Dumb mistake...too much corn sugar....

So as I was calculating the weight of corn sugar to use for bottling my Kolsch, I took the number calculated for DME off Beersmith instead of corn sugar which was about 30% more. Didn't realize until after everything was bottled. So for my 3 gallon bottling amount, I used 3.9 oz. instead of 2.8 oz. I assume I ruined this one. A real shame since it tasted so good out of the fermenter. Truly a stupid mistake that I'm sure I will not make again.

I am not sure why everyone assumes minor mistakes will ruin their beer. You will have super carbed bottles, potentially a few bombs, but thats it.
Recommend making sure your bottles are boxes and a place thaat won't get too damaged by liquid.

northernlad said:

I am not sure why everyone assumes minor mistakes will ruin their beer. You will have super carbed bottles, potentially a few bombs, but thats it.
Recommend making sure your bottles are boxes and a place thaat won't get too damaged by liquid.

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I was debating whether to uncap after a few days to let off some CO2 and then recap but that could result in having them undercarbed....or still overcarbed. Probably not worth it...

You used about 4 ounces (by weight?) of corn sugar. If that's the case, it won't give bottle bombs but it will be pretty well carbonated. I usually use 5 ounces in a 5 gallon batch for medium carbonation. You'll have about 3.5 volumes of carbonation, if my calculations are correct.

You could uncap and recap if you want. Or you could test one a week and when it's the right carbonation, stick it in the fridge to slow down the yeast.

just keep an eye on them, and definitely put them in a place where the liquid won't ruin something

YooperBrew said:

You used about 4 ounces (by weight?) of corn sugar. If that's the case, it won't give bottle bombs but it will be pretty well carbonated. I usually use 5 ounces in a 5 gallon batch for medium carbonation. You'll have about 3.5 volumes of carbonation, if my calculations are correct.

You could uncap and recap if you want. Or you could test one a week and when it's the right carbonation, stick it in the fridge to slow down the yeast.

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Based on my fermentation temp of 63, I calculated it will be around 3.3 vols instead of the 2.6 I was shooting for. I'm mainly worried about exploding bottles. Maybe I'll try to recap some in a few days, refrigerate some after a week or 2 and leave some at room temp. It will at minimum be a good experiment!

Hey... don't sweat it too much. Keep the temp steady and hang in there. If its as good as you say, it won't get to the bomb stage I had a brown ale that had been over carbed 2 weeks after bottling. That was in October. I just had my first bottle bomb 2 weeks ago. Which by the way seems pretty damn dangerous. I had a piece of glass 10 feet away... But you can throw them in the fridge once they taste right, and you'll never have a bomb.

Just take precautions in case of explosions. I warm condition in a rubbermade tub. It will probly be fine.

What will happen is that your beer will first reach adequate carbonation and eventually over-carbonate. For a week or two, you should have beer that's just right. So as long as you drink it all during that period, you'll be fine

I massively over-primed a batch last fall without realizing it. It reached an acceptable carbonation level in about two weeks and stayed in a decent range for a couple of weeks more. Eventually it did get too carbonated and each bottle would ooze foam after opening for several minutes before calming down enough to pour and drink. I still have a few of those beers left in my closet and haven't had any bombs yet, fortunately.