Help me find the best way to fix this mess I've created

[303Dan]

Hey Everyone,

So, back in late July, a buddy and I brewed a Ginger-Orange Imperial Porter with the intent of having it ready and drinking at it's best some time around Christmas. Brew day went fine, hit my numbers. Fermentation went very well, the beer attenuated from 1.090 to 1.020 pretty much as predicted. I left it in primary for about a month, then to secondary for about 6 weeks before bottling on 10/11/2015. So, being the patient bloke than I am, I waited until a few days ago to pop the first bottle, assuming that a beer that big and thick was gonna take a while to carbonate and get to a point where it was drinkable.

I put one in the fridge for a couple of days and popped it open, excited to see how it came out. Not even a small quiet noise of CO2 being released from headspace. Sure enough, it is flat as flat can be.

I opened a second one just to make sure it wasn't an issue with priming sugar not being mixed well or something. Same deal. I'm really doubting that was the issue anyway, since I use the exact same process every time I bottle and have never had an issue with even mixing of priming sugar.

So, I'm assuming what happened is that with the high alcohol content (around 9.3% ABV) and the extended time in primary/secondary, none of the yeast survived to carbonate the beer. Lesson learned, the next time I do a beer like this, I'll add yeast at bottling time.

But, spilled milk and all that, I want to give this beer it's best chance of turning out okay and I kind of need it to happen fast given that Christmas is right around the corner.

So, my first impulse is to get it from the bottles to an open keg that I have and force carb it over the next week and a half. I didn't want to have 5 gallons of this beer taking up one of my kegerator spots, but it seems like the only option at this point.

So, assuming that's my only option, I'm concerned about getting the beer from the bottles to the keg without agitating and oxygenating the crap out of it. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[m00ps]

I would try letting the bottles warm a bit and flippign each one upside down once or twice to rouse the yeast. Transferring from a bunch fo bottles to a keg is a time consuming and elaborate way to entirely ruin a beer. youd be better off dumping them down the drain than that IMO

 

[JonM]

If my math is right, you bottled in mid-October? Might just need longer to carb. My last Wee Heavy wasn't carbed for 6 months.

You might have a killer, wonderfully aged Porter for Christmas 2016.

 

[sfly19]

One option would be to pipe a small amount of an active starter into each bottle and recap.

 

[303Dan]

You guys have some good suggestions so far, and if I wasn't determined to do SOMETHING definitive by Christmas, I'd take one of them. The samples I've had so far haven't been so good that I'm that scared of losing this batch, and for many reasons I can't control, this beer has to be consumed by Christmas. So I'm gonna have to trudge forward on the path of force carbonation for better or worse.

I found a funnel that fits just perfectly into 1/2" ID silicone tubing. I'm going to sterilize that tubing and funnel, purge a keg with CO2, run the tubing down to the bottom of the purged keg, and pour, ever so gently, each beer into that funnel. Then purge the keg well after it's full, set it to serving pressure, wait 11 days and it will be what it will be.

Thanks for the suggestions, though. Like I said, if I could be patient with it (which I can't for reasons outside my control), I'd try to save it with less extreme measures.

Dan

 

[Singletrack]

Stopper with 2 holes. Put a connection for your CO2 in one hole. Add a connection to a hose in the second hole. Remove the cap and put the stopper in the bottle. Add CO2 to push the beer out the hose into your keg.

This would be a painful process, but best I've got.

 

[JonM]

Fill the keg with starsan solution. Push it out with co2. Then your keg is sanitized and completely oxygen free.

Then do what single track suggested. Should work and should greatly reduce the risk of oxidation.

 

[Bellybuster]

I say fill the keg with CO2 and pour the beer in. Why fuss with it? Oxidation is actually pretty tough to force on a beer.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

I would do a combination of all the above. I would fill a keg with CO2, pour in what you think you will need for the holidays hook it to your tank and let it carbonate. Force it if you need it fast. If not, put it at serving pressure and it should be ready in a week.

I don't think I would hassle with pushing it out of the bottles with CO2, the funnel / hose trick would be fine. It believe it takes a while for beer to oxygenate and you will probably have it drunk long before that.

With the rest I would experiment. I would agitate some of the rest and leave it till next year. It will probably rock.

I might also try popping some caps, adding a few drops of starter and some priming sugar in a less than proper proportion for 12 oz (so you don't have exploding bottles later). You could put 1/4tsp table sugar in to kick it off (I have an old Mr Beer magnet that says to use 3/4 tsp table sugar for a 12 oz bottle).