[JJeffers09]

So I fermented my beer at 68F for 3 weeks, it was at FG for 4 days.  I Cold crashed and held at 44F overnight.  Let it slowly rise to the 57F it was bottled at while I cleaned and prepped my bottling equipment.  Saw that my bottling volume was 6.1 Gallons,  I used Table sugar to prime with 3oz to achieve 2vols and am holding them at 68F in a central closet in my house.  6 days after bottled, and it drinks like wine.  No carbonation.  I figure I can wait a until the weekend, crack one and see what has happened...  Trying to get these beers ready to drink by Thanksgiving.  However if nothing good happens from there what do I do?  Crack the bottle tops, use a spray bottle to pump some priming sugar into the bottles? and re-seal with a fresh cap? and do 1 at a time praying that it takes around 4 seconds from uncapped to recapped to avoid oxidation?.

This is my first beer above 7.5%, and I don't know if I messed up my beer, I have read that adding fresh yeast is a good idea with higher abv beers.  but that was all after the fact.  But what barleywines take up to a month or two to carbonate? @ 1.8vols, I shot for 2vols with this dark IPA with 9.5% and I am guessing it will not finish in the next 9 days.

[Jimmy K]

If you can, warm it up more to hurry it along. 6 days isn't much and 68 isn't that warm.

[HoosierBrew]

If you can, warm it up more to hurry it along. 6 days isn't much and 68 isn't that warm.

+1.  Some Belgian breweries condition at ~ 80F. Gets the job done quicker.

[Iliff Ave]

2 volumes of CO2 seems low. I bottled a 9% ABV beer with 2.4 volumes. It took a good month to get well carbonated and is still a bit low for what I intended.

[brewinhard]

Give them more time and move them to a warmer spot in your house. 

Also be sure to let a bottle sit in the fridge for at least 24 hrs prior to opening one and drinking it to allow the CO2 in the headspace to be properly absorbed by the beer.  This will give you a better indication of carbonation levels. 

[JJeffers09]

2 volumes of CO2 seems low. I bottled a 9% ABV beer with 2.4 volumes. It took a good month to get well carbonated and is still a bit low for what I intended.

Is it still in style range for an IBA?  IPA is what 1.8-2.3 volumes

[dilluh98]

I bottle all my APA/IPA at ~2.5 volumes but I would agree that 2.0 is pretty low for the style.

[narcout]

How did you calculate 3 oz. of priming sugar to carbonate 6.1 gallons of beer to 2 volumes of CO2?  That seems low.

[Stevie]

WTH is an IBA?

[brewsumore]

Yeast population and health poops out after eating all the sugars in a big beer, and so oftentimes doesn't have enough of what it needs left over to bottle condition the beer.  Ever since ending up with a flat 10% barleywine I bottled, ever since I always add bottling yeast for beers above about 7.5% ABV.

It's basically the same tired yeast syndrome that also is the reason you shouldn't pitch onto the yeast slurry/cake left over from a big beer.

edit:  If it doesn't carb, you can open the bottles and use an eyedropper to add a couple few drops of rehydrated dry yeast slurry to each bottle and re-cap.

[JJeffers09]

I have been told like 4 or 5 different ways to call a "brown India pale ale" , "imperial India pale ale" , "India brown ale" , "double India pale ale" , and "black India pale ale".  So I am calling it an India Brown Ale.  not pale, not black, coffee brown.  My buddy wants to call it Blackprinz IPA (Not a bad name either), since it has Blackprinz in the grain bill.

[JJeffers09]

How did you calculate 3 oz. of priming sugar to carbonate 6.1 gallons of beer to 2 volumes of CO2?  That seems low.

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html
Because it was cold crashed, and bottled at 57F.  Using a priming calc (like above at tastybrew, brewers friend or NB priming calculator), but doesn't the Co2 fall back into the beer from the headspace when cold crashing?

[Stevie]

What temp did you enter into the priming calculator? You should have used the highest temp the beer reached, not the temp at packaging. If you used the temp at packaging, that could lead to lower than expected carbonation.

[JJeffers09]

What temp did you enter into the priming calculator? You should have used the highest temp the beer reached, not the temp at packaging. If you used the temp at packaging, that could lead to lower than expected carbonation.

well the difference is only .2oz on my highest ferm temp

[Iliff Ave]

Using the same calculator for APA (2.5 vols which would have been my preference), I get 5.1 oz of table sugar for priming which is considerably more. In my opinion, it will likely end up undercarbed for what I prefer. It shows 1.5-2.3 vols for IPA but I think that may be referring to more of a lower English style carbonation...

2.5 vols
6.1 gallons
68F
5.1 oz sucrose

If you want more carb maybe you could make a solution of dissolved sugar and hydrated yeast and add equal amounts to each bottle?