Stalled Carbonation in cans

[MonsiuerCerveza]

We've had a batch of pale ale that's had a hard start in life. This batch was destined to can condition. It was primed in the FV, but then the power supply to the canning machine cut out before it could be packaged. With nothing else we could do, we transferred the beer to an IBC and sent it to a canning contractor who kept it chilled until they had a slot free available on their machine and packaged it up for us (this was some weeks later).

Despite the long wait, we were hoping secondary fermentation would still occur in the cans once they came to temperature, but so far no luck. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we may revive the yeast and get this beer carbed? Any thoughts appreciated.

Cheers

[dick murton]

Now it's in can it's too late to do anything apart from trying warm conditioning the cans. But depending on how long it was sat in storage prior to packaging, the residual yeast may already have converted the residual sugar - so there is none left to create the CO2, or the yeast has settled out so much that there is too little in suspension to create CO2 even if there is residual sugar and you warm it up.

If warming up doesn't work, you're stuffed basically and have a load of beer probably best destroyed and claim the duty back.

Sounds like a lesson for the future - to know how to get out of that particular jail should it happen again.

[MonsiuerCerveza]

Now it's in can it's too late to do anything apart from trying warm conditioning the cans. But depending on how long it was sat in storage prior to packaging, the residual yeast may already have converted the residual sugar - so there is none left to create the CO2, or the yeast has settled out so much that there is too little in suspension to create CO2 even if there is residual sugar and you warm it up.

If warming up doesn't work, you're stuffed basically and have a load of beer probably best destroyed and claim the duty back.

Sounds like a lesson for the future - to know how to get out of that particular jail should it happen again.

Thanks, Dick. Yeah, warm conditioning hasn't done much for us. Unfortunately the long storage time was unavoidable. We should have asked the canning contractor to force carb the beer despite the priming sugar, I suppose, but then we'd have run the risk of overcarbonation and maybe cansplosions.

At least we're getting that duty back!