high abv not carbonating

[croakerj]

I have a 10.???? ABV IPA that has been in bottles for two weeks not carbonating. I did not add more yeast before bottling. If I leave it will it carb or is it all dead?

 

[jhoyda]

2 weeks is the minimum for something like 6%, if yours is 10% it may be 4-6 weeks before it's carbonated. Be patient!

 

[homebrewdad]

Two weeks? Three weeks at 70 degrees F is the baseline for typical gravity beers. High gravity or low temps can take longer. You'll see this advice posted over and over and over and over again every single week on HBT.

If a 10% beer was carbed it two weeks, I would be STUNNED.

I've seen tales of high gravity beers taking a couple of months to properly carb up. Honestly, this beer will probably need to agee a bit anyway, even once it reaches full carb.

 

[looneybomber]

You're probably fine. I have a 10.x% AbV IPA that I bottled a few days ago. It's just now getting a noticeable amount of carbonation. I check it daily by squeezing the plastic bottle. For every batch I brew, I always use one PET bottle just so I can check carb levels without having to lift a cap. I too was worried since I used US05 yeast and that's close to the limit of the yeast.

If a 10% beer was carbed it two weeks, I would be STUNNED.

It's completely doable if pitching some champagne yeast when bottling. I pitched EC1118 when bottling my ~10% quad and my plastic bottle was shockingly hard in a week.

*edit*
Just bottled a 14.7% RIS tonight. I pitched a rehydrated packet of EC1118. I hope it's strong enough to carb this!

 

[BigFloyd]

Plan on giving this one at least 4-5 weeks (maybe more) at 70-75*F before it's fully carbed. You're woefully premature at 2 weeks. It will also help if you do at least 3 days in the fridge before opening.

 

[duboman]

My 10.2% Belgian IPA consistently takes 7-9 weeks to properly carbonate, be patient

 

[homebrewdad]

It's completely doable if pitching some champagne yeast when bottling. I pitched EC1118 when bottling my ~10% quad and my plastic bottle was shockingly hard in a week.

Congratulations. You are the proud owner of one of those "well, actually..." posts. Kind of like the guy who defends the frat boy who won't drink homebrew due to the estrogen content.

Champagne yeast would indeed likely help a high gravity beer to carb up quicker. The OP mentioned no such addition. It is not normal practice for most homebrewers to add champagne yeast unless something is wrong.

So I stand my my original assertion - in a typical situation, I'd be stunned if a 10% beer was carbed in two weeks.

 

[looneybomber]

Looks like that struck a nerve. Maybe another cup of coffee would help?

 

[croakerj]

Tough to be patient with it, its beautiful. Oh well I will drink another of the 3 beers I have ready.

 

[croakerj]

Being that its an IPA. I wanted to drink it before I started to lose the hops flavor but the experience here definitely more than mine so salut

 

[homebrewdad]

Looks like that struck a nerve. Maybe another cup of coffee would help?

Not at all. Post whatever you like. I just don't see the value in bringing in unusual variables that don't apply to the situation at hand, especially when the question is of the beginner variety.

I can absolutely see the value in you starting a new topic along the lines of "hey, get your high ABV beers to carb up quickly!" and explaining your success with champagne yeast additions.

But when a newbie says "my 10% beer isn't carbed in two weeks, what's wrong", the correct answer is "nothing".

Feel free to disagree. I certainly do not own the forum.

 

[jhoyda]

Not at all. Post whatever you like. I just don't see the value in bringing in unusual variables that don't apply to the situation at hand, especially when the question is of the beginner variety.

I can absolutely see the value in you starting a new topic along the lines of "hey, get your high ABV beers to carb up quickly!" and explaining your success with champagne yeast additions.

But when a newbie says "my 10% beer isn't carbed in two weeks, what's wrong", the correct answer is "nothing".

Feel free to disagree. I certainly do not own the forum.

I agree completely.

 

[looneybomber]

Not at all. Post whatever you like. I just don't see the value in bringing in unusual variables that don't apply to the situation at hand, especially when the question is of the beginner variety.

I can absolutely see the value in you starting a new topic along the lines of "hey, get your high ABV beers to carb up quickly!" and explaining your success with champagne yeast additions.

But when a newbie says "my 10% beer isn't carbed in two weeks, what's wrong", the correct answer is "nothing".

Feel free to disagree. I certainly do not own the forum.

I mention it because I have had two batches that didn't carb even though everyone told me DWRHAHB and kept telling me to wait, that "nothing" was wrong. 6mo later and zero carb/pressure, I had to uncap all the bottles and squirt in a tiny bit of champagne yeast. I still have a few that I didn't uncap and add yeast to and they're still not carbed after 12mo.

Maybe it's unusual, but it still happened to me. That's the reason I give an extra bit of information, just in case another reader (or the OP) has issues with carbing.

That said, I did not add any champagne yeast to my IPA I bottled a few days ago since I didn't secondary it very long. Had I secondaried a 10+% beer more a month or more, I would use champagne yeast at bottling. Cheap insurance.

 

[croakerj]

That was all I was looking for