Gushers from bottling dregs? Or infection?

[Slobberchops]

Hi there,

I opened up a couple bottles of Dark Belgian Ale I brewed to get...gushers. The beer had probably been in the bottle about 3-4 weeks.

My question is this - when I bottled, I got a fair amount of trub/sediment/etc in the bottom of the bottling bucket. I bottled as much as I could, meaning that I had a few bottles I knew would have more sediment than others. I recall in a previous batch that I had one bottle that was "dregs" that was also a gusher. Is a gusher always mean an infection (the beer tastes OK, but there is a lot of particulate at the bottom), or is "dregs" a possible explanation?

When I open the bottles, they don't gush right away. Rather, there is a pause and then foam forms and starts rushing out of the bottle. The bubbles seems to pick up sediment from the bottom of the bottle circulating around in the beer.

I took a hydrometer reading, and it is the same as when I bottled it. Yeast was Wyeast 3787 (Trappist High Gravity).

Anyone have any thoughts or seen this type of behavior before?

Thanks!

 

[Revvy]

How long are you chilling the bottles before opening them?

 

[Slobberchops]

They'd been in the fridge for a few days.

 

[Slobberchops]

Revvy - just read some of your other threads. In addition to a lot of foam, I get "yeast rafts" suspended in the beer after I pour.

As I said in the OP, the gushing seems stir up yeast from the bottom of the bottle, creating these suspended yeast rafts.

Will these yeast rafts settle out with time?

 

[RM-MN]

Revvy - just read some of your other threads. In addition to a lot of foam, I get "yeast rafts" suspended in the beer after I pour.

As I said in the OP, the gushing seems stir up yeast from the bottom of the bottle, creating these suspended yeast rafts.

Will these yeast rafts settle out with time?

I think the answer is yes. I made a spiced dark ale that gave me gushers when it was young but settled out nicely after a couple months.

 

[arch1tect]

They need to condition a little more. You can also cold condition the bottles to help with the sediment. Simply put them in a fridge for a long time to help compact the sediment.

Once you get a nice pipeline and find a bottle in the fridge that's been there for a few months to a year, you'll notice how compacted everything is in the bottom. =]