ive been making a burton ale every year for 3 years and every time after 5 months ofbottleing it is fairly carbed, but not fully carbed. Usually use 4.5 oz of sugar per 5 gallons. Do I need to do something different or is this usually. A low carbed beer.
Unless your yeast quit on you (due to temperature or health), carbonation level is completely dependent on the amount of sugar used per amount of beer (and to a small extent on the headspace in the bottles). Are you sure you're only seeing this issue with this one style?
Yes English ales are usually carbonated at a lower level. The lower carb on a low alcohol beer ensures a more "creamy" mouthfeel. Too much carbonation will cause the beer to taste thin.
So, when you say low carb, is it flat or is there some carbonation? If it's flat and happening with every beer you're doing, there's probably something wrong with your process. 4.5oz should be plenty. That being said, if it's just this beer that's not carbing you can always add a half a pack of rehydrated EC-1118 champagne yeast at bottling. This yeast only eats up the simple sugars you added without over attenuating your beer and is super neutral with no off flavors. With this about of yeast I get a nice, thin, compact layer of yeast on the bottom of the bottle. I've also heard Cask and Conditioning yeast works great, but I personally haven't used it because the champagne yeast is $0.99.
@VikeMan only this style, everything else carbs better @daem3384 not flat just very little carbonation, I have thought of adding extra yeast at bottling, but thought I'd put it out there and see what the responsecs were
Is that with the same amount of sugar for the other styles? If so, it sounds like your burton ale yeast is quitting on you. What's the strain and what's the ABV?
@VikeMan yes, 4.5 oz per 5 gallons. I use Nottingham and it clocks in around 9 to 9.5 abv. @Brew_Betty primary 2 weeks, secondary 1 month
I've never used Nottingham. Danstar lists its alcohol tolerance as "relatively high." Not really helpful. How much yeast did you pitch?
Hello Gorm, your situation doesn't require immediate action. I will gladly give you an answer that will work 100% of the time for future beers similar to this one. Your big beers will be properly carbed and ready to drink in 2-3 weeks. I have all the information I need.
It's harder to get yeast to do the work when they are in a high alcohol environment. Takes longer, in my experience (but I have never carbonated a 9%er beer with Notty). Pitching some extra yeast a packaging would help. In another thread recently I suggested a quarter of an 11 g package of dry yeast, a crude estimate based on a couple times where I used half a paackage and got the desired carbonation results but also ended up with a noticeably higher amount of sediment in the bottle. I would think more Nottingham would do the trick, but the Champagne yeast suggestion is possibly a better idea. I've only used it 1x to carbonate a sparkling dry mead that was probably in the same ballpark as your beer, abv wise. Are you using a priming calculator to come up with those 4.5 oz of sugar? Just curious if you have a target value for volumes of CO2. As others said, English styles typically are carbonated less than American styles, so if you were trying to really nail the style, it might be perfect as is. Of course, there aren't too many people educated in this particular style, and no one may notice but you, so you may as well try to carbonate to the level that you think you'll most enjoy.
not trying to nail the style at all, just liked the idea of massive hopping with fuggles and goldings. Yep, I know that is not the true burton ale, but, as far as high ABV, I have easily carbed my irs which has been as high as 11 abv and was fermented with a notty started. Since I do not check pH, or water chemistry I was wondering if one of these might be the issue but just don't know.
I recently did an English strong ale with Nottingham. At 11.25%, it was in secondary for three months and I added an extra half packet of Nottingham at bottling time. It was carbonated in about a month.
How massive is your hopping on this? Do you do a lot of dry hopping towards the end of secondary? Just curious as English hops leave me underwhelmed, though I am highly appreciative of the malt and yeast presence in English styles. The solution may involve being more generous with my hopping.
