Undercarbed Belgian Trippel -- do I dare try to re-carb it?

[PhilOssiferzStone]

I laid down a batch of Trippel back in February, and have sampling a bottle a month as a sort of special treat to myself. It is really starting to come into its own now -- smooth and rich and plummy and delicious, with no trace of alcohol heat that was evident earlier. I think I'll make an annual ritual out of this.

The only problem is it's almost-but-not-quite flat. I used Munton's carb tabs for this, seven per 22 oz bottle, and figured that would be plenty. Worked fine for my English mild ale that I made at the same time, but here it is seven months on and my wonderful Trippel has only a minute head and a few scant bubbles.

Do I dare try to recarb it with yet more Munton's? Do I let it sit out and de-carb first? Won't that run the risk of an infection, then? How many more of those bloody little sugar-pills might I safely use? Do high-gravity beers (this came out about 9.5% ABV) require more sugar to get carbed in the first place?

/wrings hands

 

[Kayos]

You can try to add a tab to it (or 2 or 3). You need to get the beer as cold as you can (just above freezing). Have the tabs ready ( I would freeze them, too). Uncap, throw the tabs in and recap. You'll probably have a boilover, but it will be OK.

Next time, use this.

 

[PhilOssiferzStone]

You need to get the beer as cold as you can (just above freezing). Have the tabs ready ( I would freeze them, too). Uncap, throw the tabs in and recap. You'll probably have a boilover, but it will be OK.

Almost-freeze the yeast...? Won't that kill the little buggers?

What constitutes a 'boilover' in a 22 ounce bottle?

I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble deciphering your advice.

 

[McGarnigle]

Freezing doesn't kill yeast, it puts it to sleep. I think the concern is gushing bubbles after adding tabs, to which the remedy is chilling the yeast. I actually don't think boilovers are a problem here (!?).

However, I wonder if the problem is you haven't much yeast in the bottles. Or did you stick the bottles in the fridge before yeast ever had a chance to carb the beer? That probably isn't it.

 

[Revvy]

Have they ever been above 70 degrees?

 

[Kayos]

By boilovers, I meant gushing over the top of the bottle when you add carb tabs. Sorry, thought it was obvious. My jokes suck.

 

[PhilOssiferzStone]

Yes, they've been stored above 70 degrees. They've been sitting in the corner of my bedroom for six months. No, there isn't a lot of yeast sediment, but there is a *little.* I can see it on the bottom.

So... if I put carb tabs or sugar, either one, into already-carbed beer it'll start foaming up like Alka Seltzer? Huh. Didn't know that. Will refrigerating them overnight do? And, uh.... how many carb tabs should I add? Is the suggested two or three okay...? I've never attempted anything like this before.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

Those tabs you used: Are they just sugar?

Did you dose your beer with fresh yeast?

I had a strong Belgian (11% abv) last year that just never carbed up. After 6 months or something, I popped each bottle, sprinkled in a small amount of champagne yeast and recapped them. All at around 70 F. I put the bottles into a temp controlled fridge at 73 for a month and they carbed up nicely.

That beer was not carbed at all when I popped them though, so I can't comment on the fizzing issue mentioned above. Anyway, it worked. The beer carbed up and is maybe the tastiest beer I have at the moment. I didn't have to add sugar because I added sugar at bottling but the yeast in the bottles just wasn't viable and didn't eat the sugar.

 

[SnickleFitsBrew]

don't post much but figured I'd chime in here in hopes of saving your beer if it's not to late. do not add more sugar. there is sufficient sugar in the bottles at this point if in fact you did add the carb tabs and correct amount. the problem IMO lies in the yeast. either there is very little left in the bottle or it crapped out due to the high abv. some things to consider:

how long the beer sat in primary/secondary before bottling and type if yeast and floccuation. you've done everything right this far. time and temperature are vital to carbing beers. and yes higher abv beers take significantly longer to carb up but 6 months and very little results is tough. first I would try agitating the bottles lightly every other day or so and see what happens in a few weeks. then if still uncarbed, pop them open sprinkle a very little dry yeast, cap and wait it out..... good luck

 

[PhilOssiferzStone]

Those tabs you used: Are they just sugar?

Did you dose your beer with fresh yeast?

I have no idea what's in Munton's. I actually don't use them anymore; went back to plain old table sugar just because it's cheaper and more convenient.

There's a ring of yeast sediment in each bottle. I just turned each bottle a couple of times to stir things up, and saw tiny flakes of the stuff drifting around. It's WLP500 Trappist yeast, which is supposed to have a high alcohol tolerance, and the ale wasn't super-duper high gravity to begin with (9 lbs. pilsen DME and a partial mash of 1 lb. ea Caramunich and aroma malts). To me yeast sediment implies, well, yeast.... but if that isn't necessarily the case...

Maybe I'll just leave it as is. It certainly is delicious, and I don't want to take any chances on fouling it up. But if I *did* try to recarb a few bottles, I know I can safely put in two more Munton's tabs, and if a smidge of champagne yeast will hurry things along, fine. Maybe I'll try that one of these weekends when I'm feeling brave. No rush.

Would it help if I possibly stored them at a higher temp for awhile? It's 80+ degrees out in the garage.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

I don't think I'd add more sugar. If you wanna try a test, just pop 2 bottles, sprinkle in some champagne yeast and recap them. Put them somewhere over 70 for a few weeks then pop one and see what's up. Dunno about over 80. If you intend to age this beer, might not be good. You could try it for a week or so with a test bottle if you're curious though.

Just because there's yeast in the bottle doesn't mean it's viable enough for carbing the beer. The Belgian that didn't carb for me had plenty of yeast. And it was White Labs iteration of the Chimay yeast (I forget the number), and it didn't carb at all. Yeast is sometimes worn out after a big ferment and just won't carb up a beer. It's the reason why I now make a fresh starter and add that at bottling for bigger beers. Works every time.