Beer overcarbs when chilled?

Hey all -

I seem to commonly run into my beer bottles having too much carbonation if I let them sit in the fridge for a while, even a matter of several days.

Doesn't seem to have anything to do with how long they've been bottled, and after a day or so in the fridge they are carbed perfectly. It's only when they've been chilled for extended periods that the issue comes up.

I've cut back on my corn sugar to about 2/3 cup per 5 gallon batch, but no difference. I usually makes IPAs, but the problem isn't isolated to them.

Any ideas?

thanks

That's a head scratcher. I believe you, of course, but it doesn't make sense. If it's not overcarbed, it shouldn't be overcarbed even when chilled. And vice versa. How bad is it overcarbed? Gushing? Or just a little bit fizzy?

The only thing I can think of is to get a little kitchen scale and always weigh your priming sugar. That's what I've always done. 2/3 cup for you might be 3/4 cup for me, but 4 ounces by weight is always 4 ounces by weight!

It's not fizzy, more foamy, if that makes sense. I suppose it could be as simple as inaccurate measurement, but one would think it would improve as I reduce priming sugar.

Obviously it is something I am consistently doing wrong, just gotta figure it out.....maybe it's time to start kegging.

what's weird is it should take 2 days to get proper carb levels once chilled. it has to absorb the CO2 in headspace.

malkore said:

what's weird is it should take 2 days to get proper carb levels once chilled. it has to absorb the CO2 in headspace.

Click to expand...

Could take longer than two days, usually 3-5 to completely absorb.

How do you measure priming sugar? Unless you are weighing it, you aren't accurately measuring. 2/3 of a cup of priming sugar loosely packed is much less than 2/3 of a cup of densely packed priming sugar.

Either purchase a scale, or use the carb tablets/drops for your next batch.

my guess is your still adding to much sugar to your brew at bottling time. after one day the proper amount of carbonation has been absorbed and the rest escapes when you take the cap off. after that more and more of the carbonation is absorbed till the pressure equalizes.

are you 100% sure you end up with 5 gallons in your bottling bucket on bottling day? you may be surprised. are you 100% sure fermentation is done when you bottle?

Yes, I'm sure it is 5 gallons (I've corrected actual gallon marks on my bucket). I'm talking about bottles that have sat for weeks before refrigerating. I agree a scale is the best guess at correcting the problem.

Thanks

If you get a brett infection it will eat sugars that servo won't

More CO2 goes into solution the lower the temperature of the liquid.