I have a bottle conditioned beer that is showing very little carbonation 2 weeks after bottling. It was fermented with the flocculant wyeast 1968 so I’m guessing the yeast is just comfortable being lazy at the bottom instead of eating the priming sugar. It’s currently sitting at 68f, which is an appropriate temperature. Now normally I would just let it sit another 2-3 weeks, but I need to ship this beer no later than Friday in order for it to arrive in time for a certain upcoming competition Can I safely swirl the bottles to wake the yeast up? How much should I be concerned about oxidation, assuming the shipped beer will be evaluated in just 3 weeks? Thanks for any and all advice!
How did you add the priming sugar, and how much? OG and FG? I never like to shake after bottle conditioning, as you may stress the yeast. Maybe try shaking a few, and adding a little bit of fresh yeast to a few other ones. In either case, hopefully the yeast would scavenge any oxygen you have in there.
In the winter, I keep my house pretty cool. Every other day, I take my bottles one at a time out of the cardboard case, turn them upside down and replace.
I keep them in a small utility room that also contains the hot water heater, washer and dryer; so they get some small amount of additional heat and some additional vibration.
No-one that I have shared them with has ever mentioned oxidation.