Re-priming Bottles That Seal Was Not Ok

[christmasbender]

hi

i recently bottled a brew in champagne bottles and the seals did not work properly. the beer is ok it's just not carbonated. so i want to pour all the flat beer back into a fermenter and add another priming solution and bottle into regular longnecks but not sure if i need to also add some more yeast or not? will there still be enough yeast in the bottles to carbonate another lot of priming solution?

the brew is an esb. fermented with us-05.

anyone done this before?

any suggestions / advice much appreciated.

cheers

christmasbender

 

[manticle]

I have recarbonated flat beer but not by pouring into a vessel. That may lead to oxidation.

Calculate how much priming solution you would like to add in total, divide it up between bottles and add that amount to each bottle and reseal. That's how I did it and it worked a treat.

 

[avaneyk]

A quick question first - how long has the beer been in the bottle and at what temp? It can take a while to carb up - especially at cooler temps.

My first thought would be to give it longer - I've had the odd batch that takes a while to carb up...

+1 for not pouring back into a fermenter - you'll be splashing the beer and it will end up oxidised.

You could add white sugar to the bottles instead of using a sugar solution. If they're completely flat then use a teaspoon if they're a little bit bubble then add 1/2. You won't have the same control over carbonation but at least you'll have bubbly beer.

Is there any sign of yeast sediment at the bottom of your bottles? If there is then you don't need more yeast - it doesn't take much to do the job. If you're worried about lack of yeast then I've read that you can add a grain or two of dried yeast to each bottle - but I doubt that you'll need to.

Hope this helps,
Andrew

 

[wabster]

I inadvertently undercarbed 2 x 30 bottle brews, trying to get 2 kit beers ready for the builders on a project at Chez Wabster.

They had a slight "spritzig" but nowhere near enough to be enjoyable drinking.

I chilled them in batches of 10 to minimise frothing, uncapped them, and added 2 carbonation drops to each bottle and recapped with a new cap.

2 weeks later they were perfect.

Cheerz Wabster.