Wootstout not carbonating in bottles

Bottled this up about 1 month ago now. Still waiting for carbonation. Nothing. I’m wondering if the high abv has basically killed off any yeast that would typically remain for bottle carbonation. This batch spent most of its life around 60 degrees in the basement. It has gotten a tad warmer, but not much. I brought a few bottle upstairs to sit in 75 degree air for a week, but no change. I’d expect some bubbles after 4 weeks.

FYI, I used corn sugar. Close to 5 oz.

So… what are my options? pop the caps and add some yeast an re-cap? I’m liking the brew so far, but I’d enjoy it more with Mr. Bubbles.

Oh, and it is a real belly warmer. Like a nice wine, really. :slight_smile:

Tony

How long did this batch sit in the fermenter? Maybe there weren’t enough yeast left in suspension when you bottled.

Are you pretty sure you got the caps on snug?

I’d recommend giving some bottles 2-3 weeks at 75°f before giving up and trying to add yeast.

[quote=“Brick1083”]How long did this batch sit in the fermenter? Maybe there weren’t enough yeast left in suspension when you bottled.

Are you pretty sure you got the caps on snug?

I’d recommend giving some bottles 2-3 weeks at 75°f before giving up and trying to add yeast.[/quote]

Had a long primary and secondary fermentation. 2+ months. It has been bottled for 6 weeks. Just cracked open another one that has been in 75 deg for 2.5 weeks. Nothing. Just a faint hiss.

At this point, I don’t think waiting will do anything for me. If I decided to add yeast, what should I add? Keep in mind, this stuff is 13%+ abv.

Thanks,

Tony.

Another week, and still no fizz. It really is an interesting beer. Even flat, at room temp. Drink 2 and you really don’t care that it didn’t carb up. :slight_smile:

So, I’m going to try adding yeast to 6 bottles or so and wait a couple weeks. What yeast should I add?

Thanks,

Tony

I would try some rehydrated ec-1118. Insanely high alcohol tolerance. The other one to try is WLP099 if you wanted to go the liquid route. Add a little with an eye dropper. Either of them would probably work better if you made a starter and acclimated it to the 5-6% ABV range as it’ll be really rough on them to pitch directly into the high alcohol environment.

How many drops would you suggest? I tried a liquid yeast direct (WLP090) into bottle. No joy. I didn’t use it all, so I might try to make a starter with what is left.

Thanks,

Tony

Just a few - it doesn’t take much viable yeast as long as they can survive the environment. If you do go for a starter with ec-1118, maybe make a sugar-water starter to bring it up to 5-6%ABV, just to get them acclimated, and then add a few drops of the slurry to each bottle.

BTW, WLP099 is good up to 25%ABV. Not sure how high 090 can go. You can also try WY4347 “Eau de Vie,” which can go up to 21%ABV. If you can get them, they’re a great way to go. But dry or liquid, they’ll all work better acclimated to alcohol first.

I’m down to only 3 bottles left. Tried to carb a couple times. Just can’t stop drinking it. :slight_smile: I’ll definitely try this brew again and maybe let it bottle condition rather than sit 2 months in secondary. I’m not set up to keg yet ($$$), so I’m hoping on the second round I’ll get it right.

Tony

I had the commercial version a few days ago…didn’t seem like there was a lot of carbonation…but it was damned delicious.