too much carbonation

Hey guys my first beer has been bottled for only a week and I cracked one open and it fizzed over for a minute then when I poured it into a cup it was mostly foam until it settled, is it bad that it has so much carbonation or will it settle as it sits longer?

Also, I just switched another batch from primary to secondary fermentation but left the sediment and about an inch or 2 of beer on the bottom, I noticed that the liquid I left in the primary fermenter was still quite active and bubbling, does this mean most of the active yeast is no longer in my beer or should it be ok? And should I take more of the active liquid/sediment and put it into my secondary fermenter with the clean beer? I just hope its ok. Let me know asap, thanks in advance!

1) If you watch Poindexter's video on time lapsed carbonation, you will see that in many instances, before a beer is carbed it my gush, that's not from infection, or mixing of sugars, but because the co2 hasn't evened out- it hasn't been pulled fully into the beer. Think of it as there's a lot of co2 being generated and most of it is in the headspace, not in the beer, so there's still "over pressure" in the bottle, so it gushes when it is opened.

But when the beer is truly carbed it all evens out, across the bottles.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlBlnTfZ2iw]time lapse carbonation - YouTube[/ame]

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

Additionally once the three weeks or so has passed, chiling them down for a few days (not just a few hours or over night as most new brewers want to do ) will help the carbonation settle.

2) There's billions upon billions of yeast cells in beer, even when racking and cold crashing there's usually plenty of yeast to do the job. BUT did you take 2 consecutive hydrometer readings over a 3 day period to make sure fermentation was complete BEFORE you racked it over?

Nope, I read that after initial fermentation subsides (about 6-7 days) it is safe to rack into the secondary fermenter. Is that not correct? By the way my initial gravity was 1.061 and I took it again after I racked it and it was 1.031. But no I did not check it for days in a row, just waited until the crazy bubbling settled after a few days. Hopefully its ok?

And the beer that had too much carbonation, it tastes great, after it settles of course lol.. but its got a great vanilla flavor and complexity, I guess I just have to wait a few more weeks for it to settle.

I've never actually used a secondary for my beers, I just let it sit in the primary for 3-4 weeks.

I tend to wait for the kreusan to settle, and then I do two hydrometer readings a day or two apart. If they're consistent, I bottle.

mattvig said:

Nope, I read that after initial fermentation subsides (about 6-7 days) it is safe to rack into the secondary fermenter. Is that not correct? By the way my initial gravity was 1.061 and I took it again after I racked it and it was 1.031. But no I did not check it for days in a row, just waited until the crazy bubbling settled after a few days. Hopefully its ok?

And the beer that had too much carbonation, it tastes great, after it settles of course lol.. but its got a great vanilla flavor and complexity, I guess I just have to wait a few more weeks for it to settle.

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No that is not correct. Bubbling is never a good indicator of anything. Just because an airlock is or isn't bubbling doesn't mean fermentation is or isn't happening. THE ONLY WAY to know is with gravity readings, BEFORE THE FACT not after.

If you racked at 1.031 one,then clearly fermentation wasn't complete then. You more than likely have over carbed beers and run the risk of bottle bombs.

You have to get rid of the idea of an airlock as a fermentation gauge, it's not it's a vent, a valve, and nothing more. It's to release excess co2, but just becuase there's not excess coming out, doesn't meant the yeast aren't still doing their thing.

Oh, well I think it should be fine, and by racking I meant changing from a plastic bucket to a glass carboy. But yea I think it should be ok, thanks for all your help! =)