Can I save my beer?

[RMBrewer14]

On 2/19/14 I brewed an American IPA with the best of 3 Floyd's Zombie Dust and Bell's Two Hearted: Citra and Centennial. I spent quite a bit on the ingredients for this recipe and the way it smelled throughout fermentation and bottling were promising. However, it's been in bottles now for 4.5 weeks and it is way too sweet and not nearly carbonated enough. I REALLY don't want to have to dump this beer - is there anything I can do to save it?

Here's the recipe breakdown for the 5 gallon batch:

1lb Caramel Malt 20L
1/2lb Rahr White Wheat
1/2lb Briess Caramel Munich 60L
(Steeped for 60 min at 151-154 degrees)
6lb Briess Pilsen Light DME
2lb Briess Golden Light DME
First boiling bubble: 0.5oz Citra & 0.5oz Centennial
Last 20 minutes: 0.5oz Citra & 0.5oz Centennial
Last 15 min: 1 tsp Irish Moss
Last 10 minutes: 1oz Citra
Last 5 minutes: 2oz Citra
Flame out: 2oz Citra
Wyeast American Ale #1056 (Pitched after wort was cooled to below 75)
Kept in primary fermenter for 2 weeks between 68-70.
Dry hopped at 7 days with 3 oz Citra

There was a TON of sediment for this beer, but aromatically it was insane. The only thing I can think of that may have messed me up is using an entire 5oz of priming sugar on bottling day.

If pouring the bottles back in a carboy and re-pitching is the answer, I'm up for it. I really just don't want to have to dump this guy.

Thanks!

 

[flars]

What was your final gravity and what is your bottle conditioning temperature?

 

[RMBrewer14]

Unfortunately I didn't have the equipment to get a OG or FG reading.

Bottles have been/are conditioning at 70-72.

 

[DrummoRC]

Sweetness - If you had this in a keg I would say get a herb ball and dry hop it in the keg - to counter balance the sweetness. I just did this recently (keg is still on tap) it helped but did not take away all the sweetness by any chance - it is still pretty sweet. So anyone with better ideas might help me also.

As to the carbonation - I have had similar issues with some of my batches. some I let sit longer and they will eventually carbonate but I have bought and used Priming Tablets. I opened each bottle and added the tablets then closed the bottle back up. Then let them sit for about two more weeks.

I know EXPOSURE to oxygen... don't get excited. Given you are tempted to throw it away ... it can't hurt. It helped my batches from going down the sink. Anyway the little surface area and the amount of time the beer is exposed to oxygen will not hurt your beer! Just dont let them sit exposed for any longer then necessary.

If you were to try this - test the process!!! I had some bottle foam over when I added the tablets becuase it gave a nucliation surface to the CO2.

 

[dstranger99]

The only thing I can think of that may have messed me up is using an entire 5oz of priming sugar on bottling day.

No, that wouldn't have done it.

But I've read your entire process and I'm stumped ??..........

 

[fearwig]

If it's sweet and undercarbed, it's:

A) from the crystal malts, maybe combined with the perception of sweetness due to undercarbonation.
or
B) your yeast is taking an inordinately long time to carb the bottles and hasn't finished the sugar. 4.5 weeks seems like a long time. Repitch shouldn't make a big difference, if the yeast is there it's there and should be able to carb the bottles (and if you have some carbonation, you should eventually have full carbonation--if enough sugar is present).

If I were in your shoes I'd probably sit on it a couple more weeks. If you want, you can open some or all of the bottles and, as someone mentioned, reprime with a carbonation tab or syrup (don't just use sugar, if there is some carbonation already it will nucleate and gush). Of course if there is residual priming sugar still in your bottles and you do this, they could overcarb and gush or explode, so that's not very appealing to me.

My last theory is you could have a capping problem and your bottles released some CO2. I've had semi-carbed bottles when a screw-top gets in to my bottles unnoticed.

 

[flars]

Unfortunately I didn't have the equipment to get a OG or FG reading.

Bottles have been/are conditioning at 70-72.

The estimated OG from your recipe would be about 1.072 to 1.074. Pitching one pack of WY1056, unknown production date, was a definite under pitch. Pitching the yeast in wort on the warm side and then cooling it down didn't help your situation.
Two weeks of fermentation and under pitching the yeast probably left you with a stalled fermentation. One of the results of a stalled fermentation is a sweet beer.
Pouring the beer back into the fermentor and adding an alcohol tolerant yeast would just end up with a thoroughly oxidized beer.
Best would keep the bottles warm and check one each week for carbonation. If they do carbonate this will change the perceived flavor quite a bit.
A hydrometer is a necessary piece of brewing equipment. Pick up tow in case one rolls off the table. They are fragile and break easily especially when they are picked up by the neck.
Good luck. Don't get bummed out. Brewing is a continuing education course.
Good luck.

 

[fearwig]

Underpitch can make your beer taste bad, but it won't keep it from carbing. Yeast will usually eat sugar even when they're stalled, it just might take them longer.

However, it's true that it may still taste sweet if they stalled out and underattenuated, that would explain the sweetness.

 

[Paradingbull]

If you don't need the bottles for another batch let them sit a few weeks more. I have had many beers start out not so good and turn out really good after a few more weeks. Same for bottle carbonation, some beers carbonate slower than others, especially bigger beers. With all that, it's your beer and if you are convinced the beer will never be good dump it and try again. Very few on here have never had a dumper batch.