Too many conflicting opinions

[NYShooterGuy]

The problem I have right now is:

I fermented an imperial stout (OG 1.112) with Wyeast London ESB for 11 days and racked off to a carboy.

FG 1.028 (11.154% ABV). Will this carbonate in the bottle?

I brewed a similar beer, an imperial IPA OG 1.081 and FG 1.015 (8.747% ABV). Bottled on 12/31/2014 and the bottles are still flat after being stored in 68° temps.

So far I've been told:
1.) To add champagne yeast now and let it ferment out. Prime and bottle as normal
2.) Add champagne yeast at bottling along with priming sugar.
3.) Add more London ESB yeast at bottling along with the priming sugar.
4.) Add Nottingham yeast at bottling along with the priming sugar.
5.) Bottle with suspended yeast along with the priming sugar and RDWHAHB.

I don't want bottle bombs, I don't want flat beer. I don't want alcoholic water.

I understand that the champagne yeast won't ferment the maltose so I should retain most of the beer flavor if I add champagne yeast now, and I understand the potential for bottle bombs if I add the champagne yeast WITH priming sugar at bottling.

I assume the same yeast used for fermentation will die before being able to convert the priming sugar because of the high alcohol content.

So what do you think?

 

[RM-MN]

Bottled on 12/31/2014 and the bottles are still flat after being stored in 68° temps.

Warm them up! Your yeast has struggled to ferment the beer this far and it needs all the help it can get to carbonate the beer. Try keeping the bottles at 72 to 75 degrees for another 2 weeks and then see if you have carbonation. It may take longer than that to get fully carbonated.

 

[progmac]

You get a lot of answers because it is a complicated question. Champagne yeast or the new Danstar bottle conditioning yeast, CBC-1, are good choices for the reason that you mention. However, the piece of information that we don't know is how your yeast health was during fermentation and if 1.028 was the true final gravity or if there are still fermentable sugars in there. Because if there are, any yeast you add might consume both the bottling sugar and any remaining sugar from an incomplete fermentation. If you feel confident about your OG, a bit of yeast might help.

It's been only a month, though, perhaps wait another month before considering adding yeast.

Not that you asked, but in general I am a fan of adding fresh yeast at bottling. I almost always do. I have found that it makes a remarkable difference in the quality and speed of carbonation.

 

[Hello]

Like progmac stated, there is something we don't know, which is the health of your yeast. Speaking only about your stout, did you pitch a single package of the ESB yeast? Did you make a starter? Was there any yeast nutrient added just prior to flame out?

With regards to your DIPA, I would say that RM-MN is right, warm those bottles up and wake that yeast. Again, how did you pitch your yeast and how much? Both of those OGs would be in desperate need of at least two packages, a starter would have done them both well.

I haven't been brewing long and I don't bottle much now, but I never added yeast at bottling. I have a 10% beer that I bottled, it was green and needed time (it took over 9 months to be okay) but it carbonated within about 4 weeks. I only added priming sugar at bottling. Difference is or may be that I pitched an ample amount of yeast.

 

[NYShooterGuy]

As for the DIPA, I made a 2L Starter from dry Danstar BRY-97 yeast that was manufactured less then 4 months prior to making the stater.

The ESB was a slurry of 40 oz. Of Londo ESB washed the day prior from a ESB I transferred to a carboy.

Both had almost twice the amount of healthy yeast needed for the fermentation.

 

[NYShooterGuy]

As an update: I racked the Imperial Stout off the yeast and Into my Plastic 6.5 gallon Big Mouth Bubbler. I've heard plastic isn't great for long conditioning because it can permeate O2. Combine that and the 1.5+ gallons of headspace, and I'm just asking for oxygenated beer.

I poured an Oatmeal Stout I brewed the same day I racked onto the spent yeast cake. Today (60 hrs later), my gravity dropped from 1.060 to 1.028. It still has more work to do, but I proved to me that the yeast still had plenty of umph to chew through all that malt in 60 hours.

So can I re pitch this exhausted yeast back into the bottling bucket with priming sugar, or go the champagne yeast route. Be sure I have a brand new packet that will complete the fermentation and have plenty left over for the priming sugar?

 

[McKnuckle]

If I had to guess, I'd suggest that the original yeast may have reached its limit of alcohol tolerance. The Wyeast website says 9%. Your beer is over 11%. That's not a great match.

The problem with bottling with the original residual yeast, or even adding more yeast of the same variety, is that it may be unable to perk up due to the ABV. However, if you placed the bottles in a very warm spot (75F), and wait a somewhat extended time (4 weeks minimum), you might get lucky.

The problem with adding Champagne yeast is that it might ferment the beer dry or close to it, which would ruin it AND cause bottle bombs! This is a tough one. Time to get into kegging perhaps??

Another option might be to introduce a new beer yeast altogether, for example a Belgian type with a high alcohol tolerance in the 12% range, into the secondary that you now have racked into. Let it work for a week or until it appears to finish, then clarify and bottle from there. That's still iffy but better than using Champagne yeast, which goes up to around 18%.

 

[NYShooterGuy]

Kegging right now is not an option. What if I add sterile H2O and lower the ABV to let the yeast survive? Sounds nutty, but what other options are there so as not to ruin this beer?

 

[Bobby_M]

Half a pack of any wine yeast, added at the same time as the priming sugar. Keep them warm, 70-75F.

 

[McKnuckle]

If you are patient, you could bottle literally a couple of bottles with carbonation drops. Put them in a warm place inside a box (in case the unthinkable happens). Try them in 3 weeks. If carbed, move forward and bottle the rest of the batch. Place all fully carbed bottles in the refrigerator to avoid the risk of continuing fermentation (however unlikely it might be).

 

[kh54s10]

I like what Bobby_M suggests or the new Danstar CBC-1

With any it may take longer than normal for this big beer. I would not try to dilute it. IMO

 

[Cyclman]

How does it taste?

If it's good, I would bottle and prime. Big beers take 2-3 times longer to carb in my experience, but they also need longer to smooth out, so it balances a bit.

If it is sweet, go the champagne route.

 

[NYShooterGuy]

Tasted really good. Coffee and toffee flavors, some slight sulfur, but I had that in every beer and they all finish great.