I keep Overcarbing, HELP!

Hey guys. My first few homebrews carbed just fine. But my last five have all overcarbed, in various ways (including one bottle bomb!)

I'm trying to cover all my overcarbing bases.

-- As far as priming, I've readjusted the sugar based on the calculator provided elsewhere on the forums (cause for one batch, i believe)

-- I have also addressed the gentle stirring of the wort before bottling in order to evenly distribute the priming sugar (cause for another batch)

-- Per the suggestion of some on the boards here, I skipped secondary and only primary fermented for a month, that didn't seem to work.

-- I have also been more vigilant in sanitizing EVERYTHING.

-- I went back to adding yeast fuel to try to help the yeast do their thing (though I did add it late, only got 8 minutes of boil instead of 15, don't know if that will mess it up), per Austin Homebrew suggestion I had used that for my first few brews.

-- I will also be more conscious of headspace in the bottle this time.

I'm working on an APA in primary, (only got an OG of 1.042, pretty disappointed) and I plan to secondary once I get to target; I just don't want to blow another batch. Any other overcarbing possibilities that I don't know about? Thanks for the help.

I see you've left it in primary for a month. That seems like it should have stopped fermenting by that time, but you should really check gravity 2 - 3 days apart to see if it has stabilized before bottling.

I don't know that you can rule out a bacterial infection either.

How much sugar did you use, in how much volume of beer?

If you stick with the simple formula of 1 oz of corn sugar to 1 gallon you won't overcarb........

ncbrewer said:

I don't know that you can rule out a bacterial infection either.

How much sugar did you use, in how much volume of beer?

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re: bacterial, it seems to systematic to be bacterial. but i suppose it could always be bacterial. i've been vigilant with liberal starsan this time.

re: sugar, i used the tastybrew calculator - and it told me 3.7 ozs for my last 5 gal. brew - a milk stout.

thanks for the ideas, i'm just a bit puzzled

I would check on how you are measuring your bottling sugar. Maybe you are off on your scale? Lower starting volume?

How much sugar are you carbing with?

What style were your last few over-carbed batches?

The one time I had an over carbed batch was when I used an online priming sugar calculator and set it for a five gallon batch. I later realized my batch was actually more like 4 gallons. be sure of your final volume going into the bottling bucket and if you can and aren't already, weigh the sugar as apposed to measuring.

How much head space? What temps were the bottles at?

Do you use a bottle wand when bottling?

Check the following: That your measure of the weight of the priming sugar is accurate. Weight not volume. That you are using the right weight for the right sugar. That you do not have any infection. And that you are filling the bottles to about 1 inch from the top. If your bottles are uneven in carbonation you will need to be sure the solution gets well mixed in.

I've had the same problem with my last one, a Brown Ale. I've since bought a food scale, measures to the gram and used it for my latest batch. Before I was just tossing in the entire generic packet of sugar that was included in the kit, thinking that was pre measured for that specific beer. I used the Northern Brewer Priming Calculator, so we will see what happens with my Cream Ale.

Just because you brew 5 gallons doesn't mean you bottle 5 gallons. Prime accordingly and use a scale.

great suggestions, thank you. i have not been dry measuring my priming sugar. that very well could be the culprit.
thanks for all the help everybody.
to beer!

Carb issues have driven me nutty. I am a noob overall and haven't figured it out completely. Too much....too little. The sugar adjustments don't have the results I would think.

I'm tired of brewing a great beer only to F it up with bad carbing. Instead of working to become a academic expert of bottle carbing I bit the bullet and went to kegging. At least if you don't have the carbing right at first you can adjust it and not have to deal with a lousy carb for a whole batch.

Bottling is annoying, work is annoying, brewing should not be like work!

Cider123 said:

Bottling is annoying, work is annoying, brewing should not be like work!

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it's the siren's call for homebrewer's . . . kegging . . . kegging . . . kegging . . . for now i resist, but for how long?

revdocp-jimmy said:

it's the siren's call for homebrewer's . . . kegging . . . kegging . . . kegging . . . for now i resist, but for how long?

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Kegging is not a helpful answer..... There are plenty of threads of people over/under carbonating in the keg as well

To the OP, it is important to weigh out the priming sugar knowing both the temp of the beer as well as the finished volume you are bottling.

The colder the beer the more CO2 remains in suspension, the warmer, the opposite.

Try using .75oz -1oz by weight of corn sugar per gallon. This should get you between 2.3-2.6 volumes of CO2.

Also be sure you are getting a good mix in the bottling bucket. Pour in priming syrup, rack beer onto it gently and once done give a gentle stir with a sanitized spoon, then bottle.