First lager, bottles gushing opening at room temp

[barhopping247]

Brewed my first lager finally.

Now the problem. When I open the bottles at room temperature they gush!

I bottled two beers same day and the porter is fine. The lager is not. Which says to me that it's not an infection. Lager tastes amazing.

The beer was in primary at 74 degrees for first 24 hours for fermentation to start.

Once fermentation started moved to fridge at 55 degrees for 10 days. Then up to 72 for 2 days for rest.

Racked to secondary for 4 weeks at 36 degrees.

Bottled with the standard priming sugar supplied with all extract kits.

Original gravity 1.050
Final gravity 1.020

Final gravity seems high

Now I'm stuck with gushers at room temp. When I open bottles after sitting in the fridge they do not gush.

What can I do to fix? Can I open all the bottles while they are cold and recap?

Thanks for your replies.

 

[barhopping247]

Also forgot to add: bottles have been conditioning at room temperature for a week.

 

[fastengine]

Give it 2-3 weeks and then drop the temp. You want the co2 to really absorb into the beer.
Quick edit to say I didn't catch the final gravity. That is kinda high for a lager to finish at, it could cause a problem with overcarbing.

 

[barhopping247]

I threw all the bottles in the fridge right now. Should I take them back out? I'm worried at room temp the caps will blow off.

 

[stpug]

I threw all the bottles in the fridge right now. Should I take them back out? I'm worried at room temp the caps will blow off.

NO! Leave them in the fridge and drink fairly quickly. If they are gushers (at room temp) at 1 week then 2 weeks and they're exploding/bombs. Keep them in the fridge and drink quickly. Luckily, lagers tend to be highly carbonated beers so you're in the ballpark there

 

[Tryger73]

On top of a higher fg the 5 oz. of priming sugar in kits is regarded by many to be too much for a 5 gallon batch. Also as was already mentioned the CO2 is not very well dissolved into the beer by one week. I have had gushers at week one and none by week three on previous batches myself.

 

[madscientist451]

Your original post doesn't say what the gravity was after the initial fermentation period of 10 days at 55 degrees.
Then after 2 days at 72, the beer was kept at 36, so if the fermentation wasn't done, it wasn't going to finish fermenting at that temperature.
Keep this batch cold and enjoy it now. The next time take more frequent gravity readings and hold off on the cold conditioning until the ferment is completed. Also, use an on line priming sugar calculator when bottling.

 

[Shawn_Brewin]

I totally Agree with fastengine and stpug, Leave them in the fridge and keep cold. The CO2 will still absorb into the beer at cold temps and it should slow anymore fermentation down to a crawl. Are your Bottles Swing top or Caps? If it was me and they were swing tops i will chill at very low temp for a few days and then open them up SLIGHTY, just enough to here the pressure release and then close them again. This will help from having them over Carbing, if they havent done so already. Once you get to that point... not much you can do.
Had the same experience with a Porter i did. the ones i cold storaged after a 10 day priming period were fine but the ones i left in my closet for a month were all gushers. no matter if they were room temp or cold.

 

[barhopping247]

I'll try to respond to most here.

The fg after the initial 10 days was also 1.020

The caps are caps, not swing caps

I'm going to keep in fridge and hopefully have slowed the carbonation down enough to have it last long enough to get through them all. Lol

 

[barhopping247]

 

[barhopping247]

Figured the image would help....you can how many bubbles are in the brew. Just poured from bottle from the fridge. It didn't gush, but you can see how active

 

[fastengine]

I've had a few overcarbed beers and there is no way I could pour a glass of beer, only a glass of foam. Your pic looks pretty tasty to me...

 

[barhopping247]

I've had a few overcarbed beers and there is no way I could pour a glass of beer, only a glass of foam. Your pic looks pretty tasty to me...

It IS tasty.....it's just bubbly like champagne lol.

 

[barhopping247]

So if fermentation wasn't complete what can I do?

1) do I keep in fridge and drink?

2) is it ok to drink?

3) do I dump it

4) is there anyways to save this batch?

 

[barhopping247]

Has anyone ever tried dumping all the bottles back into a carboy and let the beer continue to ferment for a few more weeks and then re-prime and re-bottle?? Will it hurt anything? Is this something that is possible? Appreciate all the help.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Has anyone ever tried dumping all the bottles back into a carboy and let the beer continue to ferment for a few more weeks and then re-prime and re-bottle?? Will it hurt anything? Is this something that is possible? Appreciate all the help.

It will oxidize your beer. If you drink them FAST it may be manageable, but that may be enough to render the beer undrinkable (cardboardy).

As these folks have said, you probably rushed the process. Lagers can take a while to finish, and may not have dropped the whole way. Just a few additional gravity points is enough to cause a major headache. 2 additional points of attenuation can provide almost a volume of additional CO2. That's in addition to potentially higher residual CO2 in the beer from lagering, plus overpriming (as said, 5 oz per 5 gallon batch is too much for almost all styles of beer).

Now, if your beer is a overcarbed, but not bottle-bomb worth (ie, if you didn't bottle too soon, but overpriming plus higher residual CO2 put you in the mid 3 volumes of CO2 instead of somewhere in the 2-3 volume range, which is entirely possible), and you're opening at room temperature, it's not surprising that they would gush. At room temp very little of the CO2 will stay absorbed, and as soon as you release the pressure in the system (opening the cap) all that CO2 comes rushing out, leading to the gusher.

I would agree with leaving them in the fridge to be safe, just in case it's bottling to soon, because that could indeed cause bottle bombs.

Next bottle you open, degas it (pouring it back and forth between glasses a bunch of times works well), let it warm up to reference temp, and read the gravity again. If you're substantially lower than your 1.020, you've found your answer.

 

[barhopping247]

It will oxidize your beer. If you drink them FAST it may be manageable, but that may be enough to render the beer undrinkable (cardboardy).

As these folks have said, you probably rushed the process. Lagers can take a while to finish, and may not have dropped the whole way. Just a few additional gravity points is enough to cause a major headache. 2 additional points of attenuation can provide almost a volume of additional CO2. That's in addition to potentially higher residual CO2 in the beer from lagering, plus overpriming (as said, 5 oz per 5 gallon batch is too much for almost all styles of beer).

Now, if your beer is a overcarbed, but not bottle-bomb worth (ie, if you didn't bottle too soon, but overpriming plus higher residual CO2 put you in the mid 3 volumes of CO2 instead of somewhere in the 2-3 volume range, which is entirely possible), and you're opening at room temperature, it's not surprising that they would gush. At room temp very little of the CO2 will stay absorbed, and as soon as you release the pressure in the system (opening the cap) all that CO2 comes rushing out, leading to the gusher.

I would agree with leaving them in the fridge to be safe, just in case it's bottling to soon, because that could indeed cause bottle bombs.

Next bottle you open, degas it (pouring it back and forth between glasses a bunch of times works well), let it warm up to reference temp, and read the gravity again. If you're substantially lower than your 1.020, you've found your answer.

OK, I will take the SG tonight when I get home from work. I appreciate the very informative response, it was very helpful.

So, if the SG has dropped, can I then pour the beer back into the carboy and allow to continue to ferment? Re-prime and bottle? Or....I guess what are my options if that is the case?

 

[Qhrumphf]

OK, I will take the SG tonight when I get home from work. I appreciate the very informative response, it was very helpful.

So, if the SG has dropped, can I then pour the beer back into the carboy and allow to continue to ferment? Re-prime and bottle? Or....I guess what are my options if that is the case?

Again pouring the beer back into the carboy will oxidize it, potentially to the point of being undrinkable.

If the gravity has dropped keep em in the fridge and drink them quickly.

 

[mdbrewer1]

I agree with Qhrumphf. From the looks of your picture, you caught them in time. Since it sounds like you have the room in your fridge, keep them there and drink them soon. Trying to fiddle with it isn't going to get you a better beer than you have right now.

 

[barhopping247]

Again pouring the beer back into the carboy will oxidize it, potentially to the point of being undrinkable.

If the gravity has dropped keep em in the fridge and drink them quickly.

Noted, Thanks again for the help! I'll keep you posted this evening.

 

[barhopping247]

I agree with Qhrumphf. From the looks of your picture, you caught them in time. Since it sounds like you have the room in your fridge, keep them there and drink them soon. Trying to fiddle with it isn't going to get you a better beer than you have right now.

I'm hoping that it's just over-primed....I will confirm either way later today.

In the mean time, they are all being stored in fridge at this time.

How long will they "be ok" in the fridge. Many have referenced "drinking them quickly". We all have different definitions of "quickly" lol.

Will they be ok for a few weeks in the fridge?

 

[barhopping247]

Again pouring the beer back into the carboy will oxidize it, potentially to the point of being undrinkable.

If the gravity has dropped keep em in the fridge and drink them quickly.

One last thing to note: I bottled the lager while it was still cold(ish). I took it out of the fridge on bottling day and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour and then added sugar and bottled it. The beer was still cold when it was bottled, and then left at room temperature. I'm also thinking that may have been a problem?

 

[mdbrewer1]

One last thing to note: I bottled the lager while it was still cold(ish). I took it out of the fridge on bottling day and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour and then added sugar and bottled it. The beer was still cold when it was bottled, and then left at room temperature. I'm also thinking that may have been a problem?

The only effect I can think that would cause is a slight delay in the carbonation process, since it would take the yeast a little while to warm back up and get going again. It might have actually helped out in your case since that would have given them less time to work on that extra sugar before you got the bottles in the fridge to slow the yeast down again.

 

[barhopping247]

The only effect I can think that would cause is a slight delay in the carbonation process, since it would take the yeast a little while to warm back up and get going again. It might have actually helped out in your case since that would have given them less time to work on that extra sugar before you got the bottles in the fridge to slow the yeast down again.

Thanks for all the help....frustrated to say the least

 

[mdbrewer1]

Thanks for all the help....frustrated to say the least

I've been there. I overcarbed my most recent stout since I underestimated how much volume I'd lose to the chocolate powder. I didn't catch them initially until they were past saving and I didn't have the fridge space to keep them cool anyway.

I resorted to "burping" the bottles to get the CO2 out to the point where I could uncap them and then let them sit covered with aluminum foil for most of a day to let the rest of the CO2 out. I re-primed individual bottles with table sugar. I haven't tried one of the re-primed ones yet since they haven't had enough time to carb up, but I'm expecting oxidation and possibly quite a bit of it.

It's definitely frustrating, but also a lesson learned.

 

[Qhrumphf]

One last thing to note: I bottled the lager while it was still cold(ish). I took it out of the fridge on bottling day and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour and then added sugar and bottled it. The beer was still cold when it was bottled, and then left at room temperature. I'm also thinking that may have been a problem?

The only effect I can think that would cause is a slight delay in the carbonation process, since it would take the yeast a little while to warm back up and get going again. It might have actually helped out in your case since that would have given them less time to work on that extra sugar before you got the bottles in the fridge to slow the yeast down again.

The other thing to note is an increase in residual CO2 as the cold temp will dissolve more into solution. How much exactly is questionable and depends on a bunch of factors. But end result is a little higher carbonation.

 

[barhopping247]

I've been there. I overcarbed my most recent stout since I underestimated how much volume I'd lose to the chocolate powder. I didn't catch them initially until they were past saving and I didn't have the fridge space to keep them cool anyway.

I resorted to "burping" the bottles to get the CO2 out to the point where I could uncap them and then let them sit covered with aluminum foil for most of a day to let the rest of the CO2 out. I re-primed individual bottles with table sugar. I haven't tried one of the re-primed ones yet since they haven't had enough time to carb up, but I'm expecting oxidation and possibly quite a bit of it.

It's definitely frustrating, but also a lesson learned.

So, last night I thought that I would give the "burping" a try. LOL....boy was I wrong! As soon as I opened up one of the room temperature ones, it just started to foam out of the bottle. So "burping" is not an option at room temperature. One week at room temp has not proven well for this batch...lol

On the other hand....I could open them up when they are cold and let them sit at room temperature and then re-cap....hell...or as most have suggested....just leave em in the fridge for now and drink em..."quickly"

 

[mdbrewer1]

So, last night I thought that I would give the "burping" a try. LOL....boy was I wrong! As soon as I opened up one of the room temperature ones, it just started to foam out of the bottle. So "burping" is not an option at room temperature. One week at room temp has not proven well for this batch...lol

On the other hand....I could open them up when they are cold and let them sit at room temperature and then re-cap....hell...or as most have suggested....just leave em in the fridge for now and drink em..."quickly"

My first couple of burps were nothing more than barely moving the cap with the bottle opener until I saw the bubbles start to rise and then tightening the cap back down. Total time was about 4 seconds. Each subsequent burp was a little longer. It probably took 6 rounds for the bottles that were less full and about 8 or more for the ones that were filled a little higher. Even after sitting covered with only foil for most of a day, they all started to bubble back up again once the table sugar was added. I had to enlist my wife to help since there wasn't enough time for me to dump the sugar in and get the new cap on before it bubbled over. They're all sitting in a plastic container in the closet. I'll put the first one in the fridge next week to see where they're at.

The kicker is that I got more sediment in the bottles than normal. When I siphoned into the bottling bucket I started the siphon at the level I usually do, but the trub layer was so much higher than normal that I picked up a fair bit. If these gush, they bring all of that sediment back into solution. I'll leave them in the fridge for at least a week and hope for the best, but I have fairly low expectations at this point.

 

[barhopping247]

My first couple of burps were nothing more than barely moving the cap with the bottle opener until I saw the bubbles start to rise and then tightening the cap back down. Total time was about 4 seconds. Each subsequent burp was a little longer. It probably took 6 rounds for the bottles that were less full and about 8 or more for the ones that were filled a little higher. Even after sitting covered with only foil for most of a day, they all started to bubble back up again once the table sugar was added. I had to enlist my wife to help since there wasn't enough time for me to dump the sugar in and get the new cap on before it bubbled over. They're all sitting in a plastic container in the closet. I'll put the first one in the fridge next week to see where they're at.

The kicker is that I got more sediment in the bottles than normal. When I siphoned into the bottling bucket I started the siphon at the level I usually do, but the trub layer was so much higher than normal that I picked up a fair bit. If these gush, they bring all of that sediment back into solution. I'll leave them in the fridge for at least a week and hope for the best, but I have fairly low expectations at this point.

Ok, you and I are pretty much at the same situation it seems.

I tried burping and then recapping quickly. I just lifted the cap enough to hear some gas escape and see a few bubbles....I then tried to re-cap, but before I could the pressure was so great that it decided to explode beer all over the kitchen, living room and me. As you can imagine, I was not happy. SO, I gave up that little experiment and put all the bottles in the fridge. I have no issues at all with gushing when they are cold, so that's where I am at right now as you know.

These also have more sediment than my normal beers, and I do not know why...I only slightly disturbed the trub while siphoning....

I will tell you this though....I bottled a few in clear corona bottles, just so I could see the clarity once bottled....they came out crystal clear...I mean just amazing golden lager. That's what is making the thought of having to dump this batch even more disappointing....that and the flavor is amazing.

 

[mdbrewer1]

The burping was definitely a situation of baby steps. I'd spend 20 minutes whenever I had a chance and could see progress each time. Every so often one would take off before I could get it tightened back down, but the opening was small enough that the end result was little more than a string of foam down the side.

If the flavor is good and you can pour a glass like the picture you posted, keep them and drink them within the month. If you notice an increase in "gushiness", invite some friends over to finish them off. I wouldn't dump them unless the flavor turns (not sure why it would at this point) or the carbonation gets out of hand.

 

[stpug]

These also have more sediment than my normal beers, and I do not know why...I only slightly disturbed the trub while siphoning.

It sounds as though you may have had a renewed fermentation after bottling. You had mentioned that your FG was higher than expected (1.020), and that you had bottled with 5 oz priming sugar for 5 gallons (IIRC). The priming sugar rate would have given you well\high carbonated beers, but not gushers. It's possible that the introduction of oxygen and little bit of rousing caused by bottling may have got the yeast going again. One way of checking would be to take another FG reading on one of your beers. The priming sugar may skew the reading a little bit but I'm sure we could figure out the numbers. Probably the easiest way to take another reading would be to first chill a beer so it doesn't gush; then pour into a thin-walled container (glass coffee pot maybe); then submerge the container in hot water for an hour or so (you're aiming for warm beer; 85F maybe); stir occasionally throughout the hour to encourage the release of co2 from solution; when you feel the beer is warm (not hot) and the co2 has been mostly released then chill the beer back to ~60F using an ice-water bath; once you're at 60F then pour into your hydrometer tube and take another reading. While this won't fix your overcarbonated problem, it may tell you if fermentation was renewed in the bottle on the original beer sugars.

 

[barhopping247]

It sounds as though you may have had a renewed fermentation after bottling. You had mentioned that your FG was higher than expected (1.020), and that you had bottled with 5 oz priming sugar for 5 gallons (IIRC). The priming sugar rate would have given you well\high carbonated beers, but not gushers. It's possible that the introduction of oxygen and little bit of rousing caused by bottling may have got the yeast going again. One way of checking would be to take another FG reading on one of your beers. The priming sugar may skew the reading a little bit but I'm sure we could figure out the numbers. Probably the easiest way to take another reading would be to first chill a beer so it doesn't gush; then pour into a thin-walled container (glass coffee pot maybe); then submerge the container in hot water for an hour or so (you're aiming for warm beer; 85F maybe); stir occasionally throughout the hour to encourage the release of co2 from solution; when you feel the beer is warm (not hot) and the co2 has been mostly released then chill the beer back to ~60F using an ice-water bath; once you're at 60F then pour into your hydrometer tube and take another reading. While this won't fix your overcarbonated problem, it may tell you if fermentation was renewed in the bottle on the original beer sugars.

Perfect, I will be doing that in 4 hours.....at least I will be able to figure out what happened....Although no way to fix it, except to drink it...lol

 

[barhopping247]

The burping was definitely a situation of baby steps. I'd spend 20 minutes whenever I had a chance and could see progress each time. Every so often one would take off before I could get it tightened back down, but the opening was small enough that the end result was little more than a string of foam down the side.

If the flavor is good and you can pour a glass like the picture you posted, keep them and drink them within the month. If you notice an increase in "gushiness", invite some friends over to finish them off. I wouldn't dump them unless the flavor turns (not sure why it would at this point) or the carbonation gets out of hand.

I think these will have no problem disappearing in a month......

 

[barhopping247]

It sounds as though you may have had a renewed fermentation after bottling. You had mentioned that your FG was higher than expected (1.020), and that you had bottled with 5 oz priming sugar for 5 gallons (IIRC). The priming sugar rate would have given you well\high carbonated beers, but not gushers. It's possible that the introduction of oxygen and little bit of rousing caused by bottling may have got the yeast going again. One way of checking would be to take another FG reading on one of your beers. The priming sugar may skew the reading a little bit but I'm sure we could figure out the numbers. Probably the easiest way to take another reading would be to first chill a beer so it doesn't gush; then pour into a thin-walled container (glass coffee pot maybe); then submerge the container in hot water for an hour or so (you're aiming for warm beer; 85F maybe); stir occasionally throughout the hour to encourage the release of co2 from solution; when you feel the beer is warm (not hot) and the co2 has been mostly released then chill the beer back to ~60F using an ice-water bath; once you're at 60F then pour into your hydrometer tube and take another reading. While this won't fix your overcarbonated problem, it may tell you if fermentation was renewed in the bottle on the original beer sugars.

If this WERE an infection.....what am I looking for?

 

[stpug]

If this WERE an infection.....what am I looking for?

Without having any other information to go on, it doesn't seem like you have an infection - just a little refermentation in the bottle.

If it were an infection you may see a ring around the bottle where the beer stops in the neck. You may sense some kind of "off" characteristic in the aroma and taste. But, again, it doesn't sound like an infection to me.

 

[barhopping247]

Without having any other information to go on, it doesn't seem like you have an infection - just a little refermentation in the bottle.

If it were an infection you may see a ring around the bottle where the beer stops in the neck. You may sense some kind of "off" characteristic in the aroma and taste. But, again, it doesn't sound like an infection to me.

Ok, for sure there is no "ring" around the neck. As I had mentioned, I bottled a few in clear bottles so that I could keep track of the clarification. It looks crystal clear...minus the sediment in the bottom of the bottles.

 

[Qhrumphf]

It's a subtle white ring that you may not notice until the bottle is empty. It's possible to have a gusher infection that you don't taste or smell. I don't remember which wild yeast it is, but it eats through dextrins without producing any notable off-flavors (outside of the carbonic bite that comes with excessive carbonation).

Let us know what happens after you degas and recheck the gravity. Priming sugar would theoretically drop the gravity slightly, but probably less than you could read with a hydrometer. So if you're below your 1.020, then you know you've got something still working. If you're still at 1.020, then you can probably burp your bottles and be ok.

 

[barhopping247]

Ok. So here is the deal. The hydrometer is now reading 1.010.....which is where it was supposed to finish. However. I imagine this is a problem at this time.

Soooooo now what are my options?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Was that at reference temperature and thorougly degassed? Because if it dropped 10 points in the bottle, plus residual CO2 and priming sugar, I would have expected bottle bombs. I'd venture that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 volumes of CO2 in those bottles, well more than your average beer bottle can withstand.

If you've got residual CO2 and you're off in the temp (did you warm it up as @stpug suggested?) and were too warm, and didn't get all the CO2 out it could screw up the reading.

 

[barhopping247]

I racked it back and forth for a while between glasses to degass. I took the reading when it was cold still. I'm leaving the hydrometer in the glass while it warms to see if it changes....I'll post again shortly. However, so far we are still at 1.010