week primary.

Not really. However, it is extremely unlikely that you'll have a problem.

3 weeks is NOT a long time in secondary. If we were talking about nine months, I might recommend re-pitching; even then, the yeast would likely be fine.

+1 one what bird and David said...

Everything's gonna be fine.

yay! I need to clear that carboy!

I had a double IPA that I let sit 3wks in the primary and 7 months in te secondary. Bottle carbed just fine.....spectacular beer.

-Todd

I let my apfelwien go for around 6 months and never had a problem with carbonation.

You should be fine.

If you put your priming sugar into your carboy or bottling bucket and wait 1/2 hour for everything to settle down after mixing in, you'll see the extra sugar you've added starting to cause new activity.

Edcculus said:

I let my apfelwien go for around 6 months and never had a problem with carbonation.

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several guys had barley wine in 6 month secondary, and theirs also carb'd.

OP has nothing to worry about. 3 weeks ain't nuttin.

I bottled it up last night. The 3 weeks helped it smooth a bit. It's a sweet stout with a good dark chocolate flavor (actual cocoa added). The bitterness from the chocolate is a tad higher than the balance with the sweetness, but I was sampling room temperature and flat, so perhaps carb'd then chilled it will improve or that last edge will come off with some time.

nathan said:

I bottled it up last night. The 3 weeks helped it smooth a bit. It's a sweet stout with a good dark chocolate flavor (actual cocoa added). The bitterness from the chocolate is a tad higher than the balance with the sweetness, but I was sampling room temperature and flat, so perhaps carb'd then chilled it will improve or that last edge will come off with some time.

Click to expand...

I do it all willy nilly SWAG ( scientific wild ass guess ) with a handfull of this and a couple of that , chocolate , black and honey barley ... and my beers , usually a nut brown Munton customized but used a export stout this time around , come out with a lot of coffee - chocolate flavor but after a month or so in the bottle they start mellowing out just fine . even my light Bud drinking cousin likes them . I thought he had no taste buds .

Every beer I've ever made came out better than I thought it would after tasting the flat samples. There's a reason we carbonate.