So, I am a bit of a beginner with about four batches of extract beers under my belt. Three of them have turned out great, but I am having some problems with carbonating my second batch, a double IPA.
Basically, the batch was the Hop Head Double IPA kit from midwest supplies:
Hop Head Double IPA w/Munton's 6 gm dry yeast :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
I thought the OG looked pretty low, though, so I added enough extract to get it up to a measured OG of 1.084. Other than that, I followed the recipe in the kit.
I made a 1 liter starter of Wyeast 1056, which I chilled, drained off the clear liquid, and pitched the yeast from. Fermentation was active in a couple hours, and the gravity was down to 1.017 after a week in the primary, at which point I racked it to a secondary and dry hopped it for two weeks. After that, I cold crashed it in my fridge for three days, added priming sugar and bottled.
That was 7.5 weeks ago, and it is still sweet and very lightly carbonated, with no head at all. It has been stored between 65 and 80 degrees F for that whole period. I guess I did something that killed off the yeast I needed in order to bottle carbonate.
What should I do? I could let it sit longer, but after 7.5 weeks, I would expect that not much is going to change. Do I need to open each bottle and add more yeast, and if so, what is the best way to do this?
I really don't want to lose this batch, other than being flat it tastes great, and sure packs a punch.
Basically, the batch was the Hop Head Double IPA kit from midwest supplies:
Hop Head Double IPA w/Munton's 6 gm dry yeast :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
I thought the OG looked pretty low, though, so I added enough extract to get it up to a measured OG of 1.084. Other than that, I followed the recipe in the kit.
I made a 1 liter starter of Wyeast 1056, which I chilled, drained off the clear liquid, and pitched the yeast from. Fermentation was active in a couple hours, and the gravity was down to 1.017 after a week in the primary, at which point I racked it to a secondary and dry hopped it for two weeks. After that, I cold crashed it in my fridge for three days, added priming sugar and bottled.
That was 7.5 weeks ago, and it is still sweet and very lightly carbonated, with no head at all. It has been stored between 65 and 80 degrees F for that whole period. I guess I did something that killed off the yeast I needed in order to bottle carbonate.
What should I do? I could let it sit longer, but after 7.5 weeks, I would expect that not much is going to change. Do I need to open each bottle and add more yeast, and if so, what is the best way to do this?
I really don't want to lose this batch, other than being flat it tastes great, and sure packs a punch.
