Fermenting finished, cold stored, ready to bottle

[alphakry]

I brewed a batch of True Brew's Oktoberfest extract kit using Muntons Dry Ale yeast. My apologies for what are probably some easy/random questions but it's only my second batch and I've already gone off script...

After about 3 weeks, fermentation finished and I moved the carboy into a refrigerator for cold storage since I was going on an extended vacation. The batch sat between 36-40°F for about 6 weeks. I'm not sure if this would technically be considered lagering since it's an ale but I'm sure by now the taste profile of the beer will be quite different from the original recipe had I bottled it immediately. But my schedule just wouldn't allow it. Still, on a quick smell test - it still smells pretty delicious!

So now that I'm back with the batch and ready to bottle, I'm wondering what steps I should be sure to follow to ensure I keep things moving in the right direction

1. Do i need to get the batch back down to room temp before priming it with sugar and then bottling? is there an ideal temp I should aim for? (typical room temp here is 79-82°F)

2. would I need to stir it up to help get the yeast settled at the bottom re-suspended before siphoning it into the bottling bucket? or would it be best to use this chance as a method of clearing up the beer by racking it into the bottling bucket without the settled trub?

3. should I add any additional mutons ale yeast to help ensure the batch has enough yeast to carb up? or yeast energizer, which I also have?

4. any suggested precautions at this point to help ensure I'm not building any bottle bombs, especially if I'm adding more yeast at this point?

5. would conditioning the bottles in the warmer 79-82°F be risky?

I'm just not sure how storing the beer in the fridge this long will affect the process compared to the typical process of priming and bottling soon after fermentation completes.


also - I made the batch with about 4 gallons of water, rather then 5, as the recipe originally intended, to help give it a bit of a stronger flavor. I felt my last batch was a bit watered down.

Would adding about half a gallon of water back in along with the priming sugar negatively affect the beer? I certainly don't want to water the beer flavor down but wonder if adding water at this stage will have major affects on the batch once it gets into bottles and sits for another 2-3 weeks of bottle conditioning. Increasing the volume would be nice, but of course not at the expense of a nice strong flavor.

again, thanks for the advice and patience in reading what I imagine is a few silly newbie questions/mistakes.

 

[Kent88]

did you rack it before you stuck it in the fridge and left for a month and a half? I have no personal experience with this, but I've read that it is good practice to rack it off of the yeast cake after 2-4 weeks, any longer than that and you risk off flavors from autolysis. Just keep it in mind for next time.

but, back to your questions:
1) fridge-temp beer is just fine to bottle.

2) There should still be enough yeast in suspension to carb the beer, but maybe give it 3 or 4 weeks to carb instead of 2.

3) it shouldn't be necessary to add any more yeast or any energizer at this point. That said, I'm not familiar with the yeast strain you are using or what being in a fridge for 6 months would do to it.

4) assuming you have some healthy yeast still in suspension, adding more yeast shouldn't put you at further risk for bottle bombs. You're primarily concerned with sugar content when you think of bottle bombs. If you want to put your mind at ease and have a hydrometer or refractometer you could take a gravity reading and compare it to what it should be.

5) 79F and above is rather warm for making beer (exception saison). consult the yeast packaging or look up the yeasts preferred temp range.

6) It should be fine to dilute it back down closer to 5 gallons, just try to make sure that the water is sanitary (use boiled, cooled water) and do what you can not to introduce oxygen into your beer at this point.

 

[alphakry]

5) 79F and above is rather warm for making beer (exception saison). consult the yeast packaging or look up the yeasts preferred temp range.

thanks. i do actually have belle saison yeast with me that I was wondering if it would help solve the issue of having a warm climate for the bottles to condition in.

I was reading the suggestions here on braukaiser which suggest that adding a yeast, even a saison yeast, at this stage shouldn't affect the beer taste much - so i was thinking I could hit two birds with 1 stone here with the belle saison yeast - adding maybe 1/4 packet to help ensure there is enough healthy yeast for a proper bottle conditioning and to help deal with the fact that I have a warm climate for the bottles to sit in.

 

[RM-MN]

I've stored bottles at 72 degrees for 2 years without off flavors. I suspect that the 79 would be fine too. The time where the temperature is critical as far as off flavors developing is the first 3 to 5 days.

 

[Kent88]

i was thinking I could hit two birds with 1 stone here with the belle saison yeast - adding maybe 1/4 packet to help ensure there is enough healthy yeast for a proper bottle conditioning and to help deal with the fact that I have a warm climate for the bottles to sit in.

Most brewers yeasts will live just fine at temps below 100F (ish), so whatever is in suspension now would be just fine. The recommended temp range is just what should give your yeast the best environment to produce the things that you want in your beer.

When considering the temps that yeast will be alive and active, the listed low-end temp usually corresponds to what allows the yeast to be active, the listed upper-end is more about avoiding bad compounds and flavors than about keeping your yeast alive.

In your case, with all but the priming sugar fermented out, I suspect that any taste contribution from adding a yeast like that should be negligible to all but the more sensitive pallets.

I forgot to tie what I was thinking back to your situation. With or without adding extra yeast it should carb fine. If you can keep it below 74F it would be best, but it shouldn't be detrimental if you go up to 80F. If adding the extra yeast makes you feel better about it, go for it, I just don't think it would be necessary.