Over carbonated Hefe

Hi guys,

My Annapolis Hefe has been in the bottle for two weeks now. Tonight I tried my week 2 test bottle and it was way over carbonated. It was like drinking champagne and didn't have any head whatsoever. I don't know how it could have gotten over carbonated. When i tried it a week in the bottle the carbonation seemed normal. I used Annapolis's little pre-measured priming sugar packet and that is it. What could have caused this and is there anything that i can do?

Thanks

how long was it fermented for? Could have been bottled before fermentation was complete. Also might have been the temp of the beer. Try throwing a few in the fridge for a week and then try.

How long did you refrigerate it before opening? If less than 48 hours, try leaving a bottle in the fridge for at least that long, then try it again. It could

If it truly is overcarbonated, it could be that the beer wasn't quite finished fermenting when you bottled it - which can add an unpredictable amount of extra pressure and carbonation in the bottles. How long was it in the fermenter? If your 48 hour test bottle still shows the same signs of over carbonation, you might consider immediately refrigerating the entire batch so as to stop the process and avoid possible bottle bombs.

This sounds crazy, but I don't think it's overcarbonated. Oh, I know- I didn't even try one of yours, but hear me out!

As the bottle conditioning finishes, there is alot of co2 dissolved in the headspace. Because co2 dissolves more readily in cold liquids, I think if you put a beer in the fridge for at least 24-48 hours before opening, you'll find that it's a different story. You might even find that it still needs a little more time in the bottle in order for it to be perfect. I've sort of learned this by experience- that a beer can seem almost overcarbed at 10 days, but undercarbed at 21 days and I wondered why. I traced it back to the relatively young age of the early bottle conditioned beers. It seems like time helps the co2 to distribute better in the liquid. The first beers at 10-14 days seem to be undercarbed a bit, but still with such a big foamy head that I can hardly fill a glass. But at 21 days, after 48 hours in the fridge, it's about perfect.

I think that the scientific reason goes back to the ability of co2 to dissolve into solution, but I can't back that up. Just try it, and see if you agree!

It was in the carboy for nearly 4 weeks and i took the proper measures to ensure that fermentation was complete. I put the bottles in the refrigerator this morning so they weren't in for very long. I guess I'll give it another week of conditioning in the bottles and then allow it to be refrigerated for 48 hours before trying it again. I hope that solves the problem, it wasn't an enjoyable experience drinking it like that.

neb, sadly, some people (like one buddy of mine) *like* drinking it that way.

I'd say relax, let the bottles refrigerate for at least 72 hours (for the exact reasons Yoop said), and try again. There's a reason most fridges are set for 39*, and that's because it's the best temperature for gas to dissolve in water... or beer.

Here’s a rookie mistake I made that led to (I think) overcarbonation. Probably not your problem, but I offer it up anyway.

On my very first brew ever I used Beer Smith to plan out a 5.5 gallon batch of Westvleteren 12. Just kidding...it was some kind of IPA, I think. It called for something like 4 oz. or so of priming sugar upon bottling. By the time I got done with the fubar from the boil (a whole separate story), poor efficiency, loss to hop absorption, trub, the floor, etc, I wound up sending just under 4.75 gallons to the primary. Fast forward three weeks to bottling day. I fire up Beer Smith, look at my primer amount and add that to the bottling bucket. What I forgot to do was account for the change in volume from 5.5 gallons to 4.75. So, I added primer meant for a 5.5 gal batch to a less than 4.75 gal batch. I suppose there may have been other reasons, but that was the one that clearly jumped out at me as I reviewed the comical process of that particular brew day.

And the good news is that you survived to make another batch.