I got to much head....

[nu2brewing]

Ok....get your heads out of the gutter.

I bottled an Extra IPA 4 weeks ago, just uncapped the 1st bottle of it and poured it into and ice cold glass slowly. It foamed so bad that I had to knock off the head 2 times and I still have a 1" thick head on top, it won't stop! Honestly it just keeps on keeping on!

Priming:
I diluted 4.5oz of priming sugar in 1 cup of water, boiled that on the stove, let set till it was around 78 degrees, then poured it into my bottling bucket, then transferred my 5 gallon batch of Extra IPA into bottling bucket and began bottling.

What did I do wrong! This stuff is like champagne it's fizzing so much....help!

 

[Stratotankard]

A couple of possibilities I can think of. First, how long was the IPA fermenting? Had it reached a stable FG when you bottled. If it wasn't done fermenting, then adding a regular amount of priming sugar and bottling will result in over carbonation at best and bottle bombs at worst.

Second, if the priming sugar didn't get fully mixed into the beer in the bottling bucket you could have bottles that got lots of sugar and bottles that got very little. You would have some bottles overcarb'd (also possible bombs) and some under (flat). Some may have proper carbonation.

Terje

 

[nu2brewing]

The FG measurement I got was right on. I am not perfect but I have yet to have a beer carbonated this much. And haven't strayed from my process for bottling. The only difference is the ABV of this .vs any other beers, I would say double all the others I've bottled.
I will keep trying them, they are very great on the pallet! Just wondered if I should have lowered my priming sugar based on possible fermentables left since it's a high hop high ABV beer?

 

[Stratotankard]

No, keep using the recommended amount of priming sugar for the style. 4.5oz sounds about right for an IIPA. Normally you'll have a harder time getting a high ABV beer to carbonate, since the yeast may have reached their limit. That is how the couple of barley wines I've done have been. I had to force carbonate one in a keg and the other I added champagne yeast to at bottling.

As far as what to do now, I'd consider getting the bottles to a cooler location to slow the yeast down. Alternately you could try popping the tops and recapping the whole batch (use new caps).

Terje

 

[JRems]

What was the og and the fg? I just had an ipa that Stopped at 1.018. Well I thought it stopped. It was at 1.018 for a week. The day before kegging I took it out of the closet and it warmed from 62 up to 70 degrees. Dropped to 1.010 in 1 day.

 

[Revvy]

I have a feeling since it's a big beer, that it's JUST carbing now, and the co2 isn't quite in solution yet, so it's leaving the headspace fast. They may actually need another week to settle and reach the right level. What you might want to do is stick one in the fridge for a week, THEN open it. Longer in the cold should help pull the co2 into solution. But I'd only do a couple, and leave the rest alone for another week.

 

[Yooper]

ice cold glass slowly. It foamed so bad that I had to knock off the head 2 times and I still have a 1" thick head on top, it won't stop! Honestly it just keeps on keeping on!

What did I do wrong! This stuff is like champagne it's fizzing so much....help!

I think that's the issue. Instead of pouring a warm-ish beer into an ice-cold glass, do the reverse. Pour your cold beer (kept in the fridge for at least 48 hours) into a room temperature glass.

 

[nu2brewing]

My OG was 1.061, FG 1.011

 

[juslod]

Just marry her....... what? Someone had to comment at least once

 

[nu2brewing]

It looks like this will be something I have to live with on this batch. I haven't gotten any bottle bombs, yet, and it really tastes great! I will try the cold beer .vs warm glass to see what I get. Thanks everyone.

 

[nu2brewing]

Okay, I tried a refrigerator cold beer in a warm glass and that didn't work. I didn't get 6oz of beer it foamed so bad.

My question....am I going to gain anything by recapping the batch? What are you all's feeling on doing this?

 

[Yooper]

Okay, I tried a refrigerator cold beer in a warm glass and that didn't work. I didn't get 6oz of beer it foamed so bad.

My question....am I going to gain anything by recapping the batch? What are you all's feeling on doing this?

I don't really think it's overcarbed, unless your scale is way off. 4.5 ounces should be perfect for 5 gallons of IPA. How long did you leave it in the fridge before you poured it?

Sometimes newly carbed up beers don't have the co2 evenly "pushed" into the beer until a few weeks after being carbed up and then chilling them helps the co2 get dissolved better into the beer, instead of the headspace. The key is to keep them at fridge temps 48 hours at least.

The only other thing I can think of is a "gusher infection".

 

[nu2brewing]

Well I popped them all and returned them to the fermenter. I had several that I could barely get to the bucket, others heavily fizzy. I'll let it set for a week or so and check the gravity again and see what's up. This is my 1st IIPA so it's a learning process.

To note: These have been in the bottle for 4 weeks, WOW!

 

[nu2brewing]

Should I re-prime with 4.5oz of priming sugar or not when I go to bottle this IIPA again?

 

[lotbfan]

Once your fg doesn't move for a week, then you will need to reprime in order to get any carbonation in the bottles. You will want to really make sure this time that the FG is done, I suspect it was just stalled on the last batch, and once you bottled it some of that carried over into your priming, thus the exuberant off-gassing.

 

[nu2brewing]

Once your fg doesn't move for a week, then you will need to reprime in order to get any carbonation in the bottles. You will want to really make sure this time that the FG is done, I suspect it was just stalled on the last batch, and once you bottled it some of that carried over into your priming, thus the exuberant off-gassing.

That's a great insight, being new to brewing I honestly overlooked that it could have been stalled. Thanks to everyone for their input!

 

[brodie113]

Sounds like it is too late but I would have just kept them cold and lived with the result, especially if they tasted good. Pouring all the bottles out into the fermented seems like a risky choice. I assume they foamed up so your head retention will probably suffer - head forming proteins/materials are good for one time so you will have fewer in the finished beer.

Yeah, as others have mentioned, it sounds like the final gravity was not reached yet.

 

[Alamo_Beer]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but.....I just met Chris (or recognized him as a brewer that is) the other day.

Sounds to me like this situation could have been avoided by kegging

Seriously, bite the bullet on a keggerator....that and a dedicated fermenting fridge was the best brewing money I've spent.