why did all the beer foam out the bottle

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almostdone

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I used a 1 gallon kit brew mix from Brooklyn Brew Shop (a gift). I thought all was well, but when it came time to open the first bottle - it all foamed out. Is there an obvious, easy reason for that? I'd like to try another brew and would like to know if I did something everyone knows is a simply corrected error.
 
You either overcarbonated the bottles (too much sugar per volume of beer). Or you have an infection. Or perhaps you did not refrigerate long enough. Please give a rundown of your pre bottling beer volume, priming sugar, method of priming, sanitizer used, and length of priming time. Did you taste a bottle?
 
First of all,you have to fridge your new beers for at least 5-6 days to get co2 into solution to an exceptable level. 2 weeks is better for thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.
Opening a warm beer,or one that's only been in the fridge for an hour or so can foam up like that from not getting much of the co2 into solution. Worst case scenario,the beer wasn't at FG when it was primied & bottled. or stalled,then primed & bottled.
 
If you have some bottles that foam over, and some that don't, then the priming sugar was not mixed evenly.

If all (or most) of the bottles foam over, you either have an infection, or it wasn't completely fermented when you bottled.
If you waited plenty of time (like 2-3 weeks) before you bottled it, likely you have an infection.
Either way, foaming over is an indication of overcarbonation, and it can and will lead to bottle bombs which can be very dangerous.
Cover them with a towel. If they've been bottled for 3 weeks, put them in a fridge (wrapped in a towel).
Be careful.
 
Cromwell said:
If you have some bottles that foam over, and some that don't, then the priming sugar was not mixed evenly.

If all (or most) of the bottles foam over, you either have an infection, or it wasn't completely fermented when you bottled.
If you waited plenty of time (like 2-3 weeks) before you bottled it, likely you have an infection.
Either way, foaming over is an indication of overcarbonation, and it can and will lead to bottle bombs which can be very dangerous.
Cover them with a towel. If they've been bottled for 3 weeks, put them in a fridge (wrapped in a towel).
Be careful.
Click to expand...

Not every single time. A beer that's opened warm or only in the fridge a short time will use all that co2 in the small head space as a nucleation point When opened. beersuvious. I've had that happen before with beers that weren't chilled,or only a couple hours. I now give them a minimum of 6 days fridge time to get as much co2 into solution as possible. 2 weeks is the best for thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.
Over-priming & infections can cause this problem. But are not the sole cause. Infections are pretty rare in actuality. Just using the hydrometer & a cheap digital scale to weigh the priming sugar go a long way to preventing this. PATIENCE!!!
 
Would the beer taste bad if it was infected?

I made an apricot wheat where some of the bottles gush but the beer still tastes good. I'm guessing that I didn't wait long enough from when I added my apricot puree to when I bottled...
 
If it tastes good after a proper amount of conditioning time,then it's NOT infected. Infections generally get more pronounced over time,rather than better. But fruit can be the stinger. Added to beer in secondary,it can cause second fermentation. Always use a hydrometer to make sure a stable FG is reached before bottling. Fruit puree at bottling is a no-no...that's just begging for trouble.
 
unionrdr said:
If it tastes good after a proper amount of conditioning time,then it's NOT infected. Infections generally get more pronounced over time,rather than better. But fruit can be the stinger. Added to beer in secondary,it can cause second fermentation. Always use a hydrometer to make sure a stable FG is reached before bottling. Fruit puree at bottling is a no-no...that's just begging for trouble.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I waited a few days after I added the puree but I didn't do any gravity readings. Lesson learned... :)
 
MMJfan said:
Would the beer taste bad if it was infected?
Click to expand...

It'll taste different, but not necessarily "bad". If you're not a very critical taster, you could pretty happily drink an infected beer. It might taste a little sour, but then so do lambics and a lot of fruit beers.
 
Thank you all for the insights and helpful suggestions. I didn't get a hydrometer with my 1 gallon IPA kit from the Brooklyn Brew Shop, so I didn't know it would have been useful. I did use honey as the primer?? - I didn't really know why I was adding honey to the beer before bottling, either. So, I will be purchasing a hydrometer before my next batch and be a little wiser about the processes involved as well.
Thanks for the help.
 

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