second batch: overcarbed

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Howdy,

First off, kudos to all the regulars on a great forum. The first couple times I've posted I've gotten very helpful feedback, and I've learned far more than I ever wanted to know about a number of topics surfing the archives.

I'm just starting to drink my second batch, 2.5 weeks after bottling -- an English Brown Ale from the Brewer's Best kit, replacing the dry yeast with a WLP005 British Ale Yeast.

I don't have a secondary available, so I let it sit in the primary for two full weeks. (The fermentation started pretty abruptly after about 48 hours, and the bubbling stopped a little abruptly after a day or so.)

and the final gravity was very close to the target 1.010 for the recipe (it was a little hard to read because the hydrometer was just barely on the edge of floating in the test cylinder, which clearly isn't tall enough). It tasted pretty great on bottling day. Used the 5 oz of corn sugar provided in the kit for the priming solution, and bottled.

While the taste today is a dramatic improvement over my first attempt, it's definitely moderately overcarbonated, which may be connected to a thin mouthfeel and an off-taste which I'm having a hard time describing except as a mild "bite" -- perhaps similar in character to the champagne-y taste of my first batch, but much less intense.

I have two basic questions:

1) Is there anything to do with it now? As a test, I uncapped and recapped a couple bottles yesterday. They foamed a fair amount at room temperature, but the one I re-opened today tastes better. OTOH, it went flat a little quickly, and I assume the risk of oxidation means it'll start going stale soon?

2) I've got a batch of Oatmeal Stout in the fermenter right now, and I'm wondering if there's anything I should be paying attention to prevent the problem from recurring. Maybe just use a little less priming sugar?

Many thanks in advance!
 
I had a similar problem with my first batch. The only thing that I found was to get them very cold before opening and have a glass handy for a quick pour. Sorry.

I'll let someone else chime in on the second question, but will ask how much priming sugar you used the first time.

Finally, some people say that they taste a "bite" on beers made from extract. This may or may not be what you are experiencing.

*edit* sorry, I see now that you used 5 oz. my fault.
 
Dont use exactly how much corn sugar they gave you, First measure out 3/4 of a cup instead thats all you need for 5 gallons. And I used that same brewers best kit and I had to let it sit about 6 weeks in bottles beofre I could drink it, It had a weird bitter metallic taste to it. But after it aged for a little bit it wasn't bad.For a Stout I use 1 1/2 cups of DME instead of Corn Sugar but it takes an extra couple of weeks to Carbonate.
 
My LHBS supplies a 5 oz bag of priming sugar also and instructs to use all of it, I never do; I use 3/4 cup for 5 gals. Although I doubt if the full 5 oz would hurt....as long as you don't use a full cup! I've noticed other home brew supply places selling similar 5 oz bags too.
 
Well, if you have to recap to have them drinkable, then by all means do it. I can't think of another way to do it, if chilling them doesn't work. I'd try chilling for a week or so first, though.
 
They're more drinkable when chilled for a few days (and don't foam over like they do at room temperature), but the carbonation still overpowers much of the taste of the beer. So I guess I'll do some more recapping if the risk of oxidization and contamination is reasonably low.
 
Not really a problem with oxidation- the co2 will protect the beer. If you're just uncapping, and recapping without splashing, it'll be fine. I'd still try chilling them at least a week first, though. That might solve the problem.
 
radicalsubversiv said:
They're more drinkable when chilled for a few days (and don't foam over like they do at room temperature), but the carbonation still overpowers much of the taste of the beer. So I guess I'll do some more recapping if the risk of oxidization and contamination is reasonably low.

Couple of thoughts:

-With only two weeks in the primary and no additional time in a secondary, you likely bottled with some residual sugars in the wort. These residual sugars along with 5-Oz’s (what I’d consider too much) of corn sugar is the likely culprit.

In the future:
~ Don’t rush the beer out of the vessels into the bottles. One week minimum in a primary….then
~ Get a secondary clearing vessel. This will help you free up your primary for the next batch and let your first beer continue to ferment/condition. Two weeks in a secondary.
~ ¾ cup of priming sugar for a normally carb’d beer…less for your milds and stouts or any other English style.

For your current batch:
~ Uncap a bottle…give it a slight jolt on the table top…this will cause it to foam…this accomplishs two things:
· It causes the beer to degass slightly to knock some carbonation out of suspension.
· It will fill the neck of your bottle with CO2 rich foam and eliminate any oxygen in the bottles.
· Cap…
· Chill for at least a week to allow CO2 to comepletely dissolve into solution
 
radicalsubversiv said:
Thanks for the advice -- very helpful. Would you recommend chilling the bottles before uncapping them, or not?
Probably not. THe intent is to let the gas escape and cold liquid will retain the CO2 better.

The bottles may foam even on openning so the "slight jolt" may not be necessary.

Remember to cap on foam when they foam over. (Foam is good)
 
BierMuncher +1!

If your bottles gush, then chill them before uncapping. If they don't gush, don't worry about it.

And, if they don't gush, I don't know that I would even fiddle with uncapping. Rather, I would just get through the batch, enjoying the beer and the extra belches, but that's just me. :)


TL
 
TexLaw said:
... Rather, I would just get through the batch, enjoying the beer and the extra belches, but that's just me. :)
TL

Good point. If I have an overcarb'd batch, I'll ice em down...give em an aggressive pour into a tall pint glass and let em sit for 5-6 minutes. A lot of times that's enough to nock down the CO2 to drinkable levels.
 
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