Did My Yeast Die? No Carbonation..

[scottmd06]

I brewed a Cooper's Wheat kit back in June and racked the beer onto fresh pureed cherries, but I unfortunately didn't get around to bottling it until September =/ So the brew sat in secondary for roughly four months before it was bottled. For some reason the carbonation is almost non-existent in these beers and I'm wondering if it has to do with my yeast maybe dieing off during that long time in secondary? I followed my typical priming procedure when I bottled so I'm not sure what may have happened. The only other change I can think of that may have affected the carbonation is that I used a different brand of caps, but I haven't had any leaky bottles so I'm still at a loss..

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[jeepinjeepin]

That's almost definitely due to the yeast flocculating out almost completely. I heard someone recommend once to uncap and add a very small amount of dry yeast like us-05 to each bottle. It may have been an amount as small as a few grains.

 

[bottlebomber]

It will carbonate. Before you do what jeepin said, try this: just take a few bottles, and shake the crap out of them. A couple days later shake them again, and then give them a week. Chill one, and I almost guarantee you will have the beginnings of a carbonated beer, and it will continue to carbonate. I had a beer do nothing for 3 months, I did this, and it was carbed 3 weeks later. If it absolutely won't carb, then your only option is to open up the bottles and re-yeast.

 

[scottmd06]

I will try the shaking idea for now. The bottles have been conditioning since September at room temperature so I would think any live yeast still in there should have found all the priming sugars and carbonated the bottles. The beer tastes great so its a shame if it never carbonates but I wont waste any more time on this brew if the shaking fails; I'll live with the lack of bubbles.

 

[bottlebomber]

Check back and let us know if it worked

 

[scottmd06]

Will do. I have about 40 something bottles to go shake up.

 

[Revvy]

How long has it been in the bottles? Even after 4 months it is doubtful enough yeast was flocculated out to not carbonate your beer, there's still plenty of yeast left to do the job.

It's a wheat beer, so there;s going to be a ton of low floculating yeast in there.

So let's skip that and get some basics out of the way...how long has it been in the bottle? What temp is it at?

 

[scottmd06]

It has been bottled since September and it was in my pantry at about 75 degrees. I let it condition a couple weeks before refrigerating a few for about a week to try (they had barely any bubbles). I usually have good carbonation in my brews in that amount of time.

I haven't opened one since late October. Should I chill a couple and for how long?

There's definitely sediment in the bottle, usually indicating that carbonation took place in my bottles, but there's also some cherry particles with it from the beer itself.

 

[bottlebomber]

So wait, you tried it when it had been bottled only a few weeks, but now its been a month since you've even opened one? Why not open one before starting the "my beer won't carb" thread? Wheats usually carb really well, since the yeast is such low flocculation.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

I recant my earlier post and ask that you chill one and try it.

 

[scottmd06]

It hadn't carbonated yet at the last point I had tried it, which isnt typical of my brews so I was assuming it was a dud for carbonating and curious to why that may have been..

Just put two in the fridge. When should I crack one open?

 

[bottlebomber]

It seems like at least a day, but 2 is best.

 

[psymonkey]

I've got a dead-flat beer as well. It's a pumpkin ale we brewed at least two and a half months ago.

The fermentation was fast and furious, over in about 48 hours.

One week in primary, gravity confirmed that it was pretty much done. Two weeks in secondary with a slightly lower gravity on bottling, it's been over a month in the bottles and there is absolutely no carbonation after sampling four bottles.

We know we primed it and did the same thing we always do with great results..zilch.

I might try the shake method or try re-upping the yeast to see if we can't get something drinkable. Totally bummed that it won't be ready for thanksgiving. Guess we should have tried one sooner

 

[bottlebomber]

I've got a dead-flat beer as well. It's a pumpkin ale we brewed at least two and a half months ago.

The fermentation was fast and furious, over in about 48 hours.

One week in primary, gravity confirmed that it was pretty much done. Two weeks in secondary with a slightly lower gravity on bottling, it's been over a month in the bottles and there is absolutely no carbonation after sampling four bottles.

We know we primed it and did the same thing we always do with great results..zilch.

I might try the shake method or try re-upping the yeast to see if we can't get something drinkable. Totally bummed that it won't be ready for thanksgiving. Guess we should have tried one sooner

Now this just doesn't make sense... you have neither a high alcohol content nor a long fermentation. It's not uncommon to have a beer that isn't fully carbonated by now, but there should be something. Are your bottles in a 50 degree garage?

Also, I'm not "for" or "against" secondaries, but why did you take it off the yeast so soon? A week is really really quick, even if the gravity was stable.

 

[psymonkey]

Yeah, it seems really strange to me as well. The bottles are in a corner of my house, in beer boxes with a blanket over them. The average temperature is about 70.

As for the secondary transfer..that's what I've always done. A week in the primary, provided everything has settled down, then transfer to the secondary. I've never had any problems with this method, and thought it was somewhat advisable. Most of the active yeast is still suspended and comes along for the ride to the secondary, right?

Perhaps I should revisit my procedures. I think they came from the bible itself, but maybe that's just something I got in my head a long time ago and haven't ever thought about since then. For what it's worth, if the beer is still highly active, I wait. Once all the foam has subsided and the beer clears, I transfer to the secondary. NEver sooner than a week, longer if necessary.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

It depends on who you talk to but it seems 2-3 weeks in primary has become the minimum.

 

[scottmd06]

Its still pretty flat! Could it be that when I primed the batch for bottling, I boiled the water in a Pyrex glass measuring cup the microwave and then mixed in the 3/4 cups of corn sugar? Or maybe these caps just didn't seal tight enough (I usually go with the Oxy caps but I went with the cheap ones this particular time).