Foam!!!!

I made a Imperial blonde ale and a Belgian strong ale, both from extract kits for a 4th of July party. When I got there ppl started opening the bottles and they are foaming out the top as soon as its opened. open 2 up yesterday and still doing it. was there to much sugars left when I primed it for bottling? I didn't make a very good starter for either batch, no stir plate no airation. working on getting a good starter kit. I'm not sure what the FG was didn't write it down. they were made in jan/ feb. any clues?

There seems to be a lot of this going around lately...


How much priming sugar did you add? This could be your problem.

What was your FG and was it steady for at least 3 consecutive days before bottling? Fermentation may not have been complete when you bottled. This could be the problem.

Were you able to taste any of the beers or was there too much foam? An infection could also be your problem.

I don't remember the final gravity do remember it was a lil high, thought it might have been the poor starter not able to finish the job, but I let my beers go 3-5 days inactive before bottling. some of the strong ales didn't foam as bad, some foamed slowly but consistant. all the imperials over flow within a second or 2 after popping the top. they taste fine after pouring into a 24 oz mug and left to settle down.

No bottle bombs?

philhead1 said:

. . . . . . . but I let my beers go 3-5 days inactive before bottling. . . . .

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What does this mean? You should check the gravity and then check it again in 3 days, if it is stable then it is finished. What was the total amount of time this was in the fermentor?

In the future, try to remember that "poor" starters shouldn't lead beers to not finish fermenting - they typically just mean fermentation starts off a little more slowly. If the yeast start fermenting, they will finish (though sometimes need a little help if they decide to go to sleep on the job).

You said you let your beers go 3-5 days inactive - can you explain exactly what you mean by this? Do you mean that hydrometer readings were steady for 3-5 days? Or do you mean that they stopped bubbling, or the krausen dropped, and 3-5 days later you bottled?

In the future, make sure that your hydrometer readings are stead for at least 3 days before you bottle. And for the love of all that's malty and yeasty, don't do what I did on my last bottled batch and assume that your kit came with the right amount of priming sugar - make sure to measure out the appropriate amount! I too had a problem with a few bottle bombs and overcarbonated survivors, and the only thing I can think of that could have led to it was too much priming sugar (DME actually) in my kit.

how long did you chill them have had a few that if they dont chill for a few days before opening they foam left them in the fridge a week and no problem

I always wait for my FG to become steady 3-5 depending on big beer or low alcohol beer. ferment on both was ales were 12 days. my first bottled beers were in fridge for only 2 days, after that the rest a week or more. I'll keep the longer chill in mind next time I do a higher gravity beer, they both had og's of .83 +/- 2. the priming sugar was a 5 oz packet, didn't verify to see if is was right size or not. I do wait until my FG is steady lil beers 3 days bigger beers about 4-5 before I bottle. Some foam more aggressively than other but the both have a very good head on them.