So I'll be bottling a Belgian Dark Strong in the next couple weeks for a competition. If all goes well, it will have been in fermentation for about 4 weeks and will have a final gravity of 1.022 (OG was 1.096). The yeast I used was White Labs Monastery Yeast (formerly Trappist). I will be using, from all I've seen, 5oz of corn sugar to bottle. I'm getting concerned because my last couple high gravity brews have not actually carbonated in the bottle. The last was an imperial stout that has been in bottle for about 3 weeks and is still flat (OG 1.090, FG 1.020, White Labs Cal V yeast, 3oz corn sugar at bottling) I'm giving this Belgian almost 4 weeks to do what it needs to in bottle to carbonate. Does anyone have any insight as to what may have gone wrong in previous batches and/or advice on any way I can guarantee it carbs within 4 weeks? I don't have kegging equipment, so force carbing may not be an option unless I borrow stuff. Help!
Three weeks isn't necessarily very long to carbonate a 1.090 beer. Your new beer may or may not get there in 4 weeks. Higher temperatures will make it go faster.
With hi-gravity brews ... it helps to re-yeast at bottling time along with warm conditioning in the low-mid 70s. Use ~1/10 the amount of the original pitch.
Yeah, I've had the same issue with very high gravity beers. They usually develop some carbonation after a while, but not as much as I'd like. I always make a starter when I brew a big beer. I tried something different on last big beer I brewed. It had an OG of 1.088. When I made the starter I reserved a about 1/2 cup and kept it in the fridge until bottling day. I took it out in the morning and let it warm to room temp. I pitched it in the bottling bucket after racking the batch. I had good solid carb in the bottle about 4-5 weeks out.
So when adding yeast at bottling, literally just dump some extra yeast in the bottling bucket along with the priming sugar and beer and that's it? Is it possible to overdo? If I used white labs, just mix it all vigorously and guesstimate 1/10?
I can't help you with the procedure and the amount or type of yeast because I've never had to do that, but I will advise that you don't want to mix 'vigorously' to get it into your beer because you'll introduce air/oxygen. Mix thoroughly but gently would be a better description.
Usually with a Belgium strong or a ris, I will wait 4 months before opening one then wait another month to try another, then start sampling regularly after six months. Defiantly helps with the carbing and they taste better .
If your life depends on having this beer fully carbonated in 4 weeks, I recommend adding new yeast. First choice is CBC-1 which is specifically made for refermentation of high ABV beers. http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/cbc-1-cask-bottle-conditioned-beer-yeast It comes in an 11 g packet and you should only pitch a fraction . . . ideal range for refermentation is 1 - 2 million cells per ml of beer. Second choice would be to buy (or harvest) your WL Monastery yeast. Again you only need/want 1 - 2 million cells/ml so just a dribble should do the trick. There will be some math involved, but hey, we're talking about your life. Third choice would be to toss in any neutral/high-ABV Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain (1 - 2 millon/ml). I've actually done this and it worked, but it is definitely the third choice. Or as VikeMan said, it may get there without adding anything. A Monk with any self-respect (is there any other kind?) would not serve this style beer until 6+ months of aging. If this is an annual competition you might consider submitting next year . . . should be prime by then.
I have used champagne yeast, the same yeast as the beer, high gravity yeast, etc. The best for me has been using champagne yeast rehydrated and added to the bottling bucket. I always have one plastic soda bottle to use as my carb test bottle. It lets me see if the beer is carbing without having to open any bottles.
Brilliant on the plastic test bottle! I like that. I think what I'll do is try and order some of that Danstar CBC-1 first. If my LHBS can't get it, I'll try and use more of the White Labs Trappist yeast. I was told to use half a packet of the dry stuff. So I guess half the vial of White Labs. Does anyone know the effects or if it's possible to add too much yeast at bottling?
If you add fresh yeast that is a better attenuator, I would suggest adding it a couple of days before bottling.
