6 months old and not bottled!!!!!!!

[withoutaclue]

I got a batch of strong stoudt that I made about 6-8 months ago.....and totally forgot about.......................

Is this stuff worth bottling? I used Vodka instead of water in my airlock so it was sealed pretty good?

Any tips.............

 

[Brewsmith]

Is it in the primary fermenter or did you transfer to a secondary. If it's still in the primary, it may be a lost cause.

 

[Darth Konvel]

If the airlock hasn't dried out (and assuming it's in secondary) you should be golden.

So ... what's the trick? How do you forget about a brew for this length of time?

 

[homebrewer_99]

I'd take a sample to check the gravity and drink it to see if it was still good. You might be surprised.

 

[cowain]

You might either wait a little longer than usual for the carbonation process or add a little yeast to the bottling bucket. I'd just be worried that few or no yeasties are left alive.

 

[Walker]

Yeast will kind of go into hibernation when the food supply runs out, if my reading on the subject is accurate. They won't all die.

You can probably (intentionally) suck up some some of the yeast cake when you rack to the bottling bucket. With the newly added priming sugar, the yeast might wake up and get back to work and carbonate your beer.

On a different discussion board, there is a guy who lets his beer age for YEARS in a secondary or tertiary. He rarely pitches new yeast when it comes time to bottle, and just does what I described above and sucks up some trub when it's time to bottle. He claims to have no problems at all with carbonation, but he also gives the yeast a few MONTHS to get the carbonation work done and not just a few weeks.

-walker

 

[Dragonfly]

how much head space is there in the carboy? It could have gotten pretty damn oxidized if there's a lot of room - (I think?)

 

[Walker]

That probably wouldn't happen. CO2 is heavier than air and will settle like a blanket over your beer. There might be air above the CO2, but the blanket keeps that air away from the goods.

-walker

 

[david_42]

A good strong stout should kill just about any nasty. Take a sample & sniff then taste it. If it seems ok, toss a package of champaign yeast in the bottling bucket along with the priming sugar. Makes for good creamy heads.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

A good strong stout should kill just about any nasty. Take a sample & sniff then taste it. If it seems ok, toss a package of champaign yeast in the bottling bucket along with the priming sugar. Makes for good creamy heads.

Really? That sounds pretty good, especially for a stout.

 

[david_42]

Yeh, I don't know why but the champaign yeast makes for very small bubbles. Almost like nitro.