Did I Overprime or What?

[freisste]

Used a priming calculator to get to (I think) 2.4 volumes of CO2 -can't exactly remember. Added sugar by weight, not volume and made sure my volume of beer was right. I'm not getting gushers (at least by what I call a gusher). I just have a steady output of CO2 after opening a bottle that proceeds for probably 10 minutes.

So what causes this?

-I'm ruling out over priming. It's happened on a couple batches (only IPAs so far), but I am always careful about how much sugar to add.

-I'm ruling out infection. When it happens, it is batch wide, not a bottle here an there. I am not particularly careful about cleaning equipment between batches and it only happens on occasional batches, not every one. I would think contaminated equipment would contaminate all batches.

-The beers sit quite a while, at least a few weeks in the bottle and then at least a few days in the fridge. It doesn't seem to be affected by the exact point in that timeline. So I don't think it is a patience issue.

The only thing I can think of is that it seems (and this is an afterthought, so I don't have hard data) to happen when there is more sediment in the bottles. Not like the last beer or two out of a bottling bucket that get more, but like the beer didn't clear sufficiently and more precipitated after bottling. Could this cause nucleation points for CO2?

Also, at least on the latest batch I added carapils for head retention. I'm not sure, but it seems like if I couldn't retain a head I wouldn't overflow. But if that is the case, why do I have such good head retention to not need the carapils? Don't people usually have the opposite problem?

For what it's worth, I've done extract, pm, and AG and have had the issue to some extent with each method. I do BIAB, could crush size affect this?

I don't know, I'm kinda at a loss. In writing this post, I just lost an inch of the neck of my beer to a calm, 10 minute overflow.

Thanks in advance.

 

[freisste]

Photo of the "damage"

 

[Yooper]

It does sound like it's overcarbed. How much corn sugar did you add?

 

[freisste]

It does sound like it's overcarbed. How much corn sugar did you add?

I honestly don't remember. Like I said, I am pretty patient so it has been a couple months since I bottled. (I also take poor notes...I know, I know.)

So it sounds like overcarbed is my issue? I'll make sure to take a little off for next time.

What do you average for volumes of CO2? Like I said, I have it in my head that I carbed to 2.4 volumes, but the number 2.8 is also in my head. I am quite sure I didn't go over 3. How does one carb to style without issues in higher-carbed beers?

Thanks for your help.

 

[brick]

Having been through this several times myself, I no longer prime above 1.7-1.8 volumes regardless of style. (I'm not out to win competitions...I just want to enjoy my brew without spending a half hour pouring each one.) That's working so far. I have also become even more anal about the cleanliness of my bottles. Even a little gunk clinging to the bottom of a bottle can serve as a field of nucleation sites for bubbles to form en masse. The same goes for serving glasses. You can actually use that to your advantage by priming on the low end and serving into a pint glass with a "widget" that encorages bubbles, thus producing a nice head.

 

[Harry482]

There's a good chance the beer wasn't finished fermenting to the terminal FG when you bottled (assuming you weighed your priming sugar correctly). I made that mistake a few times when I first started. Just because the airlock isn't bubbling anymore doesn't mean it's finished fermenting. Did you take an original and final gravity reading? You might not be far off from a bottle bomb - certainly cleaned up my share of those!

 

[Yooper]

I seem to say this all the time, but I hate those priming calculators! If you input the temperature incorrectly, or guestimate the amount of c02 you want wrong, you could end up with bottle bombs or with flat beer.

I generally use .75-1 ounce of corn sugar per finished gallon of beer, and it always works out perfectly. I use .75 ounce for many of them, but 1 ounce for things like lagers and pale ales that I want more carbonated.

If you used more than 4-5 ounces of corn sugar, I would guess that is where the overcarbonation is coming from.

 

[dickproenneke]

Oh man. I feel your pain. Same thing happened to me with a PM stout using WLP007. The batch was slow to finish. After 3 weeks I bottled and rimed to 1.5vol. And after 6 weeks in the bottle I was getting slow-mo gushers. Nothing crazy. No geysers or broken glass. To drink, I'd just open em in the sink and let them spew for a few minutes before slowly pouring a glass. Generally 16-18oz were salvageable out of a bomber. It didn't seem like the batch was infected, it's was quite tasty, no sourness or funk. Although I suppose there is always the possibility of wild bugs. In the end I chalked it up to a stalled fermentation that restarted after bottling and storing at 75F for 6 weeks.

 

[masterfool101]

The only thing I can think of is that it seems (and this is an afterthought, so I don't have hard data) to happen when there is more sediment in the bottles. Not like the last beer or two out of a bottling bucket that get more, but like the beer didn't clear sufficiently and more precipitated after bottling. Could this cause nucleation points for CO2?

OK, I think this is where your issue is. . . I think you're not hitting FG before you bottle. THAT is why there is more sediment on the bottom of the bottles. . . and thus the overcarbonation.

How long do your batches sit in the primary fermenter? At what temperature? Those are the contributing factors, usually, to not fininshing fermentation.

Do you take a hydrometer reading during fermentation?

 

[freisste]

I always confirm stable gravity and wait a while after that (a while being a week at minimum, often three or four - I'm also not much for secondary).

I usually start fermentation at the bottom end of the ideal range. Then I let it warm a degree or two during fermentation, and when it has been going a while I just stop paying attention and let it free rise.

I'll be more careful about temperature and stop paying as much attention to priming calculators. Yooper, I like your simple strategy of 0.75-1 oz for all beers. I'm going to keep that in mind. Do you do anything to "standardize" your beers prior to priming. Meaning, do you remove CO2 to a certain temperature? Or do you end all fermentations at about the same temp (d-rest for lagers)? I guess I'm wondering how you overcome the dissolved CO2 in solution.

Thanks again, everyone, for all your help. I love this community! Cheers!

 

[Yooper]

I don't do anything special to my fermentations or the temperatures, and most of my beers (even lagers) spend a bit of time in the mid 60s near the end of fermentation, but otherwise I don't really give it much thought.

 

[freisste]

I don't do anything special to my fermentations or the temperatures, and most of my beers (even lagers) spend a bit of time in the mid 60s near the end of fermentation, but otherwise I don't really give it much thought.

Ok, that's basically what I was wondering. I was worried that if I did the standard 0.75-1 oz that it would vary a lot based on dissolved CO2 left in solution, but I guess bringing most up to the mid-60's will effectively equalize that.

Thanks again.