Hi. This is my first post. I have just sampled two batches that were (supposedly) ready to drink at about the same time, and both are flat!
Batch #1, Dragon's Milk Stout, double pitched yeast, ABV ~10%, 3 weeks carbonation
When I tried the first one I thought it might have been because I switched cappers, but the Red Baron capper is quite reputable and there was a slight hiss when I opened the bottle. So then I suspected temperature of my basement so I moved it upstairs for two weeks. Same flat result. I also suspected yeast selection (see below), so next I ordered some champagne yeast and figured I'd have to reopen them all, add some yeast, recap them all, and wait a couple more weeks or so. Yeast still on order...
Batch #2, Yeti Imperial Stout, double pitched yeast, ABV ~9.5%, 4 months carbonation
Meanwhile, a second batch was ready, so I tried one and was a bit taken back that yet another batch suffered the same fate. However this batch was in bottles all summer and used the original black capper that worked (mostly) on all the other batches I've made. I also thought the 1st batch might have suffered from me selecting a different yeast (Wyeast American Ale 1056) than the standard offer (White Labs California Ale WLP001), but this 2nd batch used the standard offer.
Now admittedly, I am somewhat of a beginner, but before these two, I had successfully made six batches, including Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Chimay Grand Reserve, and Stone Bitter Chocolate Outmeal Stout -- all double pitched and carbonated from 3 weeks to 4 months. Both of these batches fermented very aggressively for the first few days as well. So now I'm wondering what these two batches had in common and I can think of a few things:
So either the yeast was exhausted from the fermentation, the yeast died from alcohol poisoning, or the matcha addition had adverse effects. I'd like to think that it's yeast related, and adding some champagne yeast will do the trick, especially since the fermentation was so strong (so the matcha didn't kill the yeast up-front anyway). Opinions?
Batch #1, Dragon's Milk Stout, double pitched yeast, ABV ~10%, 3 weeks carbonation
When I tried the first one I thought it might have been because I switched cappers, but the Red Baron capper is quite reputable and there was a slight hiss when I opened the bottle. So then I suspected temperature of my basement so I moved it upstairs for two weeks. Same flat result. I also suspected yeast selection (see below), so next I ordered some champagne yeast and figured I'd have to reopen them all, add some yeast, recap them all, and wait a couple more weeks or so. Yeast still on order...
Batch #2, Yeti Imperial Stout, double pitched yeast, ABV ~9.5%, 4 months carbonation
Meanwhile, a second batch was ready, so I tried one and was a bit taken back that yet another batch suffered the same fate. However this batch was in bottles all summer and used the original black capper that worked (mostly) on all the other batches I've made. I also thought the 1st batch might have suffered from me selecting a different yeast (Wyeast American Ale 1056) than the standard offer (White Labs California Ale WLP001), but this 2nd batch used the standard offer.
Now admittedly, I am somewhat of a beginner, but before these two, I had successfully made six batches, including Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Chimay Grand Reserve, and Stone Bitter Chocolate Outmeal Stout -- all double pitched and carbonated from 3 weeks to 4 months. Both of these batches fermented very aggressively for the first few days as well. So now I'm wondering what these two batches had in common and I can think of a few things:
- I modified both recipes by adding matcha during the last 5 minutes.
- Both had high ABV.
- Both had aggressive fermentation.
So either the yeast was exhausted from the fermentation, the yeast died from alcohol poisoning, or the matcha addition had adverse effects. I'd like to think that it's yeast related, and adding some champagne yeast will do the trick, especially since the fermentation was so strong (so the matcha didn't kill the yeast up-front anyway). Opinions?
