In December/2014 I made an ale with extract, had it fermenting for like 3 weeks, got a good FG and etc.
Then I did as I always do, and leave it at - 3C to mature (in primary). I usually do that for a week. The problem is that it’s been there for a year now! hahaha (yes, I had some problems)
I have two questions:
will it be a drinkable beer after bottled?
are there any yeasts alive there to grant me some co2 after I put some priming sugar and bottle it?
Thanks for answering!
I don’t have access to that here (in my city in Brasil).
Can I use some normal beer yeast? if so, how many grams? should I activate it normally?
Yes normal yeast is fine. I just prefer champagne because it doesn’t change the flavor. But no worries. It only takes a little bit because you’ll only need to ferment the priming sugar. If you are using dry yeast 1/3 of a pack will do, if liquid like Wyeast, maybe the same, 1/3 - 1/2 a smack pack. I wouldn’t worry about hydrating or proofing. But you might warm the beer up to room temp so you dont shock the yeast. Yeast should be about the same temp as what you are pitching them to.
+1 to what Jim said. Any dry yeast will work for this process and will not impart any flavors due to the minimal activity going on when consuming the small amount of priming sugar. I think it would be a good idea to rehydrate the yeast which will give it a better chance of evenly mixing with the beer for proper priming.
Probably a good idea as long as its bug free water. As to bottling yeast selection, you’d just want to avoid anything odd. Like I wouldn’t use belgian yeast to condition a light lager.
Actually there’s probably some wisdom in using the same yeast as the beer so it doesn’t ferment lower than the primary yeast did. To make the point, imagine doing a big stout with english yeast, then conditioning with brett… kaboom
I think you should try a sample before bottling. If it sat on the yeast cake for a year their could be some autolysis (yeast dying and leaving off flavors).