Barley Wine Rescue
Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:24 pm
by mykafone
I brewed and bottled at huge barley wine about 6 months ago. I guess I should of, but, didnt pitch extra yeast at bottling. Now its flat. I still plan on aging for as long as possible but I like to sample every month or so. How should I go about carbin my flat ass barley wine?
Re: Barley Wine Rescue
Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 9:02 pm
by Mylo
I remember that somebody (Danny?) posted a story about somebody "running their CPF in reverse" to get it back into the keg with minimal oxydation. I think that you should probably just uncap them, sprinkle some dry yeast, and recap. If you do it quick enough in a draft free environment then you shouldn't get too much oxygen in there - and hell, some folks say that a Barley Wine should have a touch of oxidation anyway.
Mylo
Re: Barley Wine Rescue
Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 9:09 pm
by DannyW
Yep, that was me. i tried adding a couple of grains to each bottle of a big flat barleywine and it did nothing. Perhaps rehydrated would work better, or even a couple ml of actively fermenting yeast would work even better yet. Running the bottles through the filler into a purged keg works for sure, though. Then you can adjust to your liking and rebottle later if you want.
Re: Barley Wine Rescue
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 7:20 am
by beerocracy
Before you give up on it, what conditions have they been conditioning under? If they've been in a cool place like a closet or basement, try moving them somewhere warmer. Also, try shaking them once a week to resuspend the yeast in solution. I had a big Belgian Dark Strong that was sweet and undercarbonated after 2 months. Shaking the bottles once a week for a few weeks got the yeast going and it eventually carbonated fully.
Re: Barley Wine Rescue
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 9:22 am
by Brew Engineer
I had a similar situation with a Russian Imperial Stout. I CAREFULLY poured them back into a keg and carbonated it. Then I've bottled as needed. This beer won me a silver medal!
Re: Barley Wine Rescue
Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 10:17 pm
by mykafone
beerocracy wrote:Before you give up on it, what conditions have they been conditioning under? If they've been in a cool place like a closet or basement, try moving them somewhere warmer. Also, try shaking them once a week to resuspend the yeast in solution. I had a big Belgian Dark Strong that was sweet and undercarbonated after 2 months. Shaking the bottles once a week for a few weeks got the yeast going and it eventually carbonated fully.
I live in the desert - They have been fairly/too warm 70-80. No cool storage within a hundred miles of here..