Is my yeast to tired?!?!

[brewinbarry013]

A buddy of mine that had a beer sitting in secondary for months ended up having problems with it carbonating. After a little research we concluded that a possible reason could be that the yeast was worn out from just sitting for so long. Also if i remember correctly it was a fairly high ABV with around 9%.

My Question is that i have a robust porter that i did and it has been sitting in secondary on oak chips for just over two months. Has my yeast been sitting too long or is it still active enough to carbonate my beer in bottles?? I dont have a kegging system but my brew buddy does so it is possible to keg and force carb, but not ideal. Also the porter came out to about 7.5% ABV, and it has been just over three months total since the brew date of this beer.

I've heard of people bottling after longer than this and it worked just fine, but i just dont want to bottle this beer and end up have it not carbonating. Any input or opinions would really be helpful guys. Prost!

 

[Revvy]

You're over worrying and over thinking it.

Here's how you carb beer.

1) Bottle it.

2)Stick it in a place that is above 70 degrees

3) Check it after A MINIMUM 3 weeks. If it's carbed fine, if not proceed to step 4.

4) Check it in another week or two , if it's carbed fine, if not repeat step 4 until it is.

It's not rocket science, it's patience.

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them more time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.

I've carbed hundreds of gallons of beer, and never had a beer that wasn't carbed, or under carbed or anything of the sort (Except for a batch where I accidently mixed up lactose or Maltodextrine for priming sugar). Some took awhile, (as I said up to six months) but they ALL eventually carbed.

I've left my beer in primary for over 6 months and it carbed just fine.

 

[josiahcox]

The short advice I can give you is - RDWHAHB - Your beer is probably just fine and your yeast will probably work great. They are tough little beasties. Like you said, lots of people bottle well longer after two months with no issues.

Revvy, your patience and williness to answer the same questions with good lengthy answers constantly amazes me.
Thank you! I know the newer brewers on here appreciate it a lot.

 

[brewinbarry013]

Thanks guys I really appreciate the input. I tasted it today and it is really good! The smoke and chocolate flavors are mellowed out quite nicely and the aroma and taste of oak is definatly there but no-where near overwhelming so i wanted to go ahead and bottle it now before the oak gets stronger. Also:

Revvy, your patience and williness to answer the same questions with good lengthy answers constantly amazes me.
Thank you! I know the newer brewers on here appreciate it a lot.

+1 Revvy, i've seen many of your posts and you are very informative and helpful. I agree all us home brewers truely appreciate your patience to sit down and help us out with problems or concerns that we may be having.

Well guys, hopefully i will be bottling tonight and enjoying this great beer in a few weeks, or however long it takes, for it to carbonate!

 

[wonderbread23]

I'd reyeast it. Dry yeast is cheap insurance and a hell of a lot easier than dealing with a bunch of flat bottles. There is a reason that the vast majority of commercial breweries who bottle condition add a bit of fresh yeast to their bottle conditioned beers.