Looking for some guidance here. About 3.5 weeks ago, I bottled a big English Barleywine (1.110 OG). This was brewed on 1/14/13, racked to secondary on 2/23/13, and bottled on 7/6/13. I primed and stirred in my priming sugar and everything seemed good to go. I just cracked open my first bottle and there was literally nothing in terms of carbonation. Not even a hiss upon cracking the label. I'm all about exercising patience with regard to bottle conditioning, but I must admit that I was surprised to not even get a hiss upon opening this one up. I now turn to you BA homebrewers. How would you proceed? Given the size of this beer, should I just assume that the minute amount of active yeast left in the bottles, assuming there is some remaining, needs more time to carbonate the beer (i.e., the leave it alone approach)? Or, would you pop the caps on each of the bottles, pour in a few dry yeast cells, and recap? I appreciate any and all advice.
Uber-high OG brews take longer to carb...especially if no re-yeasting happened at bottling time. Time heals all homebrews...expect when it doesn't. Options: Rouse the yeast in each bottle, store in a warm location, and wait. Pop the top, add a tiny pinch of dry yeast, re-cap, store in a warm location, and wait. Blend with another brew.
I typically keep my bottles somewhere that is a few degrees warmer than the fermenting temp so that i can help re-energize the yeast before the bottles go back to the basement. I agree with Herb above that high gravity beers take a little longer, so if yours went straight to the basement after bottling then you could try a couple days in a warmer area.
Patience will reward you greatly for a 1.110 barleywine...for carbonation AND flavor. It hasn't even been in the bottle for a month yet, for crying out loud. Check back in 2014.
I agree with comments about time/patience, warmer ferment temps, and rousing yeast as all possibly helping. But given that you did not even get a sound upon opening the bottles (of escaping CO2) I would share your worry. And I assume you also could not sense/taste any difference in CO2 level from the bottle vs. from bottling day? So maybe your yeast strain might have reached its tolerance level (what did you use?), or maybe you just racked so well off of the dormant and well flocculated 'yeast cake' two times now that you have a limited number of tired yeast cells in your bottles, mostly sitting at the bottom. So I'd go first with another 6 weeks of waiting after rousing the yeast and putting the bottles in a warm area 65-72 seems ideal. If no carbonation then I'd add some more high alcohol tolerance yeast in some form or another (dry is fine and easy so long as it is high tolerance).
Appreciate the responses thus far. I understand the "have patience" sentiment and agree that on almost every occasion, the answer is "relax, the beer needs more time." However, I was concerned, as Gilmango said, that there was absolutely no sound of escaping CO2 upon opening. I didn't expect the beer to be fully carbed, but I did think there would be some progression towards carbonation. At present, my plan is to give this another 5 weeks before cracking another test bottle. If there has been no progress by then I will plan to open each bottle and reyeast. As far as the question about yeast type, I used Wyeast 1968. I realize that it has already given me close to everything it has, as this fermented down to 1.027.
I know that feeling, but I also don't think you have anything to worry about. I made a RIS that fermented down to about the same from 1.108, and it was barely carbonated at 4 weeks, yet almost fully carbonated at two months. Just be patient, and make sure to report back with the outcome.
Wait a few weeks. It's a barleywine. Why are you cracking it so early? In a few weeks you should be fine.
Thanks for the reassurance everyone. I will report back in a few weeks. I must say that even without carbonation, this one is tasting incredible. Perhaps the best beer I've made to date. Caramel, brown sugar, and toffee deliciousness. I drank the still 12 ounce bottle and enjoyed every drop.
One trick I would suggest is taking the bottles and turning them (and leaving) completely upside down in a slightly warmer place. If you're still not getting carbonation in a few weeks, putting like one or two little dry yeast grains in each beer has been reported to work for some people, although I've never personally resorted to this. I also suggest re-yeasting a beer at priming prior to bottling if the beer has sat around for a while (meaning a few months).
Given how inexpensive and simple a step re-yeasting at bottling is, I think I might just make this my new procedure with all beers that undergo extended aging. I'll give your tip a try however.
I have a had luck flipping them upside down and lightly shaking them up too. I currently have a 8%abv beer that had barely any carb after 10 days even with shaking them up though. Time usually helps, but I plan to try the warmer temp idea too..Thanks for posts all..
I have a similar issue. I brewed a brown sugar whisky barrel pumpkin ale. It's at 8%. It's been bottled over a month. I've tried two bottles at different times and no carbonation hiss or a hint of carbonation in the taste. I'm okay with letting it sit since the whisky is still a little forward in the taste but it's blending well over time for the two tastings. Just looking for reassurance that the waiting is the right option. Thanks for any reassurance or advice.
I have had luck popping the caps off, adding lallemand cbc bottling yeast to the bottles, and recapping the bottles.
