Maple Nut Brown Ale not so good

I bottled this ale on sep 7th. I thought i would try it out on my birthday Oct 7th. I opened a bottle only to here a massive hiss. It sounded like a soda opening. I poured it out into a glass and the foam just overflowed. It was waaaaay over carbonated. It tastes horrible. I have 2 cases of it and I'm a little depressed now. I'm not sure what to do now. Do I just dump it all down the drain. I don't think I could choke down this beer.....

It may be an infected bottle. Give a few more a try before you do anything rash. I've had a batch where a few of the bottles were much worse than the rest.

Ignore it for 6 months to a year is my standard response to any issue that makes you think dump, unless Godzilla's hand actually reaches out of the bottle and grabs your throat.

If it's really just overcarbonated, perhaps just opening a bottle, not pouring it, and leaving it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to degas before pouring.

Or refrigerate the batch, open them all, let them sit, and recap them.

It's hissing, but NOT gushering when you open the bottle, correct?

As far as being overcarbed -

Have two glasses ready and pour straight down the middle. Don't just turned the bottle over, but do encourage a large head to get a lot of CO2 out. As the first cup gets too full move to the other glass.

I have a pale ale that is great, but overcarbed (long story). Getting some of that out of there may help the taste, or help to get to the bottom of what doesn't taste good if it isn't caused from too much carbonic acid. Another option is to give your beer a good stir after you pour.

Perhaps pour into a pitcher - that would give plenty of room.

Yeah it's just a big hiss, it's not actually gushing out. I did prime with maple syrup, which is why it is overcarbonated. Well I should say, primed with the improper amount. I will try opening it and leaving it in the fridge for awhile and see if that works. Thanks for the advice. This is my second brew, so not too experienced yet.

If you do give some kind of decarb method a shot, let us know! I'm curious to find out if the taste improve.

snail said:

I did prime with maple syrup, which is why it is overcarbonated. Well I should say, primed with the improper amount.

Click to expand...

Inquiring minds enquire: how much, what size batch? Not for the purpose of embarrassing you, but for the purpose of providing data points, particularly on a lesser-used priming sugar source.

Whas this an AHS clone - I have the same EXACT problem with my Maple Nut Brown.

No problem, i just don't want to dump it. If the decarb doesn't work I'll let it sit for a couple more months and see how it is. It's so carbonated though. You just look into the glass and see tons of bubbles flowing to the top. I just wanted to try a beer with maple. Not really fool proof recipe since all maple syrups are different.

ecnerwal- It was a 5 gal batch. I think I used 1/4 cup grade B maple syrup with 1/4 cup water boiled.

grinder- No it wasn't a AHS clone. I got it from Episode 7: Maple Beer : Not a journal..

Speaking as a non-professional syrup producer who once looked into professional production (too much hassle for me), I can tell you that as far as sugar content/gravity, commercially produced maple syrup is held to pretty tight tolerances.

Flavor-wise, never buy grade A, only Grade B. Grade A is lighter in color. Grade B has more flavor. Generally they cost the same per gallon.

Edit:
1/4 cup and it's overcarbed - wow....

Well maybe it wasn't a 1/4 cup. I looked on this forum and everywhere on the internet trying to find a set amount. But i found that all syrups are different. It must have been more than 1/4. I'll look at my recipe when I get home and post.

Looked at the recipe and I put in 1 1/2 cups of maple syrup as a primer. I just opened one a little while ago and it actually gushed out the top this time. I put it in the fridge and I'm going to let it sit for about an hour and see if it's not so carbonated and tastes better.

My instructions were 1/2 cup and I used Grade "A" (did not know at the time). I think next time I'll use some sort of Maple extract instead of syrup which just add's sugar.