Best practice for curing under carbonated bottled beer?

[beerisyummy]

Hi there beerists!
So this year's Christmas Ale is causing me some consternation. It tastes good, but is a little bit like drinking molasses, because there are not many bubbles. I didn't want high carbonation, I was aiming for about 2.0 vols. My calculation could have been off, but I don't really think so. My theory is that because it's a big beer (a little over 9%) and the total aging time in primary & secondary (because wood) was about 2 months, the yeasts were just pooped. Apparently they are still pooped, because my attempt to rouse the yeast by turning the bottle upside-down and rightside-up a couple times a few days before serving (I do this with lagers and it seems to work) yielded no results.
So if you were me (perish the thought) would you just keep trying to rouse the yeasty beasties? Or would you uncap, add yeast, and recap? If the latter, what would you recommend as the most effective (& sanitary) method? Finally, am I missing something?
I look forward to your sagely advice.

 

[beerisyummy]

I should clarify: with bottled lagers I do the upside-down thing right away after bottling, maybe 3 or 4 times in the first week. I did not do this with the Xmas Ale as I was not anticipating the problem. So one approach would definitely be to rouse the yeast once or twice more and wait? But also it's been bottle-aging for at least two months as well...

 

[Bobby_M]

What's the average temp over those last two months? If you can hold it in the 70F area, that works better than low 60s cellar temps.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

@beerisyummy :

• what strain of yeast did you use to ferment?
• what temperature initially use to bottle condition? and then store the beer?

If you bottle conditioned initially at cooler temperatures, warming the bottles to 75F-ish for three to five days may also rouse the yeast. (Put the bottles in a cooler and use a water bath to hold the temperature). eta: this reply in a different topic (link) links to an article that may suggest that just warming the beer will not help.

FWIW, some home brewers view bottle conditioning yeast as 'cheap insurance' when bottle conditioning high ABV beers.

 

[hotbeer]

Drink the under carbonated batch quickly so you'll have enough empty bottles for the next batch that you'll do something differently or with more skill than you did this batch.

What temperature are you keeping the bottles while they carbonate and condition? I'm using roughly 73-74°F currently.

What sugar are you using? I've been using table sugar lately. It does well, but I'm starting to wonder if I can do better with something else.

What is the ABV of your beer? Perhaps the yeast used to ferment are at their limit and you should use a more alcohol tolerant yeast for bottling.

What's your temp in the fridge where you keep your beer prior to serving? Mine is a little cold for beer at about 42°F. I'll let my bottles warm up a little bit before opening them if I'm not in a hurry to drink. >50°F is better tasting and also lets more CO2 come out of solution at a faster rate.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

If it is a decently alcohol tolerant yeast it should be able to handle the simple sugars added at priming, even at 9% and some ageing.
But, you are likely looking at a lenghty conditioning phase, such a beer should be brewed to allow for a MINIMUM of 3 months of conditioning.

 

[beerisyummy]

Thanks everyone for the replies. At my abode, I usually ferment, age & bottle condition in a walk-in closet downstairs. (Lagering takes place upstairs in a temp-controlled chest freezer.) The closet temp in cooler months (in Northern California) is usually between 60-65, and in the warmer months 65-70. Toward the end of summer/beginning of fall it can get a bit over 70, and especially since the summers are getting even warmer, that's when I tend brew Belgians, use Kvieks, etc. The advantage of the closet is simply that the temp doesn't fluctuate much day-to-day.
This brew was OG 1.079 and FG 1.008 using WY1028 London. 9.3%ABV. 3.5 oz dextrose for priming.
I brought the bottles upstairs. It's a little warmer than the closet, although the temp does fluctuate (thermostat set to 68° daytime & 64° night time - but my wife turns it up to 70° when she's home I've been gently shaking (upending) the bottles every couple days. Last time I poured one I thought there was a LITTLE more carbonation. I'm going to pop another one this weekend (and make sure I don't over-chill).

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

I had a very similar issue for a Russian Imperial Stout. See this thread. I tried waiting it out, but after 7 months there was no improvement. I also tried uncapping several and adding more sugar, but didn't have success with that either. I'm going to pour them all into a keg tomorrow and see how that goes. I'll add an update to the other thread once I try it.