Is my yeast still alive after 5 months in carboy ?

[Julien de Repentigny]

Hi everyone, did a 5 gallon batch 5abv, its been 4 months in secondary. I used Belle Saison dry yeast and was wondering if the yeast was still strong enough for the bottle carbonation. Do i need to add new ?

Thanks a lot
Julien

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

I would. Can't hurt.

 

[JimRausch]

Personally, I think 4 months is pushing the risk, although people say that Belle Saison yeast is a hardy beast. Wouldn't hurt to reyeast at bottling time- you can use about 1/4 packet of pretty much any yeast. There's the CBC-1 which is specifically for bottling, but I have also used the cheapest dry ale yeast I can find (Muntons- 59 cents per pkt) which has worked.

 

[bracconiere]

*

 

[MarkKF]

What risk? If it doesn’t work you just end up with a slightly sweeter still cider.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

What risk? If it doesn’t work you just end up with a slightly sweeter still cider.

Because Julien wants carbed cider, not still. That's the risk.

 

[Chalkyt]

I recently opened some that was bottled 3-1/2 months after starting. It was fermented with WLP773 (which was quite slow getting down to 1.002 where it seemed to stabilise). FAJC and original juice was then added to bring the SG up to 1.005 for bottling with an aim of petillant carbonation. A test bottle opened a month after bottling had just the right amount of carbonation, as did a bottle opened recently, 6 months after bottling. I haven't found a sudden cut-off between the yeast being good vs no good, I suppose it just gradually deteriorates, but then you don't need robust action if you are just looking for modest carbonation (which is where I aim for). Does it really matter if the carbonation takes two months instead of two weeks?

I think the yeast just lurks once it runs out of sugar and bursts into life as soon as some more "food" (sugar) is added... at least that is my experience with bottling for carbonation.

In any case, why not bottle some and see how it is in a month's time. I wouldn't expect the rest to be adversely affected by another month in "secondary" so long as you keep O2 out of it.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Here’s some information to consider, people frequently grow yeast starters from bottle primed high ABV beers. In the case of imported beer that yeast has been shipped and stored at various temperatures perhaps as long as a year before the beer has been consumed then the yeast grown to starter quantity. Four months in secondary at 5%ABV is not that challenging an environment for yeast. So, unless you have a stuck fermentation, just prime and enjoy when it’s ready.

 

[Maylar]

FWIW the mighty internet says 5 months is the point where you should consider adding a pinch of yeast to each bottle. I have gone 3 months without problem.

 

[MarkKF]

I haven't made bottle carbed cider in years but isn't there a specific yeast for carbing? No flavor change and very little sediment.