i think i stressed my yeast...oh what to do!!

[xpops]

hey!

so i brewed up a pliny clone about 9-10 weeks ago. It's been bottle conditioning for 6 weeks, and i have ZIP when it comes to carbonation! It's been sitting around 70 degrees, and when i look in the bottom of the bottles, there isnt much settlement compared to previous batches (all of which have carbed up no problem).

This leads me to believe that i somehow stressed out the yeasties, and i cant get them to do their job. i tried rousing up the yeast after about 2-3 weeks when i noticed they didnt carb, but another 3 weeks later...nothing.

I came across this post i found online;

"

If the beer has not fermented in the 3 weeks since bottling, it's not likely to kick off any time soon.

Assuming that the beer is not excessively high in alcohol, you should add more yeast to the bottles to initiate fermentation. Get yourself a packet of dry yeast (check the manufacture date or expiry date to be sure it's fresh yeast). Uncap the bottles and add a couple grain to each bottle. Then recap. Check after a week.

"

in theory, it makes sense...the priming sugar is still in the bottles...so new yeast should eat away at it...right?

i'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience trying this out. The beer tastes great, but could be better with some bubbles...i'd hate for the batch to go to waste

let me know your experience!

thank you!!

 

[TastyAdventure]

What's the ABV on it? I would try adding more yeast like your source suggests

 

[Hello]

How much yeast did you pitch in the first place? What was the original gravity? And like TastyAdventure asked, what is the gravity now? 6 weeks in a bottle should be enough for a Pliny clone. In fact, you're missing out on the best part of any IPA right now.

 

[exileonmainst]

What was your procedure for adding priming sugar? I know it's a basic question, but gotta start at square 1 to diagnose the problem.

If it fermented out from a proper OG to FG, then you must have had working yeast in there. If you gave them the right amount of sugar to bottle carb, it should have worked by now.

Maybe the seals on the bottle caps are bad? If you turn a bottle upside down, does it leak?

 

[xpops]

How much yeast did you pitch in the first place? What was the original gravity? And like TastyAdventure asked, what is the gravity now? 6 weeks in a bottle should be enough for a Pliny clone. In fact, you're missing out on the best part of any IPA right now.

I know....and that's the saddest part! I'll have to pull the exact number I recorded when I get home this afternoon, but OG and FG were pretty close to target. Will post back tonight!

 

[xpops]

What was your procedure for adding priming sugar? I know it's a basic question, but gotta start at square 1 to diagnose the problem.

If it fermented out from a proper OG to FG, then you must have had working yeast in there. If you gave them the right amount of sugar to bottle carb, it should have worked by now.

Maybe the seals on the bottle caps are bad? If you turn a bottle upside down, does it leak?

I'd have to get exact numbers when i get home tonight, but it was probably somewhere around 4-4.5oz of dextrose for 5gal batch.

No leaks, and same capper and caps i've used before. i have a smaaaaaall "ptttsss" when i crack one open, but no actual carbonation. I assume if i had a leak, then i'd at least have some sediment in the bottom of the bottle from the yeast doing their thing, and probably a slight krausen ring on the inside of the bottles (i've seen this on some poorly sealed swing top bottles).

this was my 16th batch, and it's only the 1st one that has very little sediment, and no carbonation, which lead me to think that the yeasties just didnt do their job properly this time around!

 

[xpops]

What's the ABV on it? I would try adding more yeast like your source suggests

do you know anyone who's ever done this? i have no clue how much dry yeast id have to add to the bottles, and hoping that someone around here has tried this before.

 

[TastyAdventure]

I don't, but I don't see what you have to lose!

 

[BigFloyd]

At what temperature are you bottle carbing/conditioning?

If you've got them in the 70's, it's a good temp so the problem is likely one of the issues discussed above. If not, get them to a warmer place for a couple of weeks.

 

[xpops]

Hey! Update - its been almost another 5 weeks.....still the same issue with the carb on this pliney clone.

I've got a smack pack of wyeast 1056 and am going to put a little in each bottle.

The question is that since there is a little hiss, I want to avoid popping them and have them possibly gush, so does the following make sense; refrigerate all bottles to same temp as yeast, add a bit of yeast to each, cap them all again, let them warm up to 70 again and let them sit a few weeks.

Does anyone see a problem with this?

Thanks!!

 

[BigFloyd]

1056?

I've not heard of anyone trying to add liquid yeast to bottles for carbing purposes. Better to save that stuff for a batch and use a few bits of some US-05 or Nottingham in each bottle.

 

[xpops]

So you've heard of people successfully doing this? Will pitching the dry yeast into refrigerated temps not stress them out? That's my main concern now.

 

[TechyDork]

So you've heard of people successfully doing this? Will pitching the dry yeast into refrigerated temps not stress them out? That's my main concern now.

I would warm them up to room temp for a few days then add the dry yeast and give them a week or two to carb. Though i have never tried adding a small amount to each bottle. Have you thought of buying some carbonation tablets and using those?

 

[brew_darrymore]

I have heard of people opening all bottles, then emptying them very carefully in a bottling bucket, then adding yeast AND corn sugar, and then, re-bottling the whole batch.

Lots of effort but it's doable.

I was thinking of that small "psssst" you get. That is a sign that some fermentation and carbonation did occur. So, that leads me to believe that some of the priming sugar has been eaten. How much? Nobody knows. That being said, I would empty all botles in a bottling bucket, add a pack of re-hydrated US-05, and I'll add some more priming sugar.

That's just my opinion. What do you guys think?

 

[xpops]

Tablets won't help, there's sugar in there still because I can taste the sweetness...in a double IPA. My concern with letting warm up to room temp, is there was SOME fermentation that has happened, so I'm afraid of them foaming all over which is why I want to try doing it cold so any co2 that may be there, absorbs into the beer. Thoughts?

 

[TechyDork]

If you pitch the yeast at fridge temps they will just go dormant and not give you any carbonation due to the low temps.

 

[ncbrewer]

It seems like if it's carb'd enough to give gushers, even warm, then it's probably pretty well carb'd for drinking - just a guess. I'd try opening one warm and see if it gushes. If not, you don't have to worry.

 

[xpops]

If you pitch the yeast at fridge temps they will just go dormant and not give you any carbonation due to the low temps.

I was planning on letting it warm back up to room temp for a few weeks after pitching. The yeast would reactivate would it not? No different than pulling yeast from fridge and letting warm up and they start doing their thing?

 

[xpops]

Well - I finally got around to re-pitching these bottles. I cracked one open warm....minor hiss, no foam, so figured I was good to go at room temp. I added a bit of yeast, and a tiny bit of dextrose in each bottle to hopefully make up for whatever little sugar was consumed. I even added a hop pellet or two just to see if I could bring back some of that aroma....and just to see how dry hopping in a bottle would work!

I'll post back in a couple weeks to let everyone know how this turned out...I wasn't able to find many threads about this, so it would be nice if I can come back with a success story!!

Thank everyone for all the feedback !

 

[brew_darrymore]

I'll post back in a couple weeks to let everyone know how this turned out...I wasn't able to find many threads about this, so it would be nice if I can come back with a success story!!

Thank everyone for all the feedback !

Best of luck! I look forward to your update in a few weeks.

 

[jaydlaw]

Best of luck! I look forward to your update in a few weeks.

same here

 

[xpops]

!well, i think i can say this was a success! the hop pellets made a real mess of the neck of the bottle during the first week, but it eventually all fell out.

It's only been 2 weeks, but i couldn't resist refrigerating one and trying it out last night....and it's wonderfully carbonated!!

....if only i hadn't tossed and turned on the idea of doing this for 10+ weeks...i could have been drinking this for a while now!

cheers,

 

[brew_darrymore]

!well, i think i can say this was a success! the hop pellets made a real mess of the neck of the bottle during the first week, but it eventually all fell out.

It's only been 2 weeks, but i couldn't resist refrigerating one and trying it out last night....and it's wonderfully carbonated!!

....if only i hadn't tossed and turned on the idea of doing this for 10+ weeks...i could have been drinking this for a while now!

cheers,

Glad to hear it worked! So, you individually dry-hopped each bottle, added some more priming sugar and yeast? Did you rehydrate the yeast first or you just pitched some of the grains directly into the bottles?

 

[xpops]

Glad to hear it worked! So, you individually dry-hopped each bottle, added some more priming sugar and yeast? Did you rehydrate the yeast first or you just pitched some of the grains directly into the bottles?

yes. I put 2-3 hop pellets in each bottle, along with approx 3ml of some liquest 1056 (approx 60% viability - it was a little older).

to be honest....the pellets made a mess, and wasnt worth it...but finally getting some carbonation was 100% worth the risk!