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I brewed a DIPA using extract and bottled the brew as I normally would. Used my priming sugar in the bottling bucket, etc. After 2 weeks of conditioning there was no carbonation at all. I test one bottle at a time. So after another week, I put a bottle in the fridge, waited a few days, maybe a full week, then opened it, still nothing. At this point, it's been 6 weeks of conditioning and I still have zero carbonation in the bottle. What can I do to get some carbonation? Can I add a drop of yeast to a bottle and test it? A drop of sugar maybe? Someone please help lol. The flavor is on point and it's a 10% abv but I need even a little bit of carbonation.
 
The alcohol tolerance of US-05 is 10% but the remaining yeast in your bottles might be a little tired.

The picture shows what approx. 1 grain, by weight, of dry yeast looks like. I don’t know how accurate these little, $20, pocket size, drug dealer scales are at that tolerance (there are approx. 15.5 grains in a gram) but you might try adding a pinch of fresh yeast to a bottle, or two, to see what develops.
E9B84D31-A813-4DF3-9542-D10823F82CD8.jpeg
 
The alcohol tolerance of US-05 is 10% but the remaining yeast in your bottles might be a little tired.

The picture shows what approx. 1 grain, by weight, of dry yeast looks like. I don’t know how accurate these little, $20, pocket size, drug dealer scales are at that tolerance (there are approx. 15.5 grains in a gram) but you might try adding a pinch of fresh yeast to a bottle, or two, to see what develops.View attachment 718317
Thank you! I will give it a try. Hopefully no explosions late at night lol
 
Thank you! I will give it a try. Hopefully no explosions late at night lol
I don’t think adding a bit of yeast will cause bottle bombs. You’d have to have an excess of fermentable sugars for that to happen. I’m guessing you have enough sugar but are lacking enough active yeast
 
I would definitely recommend filling a 12 ounce twist-top soda bottle with the contents of one of the failed-to-carb bottles then treat it the same as the rest. Keep tabs on that plastic bottle: as the primer ferments the bottle will get harder to squeeze and at ~2.something volumes will be pretty close to rigid.

This will help avoid prematurely uncapping your glass...

Cheers!
 
All, appreciate the insights. I am having the same problem with an Octoberfest. It was my first attempt at a lager. The beer seems to taste ok, but no/slight carbonation. It was a Northern Brew extract kit and I lagered for over 3 months at 36 - 38 deg F. My ABV came out around 6%. I primed and bottled as I always have and after 4 weeks in the bottle, no change. Yeast was Saflager W/34-70.

Can I use the same technique described above to see if I can activate some carbonation? If yes, and it works, I will then need to open each bottle, add a pinch of yeast and recap, yes?

Thanks for the help!
 
Update: Opened a bottle, added a pinch of yeast, let sit for another week. There was zero change. I am going to run another experiment. I'm going to take three bottles. Add yeast to one, add sugar to another, and add both to the third. Hopefully I'll get good results from one of them.
 
The alcohol tolerance of US-05 is 10% but the remaining yeast in your bottles might be a little tired.

The picture shows what approx. 1 grain, by weight, of dry yeast looks like. I don’t know how accurate these little, $20, pocket size, drug dealer scales are at that tolerance (there are approx. 15.5 grains in a gram) but you might try adding a pinch of fresh yeast to a bottle, or two, to see what develops.View attachment 718317
I recognize that "little drug dealer scale" as the same scale I use to reload ammo. If its not accurate I would have likely blown myself up long ago.
 
I recognize that "little drug dealer scale" as the same scale I use to reload ammo. If its not accurate I would have likely blown myself up long ago.
Yeah, I bought mine, from Midwest Arms, about 20 years ago to use for reloading. I also have a 60+ year old Herter’s beam scale that I inherited from one of my grandfathers. The beam scale is more adjustable but the digital one is good for +/- .1 grain.
 
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