Beer Forum

Local startup brewery is having an issue with one of their beers not carbonating in the bottle. The other styles don't have a problem with it, just this one. The problem is with the porter and is the only beer I tried. I'm trying to help them.

I'm getting more details from the brewer, but it's a 6.4% ABV beer. He's pitching 1oz S-05 yeast per barrel. JZ's calculator states for an (assumed) OG of 1.065 to use 77.05g of yeast or about 2.7oz per barrel. He's priming with 15oz cane sugar per barrel. BS's calculator states about 19oz per barrel.

Seems to me he's under pitching the yeast, but fermentation seems OK, and under priming with sugar. With under pitching the yeast, maybe the yeast is stressed out so much it doesn't have the energy to eat the priming sugar, which is also under pitched.

I am waiting on what the OG and FG are, the target CO2 volumes, and what temperature they are conditioned and will provide that info when I get it.

Am I getting on the right track with stressed yeast as the main culprit?

Got back to me. He looked over my numbers and noticed his math was wrong. He was using priming rates for kegs, not for a complete barrel. Also seems like he's repitching yeast along with priming sugar prior to bottling, which I never heard of doing. Trying to find out if he's filtering after fermentation, then pitching yeast and sugar to carbonate.

OG 1.064
68 degrees
2.3 volumes

BeerSmith calculates 23.9oz sugar for the above numbers. He said his software states 71oz of sugar for priming and 100,000 cells per mL for priming. Don't know what he's using.

Got everything worked out. Thanks for...oh, wait...

Adam wrote:Got everything worked out. Thanks for...oh, wait...

Any chance you could share what the solution was? Just in case one of us have the same issue.

Cheers.

Sugar and yeast pitch rate, temperature, and duration. Realize this is a 3BBL system and not truly linear toward a homebrew system.