Fobbing Disaster with an Ultrasonic Cleaner

[AlexKay]

So I had the brilliant idea that I’d use a commercial ultrasonic cleaner to make beer foam up in the bottle, so that I could then cap on foam. I put a full bottle in the water bath, turned on the ultrasound, and ...

... two seconds later (literally, two seconds) beer started to jet out of the top of the bottle like in one of those Mentos-and-Diet-Coke videos. By the time things were under control again, the beer bottle was 1/3 full of beer and 2/3 of foam. The rest of the beer was on my garage floor.

Not being very bright, I haven't totally given up on the idea. I will still try turning the ultrasound on and off as fast as I possibly can, in the hopes that will be more controlled. If that doesn't work (more floor mopping, that is), I suppose I could take apart the control panel and wire up something that activates the cleaner for a fraction of a second. Or rig up something on my own with a piezo transducer.

 

[day_trippr]

This thread begs for a video!

 

[AlexKay]

Tried this again with a half-full bottle (so the foam had somewhere to go.) Turned it on and immediately off again. Got about two inches of foam in the bottle. Still too much, but if I can get my finger to be faster on the button it could work out...

I've been trying this on fully carbonated beer. An interesting idea is to use it on beer right out of the fermenter, where carbonation levels are quite low, so I can cap on foam when bottle-conditioning.

 

[hotbeer]

I don't do super hoppy beers. I've only once had a beer that tasted like the cardboard taste I'm told oxidation tastes like.

I wouldn't waste good carbonation by agitating my beer more than necessary. But I guess you could make that up by adding more sugar for priming.

Are you having beers that have that cardboard oxidized taste or just trying to solve issues you don't have?

 

[AlexKay]

Are you having beers that have that cardboard oxidized taste or just trying to solve issues you don't have?

I'm not super-sensitive to cardboard. I've occasionally mailed a bottle to a competition and they've dinged it for oxidation. I'm also trying to figure out "best practices" for bottling ... in other words, solving issues I don't have.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

Ah, solving problems you don't have. Always a good excuse.

Have you considered one of the portable ultrasonic cleaners, a wand you can tap against the bottle and remove.

 

[Miraculix]

Maybe holding the bottle in your hand and keeping it only partially submerged in the water bath would help when turning it on and off quickly? Great idea btw!

 

[Eric_dsm]

What benefit is capping on foam supposed to provide?

 

[bruce_the_loon]

What benefit is capping on foam supposed to provide?

Capping on foam is intended to exclude oxygen from the headspace in the bottle. Because the foam is driven by the carbonation in the beer, the bubbles are almost completely CO2 and will have physically pushed out the oxygenated air in the headspace.

 

[Eric_dsm]

Capping on foam is intended to exclude oxygen from the headspace in the bottle. Because the foam is driven by the carbonation in the beer, the bubbles are almost completely CO2 and will have physically pushed out the oxygenated air in the headspace.

Gotcha. Thanks.

 

[grampamark]

Just break up some Mentos, drop in a small piece, and cap (quickly!). Priming sugar and capping on foam in one operation.

You’re welcome

 

[AlexKay]

I've been trying this on fully carbonated beer. An interesting idea is to use it on beer right out of the fermenter, where carbonation levels are quite low, so I can cap on foam when bottle-conditioning.

For posterity: nope! At least for beer fermented at 70 F, there's not enough carbonation in the green beer to get foam to bottle on.