Effects of long fermentation?

[passive]

I've got a brown ale (w/Nottingham yeast) that is approaching 7 weeks fermenting. I had not meant to leave it so long, but I've got a shortage of empty bottles.

I've had poor luck with carbonation recently, which I'm currently attributing to using yeasts that required re-hydration (previously I had been using Coopers sprinkle-on, which all carbed wonderfully). For this batch, I was very careful to follow the instructions exactly, making sure I gradually brought the yeast down to the temperature of the wort (something I had neglected on previous batches).

So I'm wondering if there are any particular concerns having had such a long fermentation? Are the yeast likely to have suffered, or will they have just gone dormant, waiting for the bottling sugar?

I've heard that time is generally good for beers, so I'm not really worried, but if there's anything I should do to ensure better results, I would be very happy to know it.

Thanks!

 

[Revvy]

You're beer hasn't been fermenting for 7 weeks. Beer only ferments for as long as the yeast takes, which is usually about a week. The rest of the time the beer has been conditioning just as if you've racked it to a secondary. It's going to be really clear and really good beer.

After that the yeast goes dormant.

Many of us leave out beers a minimum of 1 month, skip secondary and bottle. Many folks have left their beer a year in primary with no issues. The longest I have ever had has been 5.5 months, and the beer was fine. I have one in primary right now that was brewed in the first week of may, but I haven't been able to bottle it yet. I tasted it last week and it was fantastic.

Long primaries have been covered ad nauseum on here. You can read some info I posted here.

 

[MalFet]

It certainly hasn't been fermenting for 7 weeks. I don't mean to mince words about it, but what you've got is a beer that has long since finished fermenting and has since been aging on top of its yeast cake. There is some debate about whether a long aging period on the yeast is desirable or undesirable, but everyone would agree that the effects are relatively subtle. In short, you will be fine.

You'll have to say more about your problems with carbonation. If you are getting some carbonation but not enough, the problem is either time, conditioning temp, or sugar quantity. If you are getting no carbonation, it could be something else. In any case, it is not likely related to yeast rehydration.

After 7 weeks, you should have no problem carbonating, but you can always add a fresh population to your bottling bucket if you are concerned. Good luck!

 

[passive]

Thanks for the assistance, both in content and terminology.

I'll not worry, and perhaps look at adding a bit more sugar at bottling (which may be tonight).

 

[unionrdr]

You can use a priming calculator on line to determine the right amount of priming sugar for a given style. I weigh it out on a digital scale & mix it with 2C of hot water,rather than 1C some use. I think the thinner solution mixes more easily in the bottling bucket while racking.

 

[Revvy]

Thanks for the assistance, both in content and terminology.

I'll not worry, and perhaps look at adding a bit more sugar at bottling (which may be tonight).

You always add more sugar at bottling. But you won't need any more or less because you long primaries, sugar isn't an issue. It's only extrac yeast that is added. But that is only if the beer's been there for over 6 months. You don't need to do anything different when bottling this beer, except maybe rubbing the bottom of the autosiphon across the buttom of the fermenter when you rack to kick up a little of the yeast i the bottom, but nothing else needs to be done. Seven weeks isn't anything.

 

[bottlebomber]

I don't know why, but I did a 2 month primary with wlp007 a 9% abv and it is hell trying to get it to carbonate. There is very little yeast in suspension to carb it up, so im having to keep shaking the bottles to get the yeast to do their jobs. I would recommend pitching a little fresh yeast at bottling if you want it to carb in normal times

 

[Revvy]

I don't know why, but I did a 2 month primary with wlp007 a 9% abv and it is hell trying to get it to carbonate. There is very little yeast in suspension to carb it up, so im having to keep shaking the bottles to get the yeast to do their jobs. I would recommend pitching a little fresh yeast at bottling if you want it to carb in normal times

Nine percent is pretty high. In that case adding some doesn't hurt. But for 1.060-1.070 or less beers, it's not really needed.

 

[passive]

You always add more sugar at bottling. But you won't need any more or less because you long primaries, sugar isn't an issue. It's only extrac yeast that is added. But that is only if the beer's been there for over 6 months. You don't need to do anything different when bottling this beer, except maybe rubbing the bottom of the autosiphon across the buttom of the fermenter when you rack to kick up a little of the yeast i the bottom, but nothing else needs to be done. Seven weeks isn't anything.

Dang, I bottled last night before I read this. I would certainly be willing to add some cloudiness to ensure proper carbonation, so I will remember this for the future.

Thanks!

 

[Chia]

Many of us leave out beers a minimum of 1 month, skip secondary and bottle.

How many primaries do you have? i find it very hard to keep things going with 2 primaries, 2 secondaries, and 2 kegs plus bottling. I have been keeping things in a primary for a week or so and then secondary and cold crash and move to a keg when i have one open to condition.....

 

[bottlebomber]

Dang, I bottled last night before I read this. I would certainly be willing to add some cloudiness to ensure proper carbonation, so I will remember this for the future.

Thanks!

You'll be fine. If there's any yeast in there at all, it will carbonate the beer. Its just might take awhile. You can shake the bottles to keep the yeast in suspension and doing their jobs. As far as haziness in the beer from extra yeast, it drops out just fine. I try to keep a homebrew in the fridge for a week before I drink it anyway. That pretty much gets it as clear as it was ever gonna be

 

[mrk305]

You sholdn't have to shake the bottles to get them to carb up. Have you ever seen beer fermenting in a clear fermentor? Those yeasties get swirling in there like a blender! The main thing is time. Revvy often posts a very nice chart about how high OG beers take a long time and low OG beers take a shorter time.

Come on, let's see the chart again..............

 

[bottlebomber]

You sholdn't have to shake the bottles to get them to carb up. Have you ever seen beer fermenting in a clear fermentor? Those yeasties get swirling in there like a blender! The main thing is time. Revvy often posts a very nice chart about how high OG beers take a long time and low OG beers take a shorter time.

Come on, let's see the chart again..............

Im speaking from experience, not speculation. In the beer I described, I didn't even crack one for 6 weeks, and there was NOTHING. I started talking to people on here, everyone said open em all and give them yeast, but I didn't want to do that. One guy who owned a BS said he recommended rolling the bottles around. So I took 2 bottles and shook the hell out of them. 3 days later I shook them again and I could tell from the action inside the bottle that there was some activity. I waited a week, chilled one of the bottles and tried it. There was definite effervescence. And it was because of shaking the bottles.

What your describing in a fermentor is fresh healthy yeast gobbling up dozens of gravity points in a matter of days. Sure, it looks very active. In bottle conditioning, you are seeing a small number of old, tired and sometimes stressed yeast cells taking down 2-3 gravity points over a period of weeks or in my case months. Not the same.

 

[mrk305]

Did you shake up all the bottles or just a few? Was there a big difference between bottles that were shook up and bottles that were left sitting? If so, did the bottles left sitting carb up over a period of time?

 

[bottlebomber]

Did you shake up all the bottles or just a few? Was there a big difference between bottles that were shook up and bottles that were left sitting? If so, did the bottles left sitting carb up over a period of time?

The bottles that I shook carbed, the 4 that I didn't shake have still not carbed at all. Total time since bottling has been almost 3 months.

 

[mrk305]

I have never experienced that. Good to know.

 

[bottlebomber]

I haven't either, but then id never had anything sit in the fermenter for 2 months. It might not be true in all cases, but after waiting on a beer for months id at least like to pop one a few weeks after bottling and not a few months, so I will be mixing a little rehydrated champagne yeast in with my priming sugar solution in the future. It can't hurt.