Carbing a 4 1/2 year old sour beer...

[Phenders]

Ok so long story short I made an Amber ale and forgot about it. It sat in the basement for 4 years (this was due to a divorce and life happening not neglect!).
I tasted it.... not bad not great. So after 4 years we added 3 pounds of peaches and some bugs and it’s been sitting for 9 months. How the hell do we carb it?!?! Do we need to get rid of the bugs? Or just ad a champagne yeast to carb? Thanks!

 

[bigdawg86]

What the heck... how are people forgetting about all these beers. First 8 years now almost 5?! What's the gravity? ABV? Why couldn't you just prime and bottle carb as usual? I'd imagine you'd have to pitch some yeast to carb...

 

[Phenders]

It’s not like I left it on purpose. I’d just like to know how to card the damn thing.

 

[filthyastronaut]

Repitch yeast, bottle condition as normal. Any readily available cleanish yeast will do the trick, although if the ABV is very high it might cause some issues depending on the yeast. What's the ABV?

 

[Phenders]

Unfortunately I do t have the abv. But I’d say it’s about 5%. Judging by the original recipe.
So, I should throw in a pack of yeast and bottle?

 

[sborz22]

Unfortunately I do t have the abv. But I’d say it’s about 5%. Judging by the original recipe.
So, I should throw in a pack of yeast and bottle?

It's safe to say that no more CO2 will be produced. Add some priming sugar and some clean yeast and bottle that bad boy.

What type of bug did you use?

Any pics?

Oh one more thing- if your ph is really low make sure to account for that with you pitch rate/yeast choice!

 

[radwizard]

What is the gravity now? You should also consider bottle conditioning with Brett.

 

[Phenders]

Wyeast 5526.

 

[biochemedic]

I'm going to be that guy....Is force carbing an option? Perhaps now would be a good time to buy a kegging system if you don't have one?

But seriously, if you used brett, wouldn't that still be able to eat up some priming sugar without too much trouble? I have to admit, I have no experience actually brewing with brett...

 

[TimmyWit]

I usually bottle my sours with a pack of Red Star Premier Cuvee. It's neutral and alcohol tolerant.