Re-yeast'ing for bottle carbonation?

[jeremydgreat]

Hey all. Quick question I couldn't seem to find the answer to.

I'm doing a brew that fermented in my primary for about 10 days, after which I racked to secondary (it's a porter, sitting on rum-soaked oak chips.) The recipe calls for the porter to sit in secondary for like a month or so. When I told someone at my LHBS this, they said I might want to let it sit even longer to get as much oak character as possible. Indeed, a lot of recipes call for beer to sit for a month or even longer (looking at the "fruit beer" recipe section on this forum.)

So, my question is... once a beer has been sitting in carboys for like a month or so... isn't all the yeast basically dead? How would I get bottle carbonation? Right now there's basically zero bubbles coming out of my airlock.

Is it common practice to add more yeast (along with the priming sugar) during bottling?

Very nooby question, I know. Thanks in advance!

 

[Golddiggie]

Depending on the OG of the porter, I would have let it sit in primary for 4-8 weeks, then aged on the oak (I prefer cubes to chips, after using both) for 3-6 weeks before bottling. As long as you're not getting dangerously close to the ABV tolerance of the yeast with the brew, you shouldn't need to add more yeast at bottling. There will still be yeast in suspension, even if it looks clear to you, even after a few months. I actually bottled a brew that was on the yeast for a month, then racked twice for different flavor elements (about 6-7 weeks time off the yeast cake). Using no additional yeast, it carbonated just fine. It was 9.7% ABV (yeast was tolerant to ~12%) in case you're wondering.

 

[norsk]

There is a differing of opinion here on when...if ever... to add yeast at bottling. I brew a lot of bigger beers and Belgians which I always add yeast to. Any beer I brew which is over 170...which is 95% of what I brew... I add yeast to...or others which I may have let sit for more than a couple of months. The one time I forgot to add yeast to a big IIPA I ended up adding yeast to the bottle after a couple of months with little carbonation. Came out great.

When in Belgium...do what the Belgians do.

Then again...if you wait long enough most will eventually carb up.

 

[Golddiggie]

There is a differing of opinion here on when...if ever... to add yeast at bottling. I brew a lot of bigger beers and Belgians which I always add yeast to. Any beer I brew which is over 170...which is 95% of what I brew... I add yeast to...or others which I may have let sit for more than a couple of months. The one time I forgot to add yeast to a big IIPA I ended up adding yeast to the bottle after a couple of months with little carbonation. Came out great.

When in Belgium...do what the Belgians do.

Then again...if you wait long enough most will eventually carb up.

170?? Do you mean an OG of 1.070?? In my brews with OG's over 1.070, I only added other yeast to one batch. I did that in an attempt to get it to finish with a lower FG. The SG didn't change, so I bottled it up. Carbonated just fine.

IMO, if you're selecting the correct yeast for the brew, and plan to bottle (priming with sugar) you'll be fine. There are people (old timers) that have had brews sitting for extended periods before bottling and have not added more yeast to them to carbonate.

Of course, there ARE styles that you want more yeast in suspension, when going to bottles. But if you're not brewing that style (such as the OP) then I wouldn't add more yeast before bottling. It won't do any harm to add more, but it probably won't do any good either. If anything, you'll have more sediment in the bottles because you added more yeast for bottling.

 

[norsk]

Most of my beers are in the high .1080-1.096 range and I always add yeast...the same yeast used to ferment. Did the Belgium beer tour thing a while back and they add yeast at bottling and it has worked for me. I've had a couple of big IIPA's that resisted carbing which required re-yeasting...so perhaps I'm more cautious and paranoid than I should be. Bummer cracking open bottles to add yeast.

Still...the only down side is a little sediment in the bottle which is just fine.

 

[1Mainebrew]

I brew a lot of beers >1.070, most of which are belgians, and have a lot of beers on the yeast for a month or more and then will directly bottle (some, now that I keg most) my beer and have never needed to add more yeast. They carb just fine.

 

[Calder]

I'm over a couple of hundred brews now, some have easily been over 6 months before bottling, have never added any new yeast, and only ever had one that didn't carb; it was an 11.5% Cyser with and ale yeast - I assume I just reached the limit of the yeast in that case.

 

[jeremydgreat]

I'm over a couple of hundred brews now, some have easily been over 6 months before bottling, have never added any new yeast, and only ever had one that didn't carb; it was an 11.5% Cyser with and ale yeast - I assume I just reached the limit of the yeast in that case.

Whoah.

So, the general consensus I'm hearing is that adding yeast is appropriate in two situations:

1) Where the style dictates it (i.e. Belgian styles)
2) When you're brewing a "big" bear with high ABV.

For other styles of beer (most ales, stouts, etc) you shouldn't need to add more yeast as a matter of practice. Even if it's been sitting for a month or so.

 

[CTownBrewer]

I've only added more yeast once & that was after an 8 month secondary (bulk aging an 11% barley wine).

Even if it's a bigger beer, if you're not bulk aging for a very extended period of time, you should have plenty of healthy yeast left to carbonate your beer. If you start getting into the 15+% abv range, then you may need to add more.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[unionrdr]

After having read the entire thread,I'm wondering myself. My Burton ale attempt started life at OG 1.065. I've read they had a few different levels of these ales that went from some 1.065 to 1.150! I re-hydrated 4-7g packets of Cooper's ale yeast in 2C of water with 1TBSP dextrose dissolved in boiled & cooled water.
The batch volume is 6 gallons (23L). I don't think I've ever seen a ABV% tolerance listed for the Cooper's ale yeast. I hope it's at least 8.5% or so. If this one gets down to my usual 1.012FG,it'll be a hair over 7.6%. Seems like i'd be cutting it close at priming/bottling time?...or is 28g of yeast a sufficient volume to handle that alcohol level?

 

[Gunpowder]

I'm currently brewing the Tart of Darkness, which is going to be sitting in primary for 9 months... I'm quite sure I'm going to have to pitch yeast when bottling. I just don't know how much, if I should make a starter for it, if I should use the same yeast (Wyeast) or if I can use the Safale #5... etc. I'd appreciate a little help myself with this question.

 

[Golddiggie]

I'm currently brewing the Tart of Darkness, which is going to be sitting in primary for 9 months... I'm quite sure I'm going to have to pitch yeast when bottling. I just don't know how much, if I should make a starter for it, if I should use the same yeast (Wyeast) or if I can use the Safale #5... etc. I'd appreciate a little help myself with this question.

Chances are, unless you're at/above the ABV tolerance of the yeast, there will still be some in suspension to carbonate with. It might take a while, but it will be there.

IF this is a very high ABV batch, then you could pitch a packet of EC-1118 into it a day or three ahead of bottling.

 

[homebrewdad]

OP, I wouldn't bat an eye at bottling after a month of secondary with no new yeast. I did animperial nut brown ale. ~4 weeks primary, ~4 months secondar, 8.66% ABV. No issues whatsoever with carbing, and I added no additional yeast.

Just read today about a guy who did an oaked whiskey stout. 4 weeks primary, ~6 months bulk aged in secondary with oak and whiskey. Carbed up fine, no extra yeast.

Some of that yeast does certainly die in your beer, but a lot of it is still there, alive, in suspension, just waiting for you to feed it something else (i.e. bottling sugar). Like Golddiggie and others have said, unless you are shooting to mimic a given style or have a high enough ABV to kill the yeast, you almost certainly won't need to add anything.

 

[Gaidin53]

I'm going to give the bottling yeast a try. Had some varying degrees of carbonation in my last two batches. I got a dry yeast at NB the lallemand CBC-1. This is a dry yeast that is "yeast for cask & bottle conditioning". Hopefully, don't end up with a ton of sediment but the next 2 batches I bottle will be 8% and 9%. Both are Belgian Tripels.

Darnit! I just looked at my Wyeast yeast nutrient blend for directions since I'm brewing tomorrow night. I accidentally grabbed the wine blend!

Ryan

 

[tgmartin000]

If it's been fermenting longer than six months, I add yeast, that's the only timee I've ever done it.

I sprinkle 1/3 of a packet of champagne yeast as my bottling bucket fills and stir very gently.