does time heal foaming?

[brokebucket]

I am having my first true over-carb issue on an imperial stout. the good news is the beer it's glorious, the bad it's that it's hard to keep it in the glass. weird thing is that I weigh out my sugar, and tend to shoot on the lower side of carb levels for the style I am brewing. Will time in the bottle help?

a pic is attached... what is left after scraping off a few fingers of foam.

edit... can't attach a pic from the phone, I will add it shortly.

 

[CadillacAndy]

Is it possible the beer wasn't fully attenuated before you bottled it?

 

[brokebucket]

Not likely, the beer sat in primary for over a month.

The fact is, it's over carbed...not much to do about it now. Just wondering if it will mellow a bit over some time.

 

[CadillacAndy]

Just wondering if it will mellow a bit over some time.

Nope. The only option would be to open and recap or get them super cold so they don't foam as much.

 

[BigFloyd]

Nope. The only option would be to open and recap or get them super cold so they don't foam as much.

Agreed that it won't change with time, but I wouldn't want to do open and recap.

Try being very gentle with your pours. Also, pour it while still cold and let the stout warm up in the glass. I've seen a bit of over-foaming with perfectly carbed ale that I let warm into the mid-50's in the bottle before pouring.

 

[unionrdr]

Being a bigger than normal beer,it likely needs 2 weeks in the fridge,rather than a couple days. This'll get more co2 into solution,& settle down the foaming when you open the bottle. This works as it doesn't leave so much co2 in the head space to act as nucleation points for what dissolved co2 there already is. And don't pour aggressively. Stouts should be low to mediumn carbonation anyway,imo.

 

[Cyclman]

Other than taking time pouring, don't know much that you can do.

 

[feinbera]

I've had some luck controlling foam by running water into the glass, swirling it around, and dumping it, leaving the inside of the glass just slightly moist. It's not gonna turn a gusher flat, but it does make the difference between one inch of foam and two or three.

 

[BigFloyd]

I've had some luck controlling foam by running water into the glass, swirling it around, and dumping it, leaving the inside of the glass just slightly moist. It's not gonna turn a gusher flat, but it does make the difference between one inch of foam and two or three.

Interesting. Thanks.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I've had some luck controlling foam by running water into the glass, swirling it around, and dumping it, leaving the inside of the glass just slightly moist. It's not gonna turn a gusher flat, but it does make the difference between one inch of foam and two or three.

Thanks for the tip. I've had some trouble with a couple batches lately so will try that.

Anybody got any ideas on why this is happening? I have a brown that sat in the fermenter for 5 weeks before I bottled it. Can't imagine there was any fermentation left to be done but still ended up with a great tasting but super foamy beer. Only used 4 oz of sugar in a 5 gal. batch.

 

[unionrdr]

It probably stalled out before getting down to the right FG. Then that 4oz of priming sugar would act like 5-6+ozs.

 

[Puddlethumper]

It probably stalled out before getting down to the right FG. Then that 4oz of priming sugar would act like 5-6+ozs.

That would make sense. So help a newb here, how do I detect a stalled fermentation?

 

[unionrdr]

You can tell when the yeast is settling out of suspension & the FG isn't as low as it should be. Say you measure it after 3 weeks,& the FG is 1.016,rather than 1.008 to 1.010,& it doesn't go down anymore. That'd be a stalled fermentation. You can gently swirl the fermenter to get some yeast back in suspension,& warm it up slightly. Wait a day to see any reaction.

 

[Puddlethumper]

Cool. That makes sense. Thanks.

 

[MindenMan]

I agree with unionrdr, I have had way too many gushers in my past, and when it come right to it, I got in a hurry to bottle my beer. I now swirl my fermenter every day starting on the second week, and wait until the third week to take hydrometer samples. Also during the third week, I raise the temperature gradually and continue to swirl until I get get no bubbles of any kind and use my hydrometer to make sure I keep gushers to a minimum.

 

[Puddlethumper]

. I now swirl my fermenter every day starting on the second week, and wait until the third week to take hydrometer samples. Also during the third week, I raise the temperature gradually and continue to swirl until I get get no bubbles of any kind and use my hydrometer to make sure I keep gushers to a minimum.

That's really interesting. I certainly haven't been doing anything like that but it makes a lot of sense. All this tells me I need to be taking a lot more hydrometer readings of all my beers in order to have a better idea of what's going on.

I almost always have other beers in production that require temps in the 65F range. To raise the temperature of a batch prior to bottling I might bring it into the house for the last week or so. Do you think a week at 70-75F would have any negative impact on a batch if that week was at the end of a 3-4 week stint at 65?

 

[unionrdr]

I only swirl up the yeast when it seems to have stalled. Otherwise,keep the temp in the yeasts' ideal temp range & it'll do it's thing properly. No need to swirl it everyday after a couple weeks. Pitch healthy yeast & keep the temps in range. That's it. That,& make sure you get a stable FG before racking anywhere. Patience is an important thing to learn in brewing.

 

[brokebucket]

well.....I tried to recap last night to see if I could "fix" my beer. We shall see what becomes of it. Clean up was fun.

 

[unionrdr]

Doesn't look too bad...but pics can be decieving. I'd have gone with the extended fridge time method. I've had to do that a couple times to tame them down. Getting good head has rarely been a problem of mine...

 

[ballsy]

This has happened to me on my first couple batches and I found a good reach around....I mean work around. Let em get cold, then pour a few into a growler (or any other large open container) and let sit in fridge for hour or two (uncapped) then pour into a glass and voila!! A perfectly carbed beer in a glass!

 

[BigFloyd]

well.....I tried to recap last night to see if I could "fix" my beer. We shall see what becomes of it. Clean up was fun.

Did you chill that beer for at least 3 days before trying to release/recap it? If not, that gushing was bound to happen.

 

[snaps10]

In the future, instead of recapping, you can vent the bottles.
Take a good, solid bottle opener, one that doesn't bend the caps too much, and pull up slowly until the foam hits the cap. When you release the opener the cap should reseat on the bottle. I often will pop my capper on really quick just to make sure. Do this a couple times a day until the foam no longer hits the bottle cap. The caps don't look pretty, but it works.

 

[reverendj1]

In the future, instead of recapping, you can vent the bottles.
Take a good, solid bottle opener, one that doesn't bend the caps too much, and pull up slowly until the foam hits the cap. When you release the opener the cap should reseat on the bottle. I often will pop my capper on really quick just to make sure. Do this a couple times a day until the foam no longer hits the bottle cap. The caps don't look pretty, but it works.

I haven't seen this mentioned on here before, but I was thinking it was possible and was going to try it next time I overcarb (I'm sure it will happen sometime). Nice to know someone has done it before.

Another thing that has worked for me before when I had some pretty bad gushers was to pour under the foam. You need a good bottle opener that can open a bottle fast in one go, then quickly pour the beer in the side of the glass but not the foam. It's hard to explain and takes a try or two to get right, but after doing it a couple times, it's pretty easy. This worked with a beer that if you would open it and set it in the sink, after it was done foaming, you would end up with about 1/4 or less left. The rest would all foam out.

 

[bottlebomber]

It may improve. Freshly bottled beer can be a little unruly, and the beer tastes prickly and overcarbonated. I barely carb my stouts at all, because they taste better with a fuller body and the foam thing. One thing I've done in the past is use a bottle opener to very lightly vent some co2 from the bottles. This can help, and if you do it gently the seal will be fine.

 

[brokebucket]

Thanks for the tips on the re-seating....I will give it a try. I still have a six pack of ones that I didnt vent, just in case.

I am really not too concerned about it, because it is a great beer under the carb, and I will definitely be brewing it again.

 

[azazel1024]

You can also freeze the glass before you pour. That may help a little. Otherwise the only thing I can think of would be to recap once the bottles are all really cold and/or it might be taking a long time for more of the CO2 to absorb in to the beer being a heavier gravity (no idea on that one).

You might end up with too flat beer if you recap them, but it might be worth a short on 2 or 3 beers to recap them, wait a week and see how it turns out to see if the experiment worked.

 

[ballsy]

I agree with unionrdr, I have had way too many gushers in my past, and when it come right to it, I got in a hurry to bottle my beer. I now swirl my fermenter every day starting on the second week, and wait until the third week to take hydrometer samples. Also during the third week, I raise the temperature gradually and continue to swirl until I get get no bubbles of any kind and use my hydrometer to make sure I keep gushers to a minimum.

Have you ever noticed any off tastes from the adhered Krausen foam on the walls that you are likely mixing back into the beer with swirling? Just curious, I have swirled once before and then became instantly paranoid when I realized that I probably just mixed that stuff back into the beer...you always here of people saying to be careful and not disturb it when transferring to bottling bucket...The beer I swirled with won't be ready till the Holiday's so not sure if any off flavors...

 

[brokebucket]

The recapping seems to have worked pretty well. I split a bomber that I purged and recapped last night and was able to get it in the glasses no problems. It is still slightly over-carbed, but much better than what it was. Now, the problem is figuring out how to let them sit.....damn, it's a tasty beer!

 

[snaps10]

It's probably going to be best if you send one over to me. Just to make sure...

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I have a beer now that crawls out of the bottle. It just wants to be friends When I pour it into a 1L moss i can get almost 3/4 of the 12 oz bottle in if I pour real slow.

 

[Beergazzi]

I have a Saison that will slowly climb out of the bottle, and requires a 17 ounce glass to pour a 12 ounce bottle, and a 22 ounce glass for my grolsh bottles, its calming down with age, but if I dont feel like risking it, I just pour it into a glass pitcher, just a good rough pour, and then come back in 5 minutes and move it to a glass.

The rough pour and the wait time lets it 'off gas' and warm up a little, both make it go from 'a little hot and prickly' (probably the carb), to 'smooth and complexly fruity and spicy".

 

[tennesseean_87]

Being a bigger than normal beer,it likely needs 2 weeks in the fridge,rather than a couple days. This'll get more co2 into solution,& settle down the foaming when you open the bottle. This works as it doesn't leave so much co2 in the head space to act as nucleation points for what dissolved co2 there already is. And don't pour aggressively. Stouts should be low to mediumn carbonation anyway,imo.

Why would a bigger beer need more time for CO2 to dissolve? Because there is more sugar/alcohol dissolved already? I'm also unsure how CO2 in the headspace would create a nucleation point for CO2 in solution. Nucleation happens when bubbles form in solution (either in glass or bottle) and extra CO2 in the bottle headspace won't cause nucleation in the glass.

In the future, instead of recapping, you can vent the bottles.
Take a good, solid bottle opener, one that doesn't bend the caps too much, and pull up slowly until the foam hits the cap. When you release the opener the cap should reseat on the bottle. I often will pop my capper on really quick just to make sure. Do this a couple times a day until the foam no longer hits the bottle cap. The caps don't look pretty, but it works.

+1
I've gotten gusher bugs where the beer slowly overcarbs over time. Time is the enemy there. Venting+fridge or stove-top pasteurization helps.

 

[unionrdr]

Why would a bigger beer need more time for CO2 to dissolve? Because there is more sugar/alcohol dissolved already? I'm also unsure how CO2 in the headspace would create a nucleation point for CO2 in solution. Nucleation happens when bubbles form in solution (either in glass or bottle) and extra CO2 in the bottle headspace won't cause nucleation in the glass.



+1
I've gotten gusher bugs where the beer slowly overcarbs over time. Time is the enemy there. Venting+fridge or stove-top pasteurization helps.

Because what co2 is dissolved in the beer seems to feed on all that gas in the head space. Pop the cap,gas rushes out,what co2 is dissolved goes out with it. After that,it's like a broken dam or something. It all gets more violent as it goes. & it happens in the bottle,not the glass. All that foam in the glass is partly due to not getting a good hot & cold break,using carapils when there's already a good amount of crystal present,etc. Head is formed by dissolved protiens,but only driven by carbonation once poured.

 

[tennesseean_87]

Because what co2 is dissolved in the beer seems to feed on all that gas in the head space.

I'm not sure what this means (feeding on?). Are you saying the dissolved CO2 rushes out of solution because it sees the other CO2 rush out of the bottle and wants to be just like it? It's playing copycat? Is there any somewhat scientific explanation for this behavior?

Pop the cap,gas rushes out,what co2 is dissolved goes out with it.

Pop the cap, and pressure is released. Gas in solution comes out of solution because there is no longer any pressure keeping it in solution, not because it is imitating the CO2 in the headspace. If there were more gas dissolved and less in the headspace, there would be more released form solution and thus even more foam, not less.

Head is formed by dissolved protiens,but only driven by carbonation once poured.

The dissolved proteins make the beer bubbly (like soap in dishwater), but there are no bubbles until gas is released from the liquid. In the sink washing dishes, the gas is air from splashing. In your beer bottle, it's from CO2 being released.