When to call a failed carbonation?

[TyTanium]

...It's been 8 months and still no carbing...

...this beer is going to need years to mature...

Something's amiss

 

[Stauffbier]

I don't think any of us are saying that this always happens with high gravity beers. We're just saying that it can happen, and when it does you have a few options. You can open bottles and re-pitch, force carb individual bottles, or wait it out. For those of us that have chosen to wait it out, it can take a long while.

I've had this problem once in my brewing history, and it wasn't even high gravity. It was only a 6.5% beer. My theory was that the yeast I used was high flocculating yeast that had settled out to the point of there being very little left in suspension. On bottling day I likely racked very clear beer that had an extremely low cell count which caused an extremely slow carbonation process. The beer literally took over 10 months to carb, but it did eventually. Sure, I wasn't happy about the wait, but I had enough homebrew to keep my happy. Since then I always swish the racking cane in to the yeast cake to pick up a little yeast when racking to a bottle bucket to ensure I have a decent amount of yeast.

Of coarse the other possibility in some cases is that a person may have used a yeast that didn't have a high enough alcohol tolerance to handle the job of carbonating. In that case you can indeed re-pitch a different yeast in the bottle. In that case I would be careful not to pitch yeast that is going to massively attenuate and overcarb or dry out the beer. Maybe instead of champagne yeast I would consider using an ale yeast with a higher tolerance than the yeast used for fermentation, if at all possible.

 

[smizak]

The beauty of champagne yeast is that it has a really difficult time metabolizing complex sugars, but will tear up simple sugars in a high ABV, low ph beer in no time. I've heard wine yeast experts say that it can't even metabolize maltose.

I will say it again, if you want to speed up carbing on big beers, buy a $1.50 packet of Champagne yeast. I've had 10% Tripels carb in three days.

 

[Jsbeckton]

A few clarifications, the beer has some carb so not completely flat and I used the same belgian strain that got it to the FG just fine (pitched fresh yeast).

If I were to try the champagne route, do I need to dump everything into a bucket and mix? seems that this would end up being oxygenated. If I had to combine all of the beer again I'd be inclined to just force carb. Then again, if those yeast ever wake up....boom!

 

[smizak]

rehydrate the yeast and add it to the bottles with an eye dropper or your finger over a straw. Couple drops will do.

 

[Jsbeckton]

show me a beer that is flat at 4 months and perfectly carbed at 12 and i'll eat my hat.

Update, after oh I guess about 7 months now, the beer is carbed! Thanks everyone who convinced me to wait it out.

 

[ICWiener]

I made a barleywine about 4 months ago, same problem. 1.094 OG attenuated down to 1.017. The yeast was toast. I should've added a bottling pitch, but I just went ahead with the priming sugar. It's still nowhere close to carbed. But on the bright side the bottle that I cracked open last month tasted pretty good!

I'm gonna give it 8 months, if there's still nothing I might open them up and add 1 ml of rehydrated yeast to each bottle, then re-cap.

 

[Brewskii]

I'd eat my hat if it wasn't better carbed and better tasting in another 4 months or so..…

~I'm not gonna say anything here~

 

[GrogNerd]

~I'm not gonna say anything here~

yet, you did.

so, tell us; what is the Chapeau du Jour? and when do you expect to dine?

I just caught wind of this thread and would have reminded everyone if you hadn't brought it up.

Bon Appétit!

 

[progmac]

I didn't tell you guys this, but my hat is made from Doritos. So that's a big help.

 

[GrogNerd]

I didn't tell you guys this, but my hat is made from Doritos. So that's a big help.

oh, my mistake.

it looked like Brewskii linked back to his own post, so I thought that he would eat his hat

but now I see it was you.

now, no one would actually make you eat a hat.

yeah, we would. and no Doritos; break out one of your trucker hats

 

[progmac]

i think i'll put my hat in the food processor first, maybe mix it with some protein powder and eat it a little at a time.

i'll have to call up the man who eats airplanes and ask for advice

 

[Brewskii]

I didn't tell you guys this, but my hat is made from Doritos. So that's a big help.

I didn't want to be a ******; but I couldn't help it.

If I hadn't just been through it with a 12% Belgian , I'd have been right there with you.
My Belgian was my first high alc/slow carb beer, but it has since light on other people I know who had mysterious carbing issues with bottle conditioned high alc. beers

High alc beers will definitely carb and condition but you have to factor in many more weeks as you get in the 9% range. -Again; my opinion. I could be wrong but it jives with much I've read and all I've seen.