• Welcome to the new forum! We upgraded our forum software with a host of new boards, capabilities and features. It is also more secure.
    Jump in and join the conversation! You can learn more about the upgrade and new features here.

additional yeast for carbonation

JacobStahmann

New Forum Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
how much new yeast do you need to add to get good carbonation in bottles? Is it possible to add too much?
 
It depends.  How long has your beer been fermenting?  Are you filtering out the yeast used for fermenting? 

Assuming that you are not filtering or centrifuging, if it has been less than 4 weeks you should be fine with the yeast that is left in solution.  I've gone 6 weeks with a lager and still been able to referment in the bottle just fine. 

If you plan on lagering or letting the beer sit for more than 8 weeks, you may want to add some fresh yeast to the bottle.  I am pretty sure that Sierra Nevada centrifuges the old yeast out and then repitches 1 million cells/ml for bottle refermentation.  If you are a bit on the nervous side, then you can supplement the yeast in the beer with a little more up to 2 million cells per ml.  I would be careful about going over this amount.

Going over will just create more sediment on the bottom of the bottles.  I have worked extra hard the past few years to flocculate the yeast out well, cold crash the beers, lager them an extra week, and leave just enough yeast in solution to create a fine film on the bottom of the bottles.  At that concentration, the beer will look pretty clear with very little scattering of light through the beer.

 
Back
Top