didn't carbonate

[Pschof]

2 and 1/2 months in the bottle. 11% abv, dark brown beer. tastes great. Not a hint of carbonation.

Is it likely that the yeast died? It was only in secondary for 6 weeks.

What should I do? Anyone ever open them up and add more yeast?

 

[rico567]

I've got a Scottish 80/- that's been in the bottle that long, it was only in the primary three weeks, no secondary, and I KNOW I put priming sugar in. I've got a tiny bit of carbonation, but not much.

 

[Teromous]

Could be ABV is too high for that strain of yeast. If that's the case you could add stronger yeast. The alternative is that you can be patient and wait even longer, or...

...you could start kegging...

 

[SumnerH]

Stupid question, but did you add priming sugar at bottling time? How much? What process did you use to ensure it was well mixed?

(I almost hate to ask, but you wouldn't be the first person who forgot the sugar at some point...)

What temperature is it at? My Belgian took 6 weeks to carb at 75F. My 11.8% barleywine is over 2 months and is just barely starting to carb at 68F.

 

[Pschof]

I used priming sugar-- same amount and same process I've used for 20+ other beers. It's been at around 70 degrees since may 6. I know I am just supposed to wait forever. But it would suck to wait forever and still not get the beer. Oh, well.

 

[Yooper]

What kind of yeast did you use? At 11%, you may be over several yeast strains' alcohol tolerance.

 

[Pschof]

I used wyeast 1056. It said the yeast tolerance was 10%. This beer is actually under 11 (maybe 10.5). Would that be enough to kill it? I thought going a little above its tolerance risked off tastes, but not killing it.

 

[Yooper]

I used wyeast 1056. It said the yeast tolerance was 10%. This beer is actually under 11 (maybe 10.5). Would that be enough to kill it? I thought going a little above its tolerance risked off tastes, but not killing it.

Well, if it's over it's alcohol tolerance, it's not "dead" but just can't go any higher. Pushing it a bit higher than it is supposed to be able to go won't give it off-flavors, but it means that when you add sugar to ask it to ferment more it just can't.

 

[Pschof]

oh, so that's my problem, then, huh? I need to get some other yeast and add it to the bottles. Dumb mistake.

 

[Yooper]

oh, so that's my problem, then, huh? I need to get some other yeast and add it to the bottles. Dumb mistake.

Not a dumb mistake at all! It happens all the time.

 

[jmwc95]

I've had 2 batches not carbonate on me, one wasn't even that strong and was bottled after only 3 weeks. Either way, I popped open the bottles and used an eyedropper to add more fresh yeast (Wyeast 1056). After another week it was fully carbonated both times.

 

[mkory]

Same here, try sprinkling in a few granules of dry yeast and recapping. It's worked for me.

 

[Pschof]

Is there any risk of creating bottle bombs? If the yeast I used quit fermenting at a certain point, and I use something else, might it ferment a whole lot more than I want it to?

 

[Germelli1]

Just out of curiousity, does it taste sweet (like it may if the priming sugar didnt get eaten)?

I am also not sure if 5 oz. of sugar would cause noticable sweetness to a beer, but I am just curious!

 

[Pschof]

no, 5 oz of prime sugar does not make it sweet. But it is a little above the 10% max for my yeast, so I was wondering if adding more yeast would ferment too much sugar and cause bottle bombs.

 

[smizak]

Just add a little US-05 granules to each bottle. It's the same strain(almost) as 1056. In a > 10% beer, it's only going to eat the simple sugars for the most part anyway. You're old yeast was just beat up.