Over carbed

I want to uncap about 12 milk stouts that continued to carb to the point of one bomb and are basically unpourable. If I do uncap are there any suggestions how long before recapping?

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Personally, I wouldn't uncap the beers and let them sit. They will oxidize and taste like wet cardboard. Plus it doesn't address the underlying issue!

What's going on with the beers? Did you bottle before fermentation was complete? Did you add too much priming sugar? Have you tasted it from the bottle? Do they have an off flavor and potentially an infection? Did you sanitize properly?

If you have had one bottle bomb, you have a potential for more.

I would put them all in the fridge NOW if you haven't yet. Keep them in a box of some sort (like the one you store them in or one from a store bought beer) in case they explode there. Cool them down and drink ASAP!!!! Figure out if there's an off flavor or infection.

If it bombed when you already had it in the fridge, I would say that you might as well dump them, because there is a major issue there.

The key is to try to figure out what happened to cause them to get that carbonated. If you do dump them, make sure to sample some to see if it tastes right. If not, try to figure out why so you can save yourself the hassle next time!

I'm answering assuming you overcarbed, or you had bad bottles, or both. I'll refine the answer once we hear from you. This topic has come up a few times - there are some good answers.

First, skim the bottling sticky - has good input about bottle pressure ratings etc.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

Since the bottles are over pressurized and opening will force CO2 out of solution, there's no immediate worry of oxidation (leaving open overnight could be a problem).

If you do vent, there are 2 options - pop them warm (risks rupturing a bottle in your hand) or refrigerate all, pop to vent, let them exhale a little bit, and recap (won't release as much pressure).

There are a few other approaches in this thread, including a discussion of a similar beer.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/help-bottle-bombs-237610/

Good luck! And if you drink, pour the beers into a realllllly big glass (or let a beer whisperer pour your beer). Make sure to refrigerate at least 24 hours to get the CO2 to dissolve.

I recently had to pop the tops on some backsweetened cider I bottle conditioned and wanted to pasteurize in a pressure cooker. They were blowing up during the process, so I uncapped them warm, which had them foaming a tiny amount, but degassing the whole time, and I put a new sanitized cap on each bottle and let it set for 20 minutes. The caps would blurp away as the CO2 off gassed, then I crimped them and pasteurized. Was enough that I only blew 2 bottles of 36 after that.

I stand corrected. Great advice!

nunyafnb said:

I stand corrected. Great advice!

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Nah - i'm guessing you're dead on if those bottles were left open for an extended period. There are infection worries as well once the positive pressure from the bottle dies down.

brewguyver said:

Nah - i'm guessing you're dead on if those bottles were left open for an extended period. There are infection worries as well once the positive pressure from the bottle dies down.

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True, it the tops are uncovered. But, like when making a yeast starter, where the flask is only covered with foil, there is little risk of infection as long as the mouth is covered - bugs don't climb. The risk of oxidation, however, is still present once the off gassing subsides, so capping when any bubbling stops is important.

Thank y'all for the info and thoughts. The beer tastes great. When I pour as carefull as I can I got a 22oz beer into four pint glasses with only a little foam over. 10 min rest and then drank with some yeast flavors from my difficulty pouring. I only checked my fg once and it was spot on for what was expected. I have since got a wine thief and will not do that again. It must have been still fermenting. Oh they are all chilled now.

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I went ahead and uncapped and recapped no wait. There was still a cloud (CO2 I guess) in the bottle neck. Out of 15 bottles I opened 2 too fast and had volcano. Fingers are crossed hoping all goes well this is a wonderful porter.

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