gotta rebottle; how much dry yeast to add?

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MattHollingsworth

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Anybody know the formula for how much yeast to add at bottling? I have a beer that's been in the bottle for 2 months at 73 F and just tasted it again and it doesn't have enough yeast to carb up. No, I'm not going to keep waiting. When I poured it, there's literally NO yeast sediment in the bottle. After 24 days in primary and 25 in secondary, ALL of the yeast dropped out from the looks of it. The beer still has heavy priming sugar in it and no carbonation at all. No, I don't want advice on waiting and all that.

Anyway, I'm going to rebottle. Wish I didn't have to but I do. So, need to know how much yeast I need to add at bottling. Anybody know that formula for how much to add? How much does SN use at bottling? I remember hearing they filter, then add new yeast at bottling....

Lame that I don't have a keg system. But as it is, I'm just going to gently pour the bottles into the bottling bucket, add yeast and redo the whole bottling process.

Thanks for any info.
 
Pour them all in the bottling bucket, add a full packet, and bottle again.


OR! Just get a pack of yeast, add a few granules to each bottle and recap.

These assume you are using dry yeast.
 
If dry yeast, I'd only add half a packet. The bottling bucket would be a good and bad idea (I like it, but you'd aerate the beer like crazy pouring all of that in and you'd have to do the work again). Tough call.

Edit: also, I will say that I've done this before with adding a good 3-5 small grains/specs of dry yeast to each individual bottle and it took an extra 1-2 weeks to carbonate. So be prepared to wait even longer
 
Pour them all in the bottling bucket, add a full packet, and bottle again.


OR! Just get a pack of yeast, add a few granules to each bottle and recap.

These assume you are using dry yeast.

I sure as heck wouldn't dump them back into a bottling bucket, it's going to be nearly impossible not to oxydize the whole batch.

I would go with open bottles, add 5-6 yeast granuals per bottle then cap with fresh caps.
 
(I like it, but you'd aerate the beer like crazy pouring all of that in and you'd have to do the work again). Tough call.

Edit: also, I will say that I've done this before with adding a good 3-5 small grains/specs of dry yeast to each individual bottle and it took an extra 1-2 weeks to carbonate. So be prepared to wait even longer

Two great reasons to not rebottle. 1) You're likely to oxidize your beer and create some off-flavors, and 2) You're still going to have to wait. I'll respect the wishes of your post and not continue with that but I'd advise against it

EDIT: Revvy beat me to the oxidize warning ^_^
 
Already know it'll possibly oxidize the beer. But if I avoid splashing, shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Waiting won't do any good. There's no yeast there to carb these. Carbonation requires yeast and there's simply no yeast left there to do the job.

Anybody have the formula that Sierra Nevada uses for re-yeasting?

Dosing the bottle directly sounds like a good idea, though....
 
When I had to do it, due to a red ale that never carbed but I knew I added the priming sugar (don't ask, one time I don't really remember if I added the priming sugar or not, so I was hesitant to do anything), I dosed the bottles individually.

Now, I'm no biochemist, but I decided to add just a speck of yeast to each bottle. It was just a couple of grains. It worked GREAT, and the beers carbed up perfectly. I uncapped, added a couple of grains, and gently recapped.
 
When I had to do it, due to a red ale that never carbed but I knew I added the priming sugar (don't ask, one time I don't really remember if I added the priming sugar or not, so I was hesitant to do anything), I dosed the bottles individually.

Now, I'm no biochemist, but I decided to add just a speck of yeast to each bottle. It was just a couple of grains. It worked GREAT, and the beers carbed up perfectly. I uncapped, added a couple of grains, and gently recapped.

Great. That's what I wanna hear, direct experience. Thanks! I'll likely give this a go in the next week. It IS one of those beers that I just know isn't going to carb up. Dropping in a few granules of dry yeast sure sounds a helluva lot easier than rebottling. Wasn't so concerned about oxidation as my beer doesn't last so long, but this would be a lot easier.

Thanks Yooper!
 
This is weird, but I have the same issue going on here. I was planning on rehydrating a pack of US-05 and sanitizing a medicine dropper to put like two or three drops in each bottle, then recap.
 
Chill the botles as much as possible to get any CO2 that has been produced into solution.

I did this once with a Delerium Tremens clone that just seemed not to want to carb. I put the bottles in the fridge for a week, popped, added a tiny bit of Nottingham dry, and recapped. They never fully carbed (I think after 3 mos some of the priming sugar had been consumed). A couple of the bottles had a small hiss when I opened them, and I am almost sure these were the least carbed after the ordeal.

Long story short, I wish I would have been more patient.
 
Long story short, I wish I would have been more patient.

I would normally advise anyone to wait. But I know my system. And with my system (warm chamber at 72-73 during bottle conditioning) and with that yeast (Wyeast 1056) my beers are usually basically carbed after one week. I leave 'em in there for 3 weeks and they're done. Higher gravity doesn't really take me a lot longer, just a few more days.

And this beer was in there for 2 months and hadn't carbonated AT ALL, it had literally NO yeast in the bottom of the bottle and tasted strongly of the priming sugar. My primary and secondary were just long enough to drop all of the yeast out, it seems, or at least drop out enough of it that there isn't any more yeast dropping out in the bottle after 2 months.

That's why I put a little yeast in. I used what Yooper said above, just used dry yeast. Popped the bottles, sprinkled some in and recap. Will report back in a few weeks.
 
Tried this with a higher alcohol brew (11.0+). I think the yeast I used just got tired, so after 6 weeks without ANY carbonation, I popped the tops, added a few grains of Coopers, and gave it another month. Still nothing, I assume the alcohol just killed those. Rehydrated some champagne yeast, used a sterile medicine dropper, and put 1mL of yeast into each bottle. These are now fully carbed and I am enjoying them.
Side note, the champagne yeast REALLY dried this beer out, so you may keep that in mind for yeast selection.
 
My update:

I did this 11 days ago now, using US 05. Popped the tops and sprinkled some yeast in and recapped 'em. Now, 11 days later tasting one bottle and it's fully carbonated. Nice sediment in the bottom of the bottle. So, worked out well for me. I'll let it condition for a few more weeks but glad to see it's working out well.
 
My update:

I did this 11 days ago now, using US 05. Popped the tops and sprinkled some yeast in and recapped 'em. Now, 11 days later tasting one bottle and it's fully carbonated. Nice sediment in the bottom of the bottle. So, worked out well for me. I'll let it condition for a few more weeks but glad to see it's working out well.

Great! While I hope I never have to do this, at least it doesn't sound too difficult.
 
Great! While I hope I never have to do this, at least it doesn't sound too difficult.

Yeah, like I said, I know my system, so once it hadn't carbed AT ALL after 8 weeks I knew something was amiss, high gravity or not. (1.072). With my system the high grav beers don't really take longer to get their carbonation, they just take a little longer to mellow that carbonation. I hold the bottles at 72-73 for 3 weeks and that's enough (like the Belgians, who also have high gravity beers). My beers are always *basically* carbed after 7 days but they're not done with their conditioning.

Anyway, yeah, it worked.

Where do you live in NW PDX? I lived in PDX for 9 years, 93-2002. Spent the first few of those years on Glisan and 22nd, one block from the Blue Moon. Last place I lived there was near SE Division and 43rd or something like that. Can't recall exactly.
 
Where do you live in NW PDX? I lived in PDX for 9 years, 93-2002. Spent the first few of those years on Glisan and 22nd, one block from the Blue Moon. Last place I lived there was near SE Division and 43rd or something like that. Can't recall exactly.

I'm near Lovejoy and 21st, so right by where you were. If you ever make it back here (or me over there!) we'll have to meet up for some pints and some comics chat.
 
I'm near Lovejoy and 21st, so right by where you were. If you ever make it back here (or me over there!) we'll have to meet up for some pints and some comics chat.

Absolutely. I might be there for a Halloween party on Hawthorne. We'll see.

Dark Horse Comics moved me there when I went there, from SoCal. I was staff there for one year, 93-94 but then stayed because I loved the town. The grey skies eventually got to me though. No, not the rain. The cloud cover on even the days with no rain was what got to me. I'm from close to Santa Barbara, after all. Anyway, I still love PDX. And I think it's the best beer town around. You know Alan Sprints or Fred Eckhardt or any of those guys? I used to be in the Oregon Brew Crew back then. Fred was always a fun guy to judge with and Alan was always a very nice guy. Miss the beer scene there for sure. No real beer scene here that I'm connected to yet anyway. We'll see after I've been here for 9 years. 3 years in.
 
Absolutely. I might be there for a Halloween party on Hawthorne. We'll see.

Dark Horse Comics moved me there when I went there, from SoCal. I was staff there for one year, 93-94 but then stayed because I loved the town. The grey skies eventually got to me though. No, not the rain. The cloud cover on even the days with no rain was what got to me. I'm from close to Santa Barbara, after all. Anyway, I still love PDX. And I think it's the best beer town around. You know Alan Sprints or Fred Eckhardt or any of those guys? I used to be in the Oregon Brew Crew back then. Fred was always a fun guy to judge with and Alan was always a very nice guy. Miss the beer scene there for sure. No real beer scene here that I'm connected to yet anyway. We'll see after I've been here for 9 years. 3 years in.

I'm part of the brew crew (just got 2nd in the monthly contest for my pale ale woohoo). I don't know Fred personally, but he's still around and at every meeting. Funny guy. I don't think Alan comes to the meetings, although I know he is an ex-president, but he has been very helpful to me in trying to craft some beer recipes. The beer that I placed with was actually a derivative of a Ruth recipe he helped me with. The grey is a bit much, but I'm used to it. It helps me focus on my work and drinking ;)
 
I'm part of the brew crew (just got 2nd in the monthly contest for my pale ale woohoo). I don't know Fred personally, but he's still around and at every meeting. Funny guy. I don't think Alan comes to the meetings, although I know he is an ex-president, but he has been very helpful to me in trying to craft some beer recipes. The beer that I placed with was actually a derivative of a Ruth recipe he helped me with. The grey is a bit much, but I'm used to it. It helps me focus on my work and drinking ;)

I miss the Brew Crew. I won the Big Hoppy Collaborator around 99 or 2000 or something. Good fun brewing that at Widmer. Tell Alan I said hello. I still see him on Facebook once in a while. You judging any of the competitions? If not I recommend it. I think I learned even more judging than I did entering competitions. Fred's great to judge with. First thing he does is listen to the beer. One of his quotes I remember was "I can't decide if this is horribly wretched or wretchedly horrible." And don't take offense anyone, we were judging a truly horrible, infected beer from what I remember.

Yeah, the grey there helps with the pub culture. I think you can't really have a fully developed pub culture in a place with nice weather. Sure, SoCal has some nice pubs. But not nearly as many and it's just not as much a part of the regular society as it is in the Northwest, in the UK or other places I can think of.
 
OK, butting in on another's thread again, but it's relevant as to why: I made a pretty strong beer (a barleywine) that worked out to around 10.75% ABV, but I only brew 2.5 gallon batches. I used an entire packet of US-05 in this, but I am seeing specs on that yeast say its alcohol tolerance is only 9.5% - if this is true, am I left with some fermentable sugars? Might I need to find a more tolerant yeast to finish? And might my yeast be "tired" from the long ferment and I'd need to add some sort of carbing yeast to bottle?

Heck, should I do a "tester" in a small plastic 12-oz bottle to see how it might carb up just by putting in some sugar?

I really should get a hydrometer... I know...

:(
 
OK, butting in on another's thread again, ...

...5+ years later... (I don't think they'll mind :D)

..., but it's relevant as to why: I made a pretty strong beer (a barleywine) that worked out to around 10.75% ABV, but I only brew 2.5 gallon batches. I used an entire packet of US-05 in this, but I am seeing specs on that yeast say its alcohol tolerance is only 9.5% - if this is true, am I left with some fermentable sugars? Might I need to find a more tolerant yeast to finish? And might my yeast be "tired" from the long ferment and I'd need to add some sort of carbing yeast to bottle?

Heck, should I do a "tester" in a small plastic 12-oz bottle to see how it might carb up just by putting in some sugar?

I really should get a hydrometer... I know...

US05 is plenty good to 10% and likely good to more than that (11-12%). It should be able to handle carbonating a 10.75% barleywine given it's still viable and provided enough time with warm room temperatures. I would not use another yeast at this point in fermentation. You may choose to use a wine/champagne yeast at bottling time with your priming sugar to carbonate. It sounds like your brew is still in a fermenter and you're getting ready to bottle. If so, how long ago did you brew this beer?
 
21 days as of today - so, not really that long ago. I will be cold-crashing it next Wednesday, so it will have 26 days at 65° F for fermenting & "cleaning up."

I am now guessing that the 9.5% alcohol tolerance is just a CYA technique...

:)
 
At 21 days from pitching I would expect the yeast to still be very viable and should not need additional yeast at bottling time. Wyeast 1056, White Labs WLP001, US-05, RVA 101, etc are all the same chico yeast strain and of the manufacturers that specify an alcohol tolerance they indicate 11%. Given the relatively young yeast still in your beer I would expect it to be able to convert some simple sugars (dextrose, sucrose, etc) to provide you the carbonation you're after, but keep in mind that things tend to move a bit more slowly with high alcohol beers and be sure to provide fairly warm room temperatures to encourage the yeast activity (75F would be ideal but 70+ would work too).

Also, I have to mention that with such a big beer, it would be ideal to ensure that your gravity is no longer falling by taking a couple hydro readings about 1 week apart. When the alcohol in beers starts getting high the yeast can really slow down to the point that things look done but they may not be, and putting that slow moving fermentation in a bottle may lead to bottle bombs (and loss of your beer). It's worth the little extra effort for this beer, IMO.
 
Yeah, I definitely know about the longer times. My plan is to try one of these for the first time around Christmas-New Year's Eve, and to have at least a couple left by the time my birthday rolls around in 2016, and that's in August.

:)

Thanks for all the advice! As I said before, I really need to get a hydrometer. And while I know someone that brewed this same recipe and his was done in two weeks, I also know that each beer is different, and mine could very well be slower-moving. I do have faith that after 26 days, it will be done, though.

*EDIT* So, I got curious and just now, took a little sample. First impression is that I think I am going to need to rack this to a secondary, and I only hope that will help - the sample was very cloudy, and I am sure that's because I didn't strain the mixture before fermenting, and there was a LOT of stuff that should have been strained out. I honestly think the trub is about level with my spigot. The other impression I got is that while it does taste like beer, and definitely has some alcohol, it is still kind of sweet. This very well might not be done fermenting yet. Estimated FG is 1.028 (OG was est. at 1.111), but IDK if that is why it tastes as sweet as it does.

Dangit!
 
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