Older Bottle Carbonation

[chalkboardbrewer]

My beer is perfectly carbonated the first two months or so. Then, I noticed that turn into gushers around three months or so.

My process:

Rinse bottles then sanitize by pouring some Star-San in, cover opening with thumb ad shaking vigorously. Turn sanitized bottles upside down in dishwasher to dry. Boil priming solution according to carbonation profile: My British Ales get over 3 oz's of corn sugar. Rack a bit, about an inch or so, into the bottling bucket and then add priming solution. Bottle and cap as normal. Let sit for over three weeks in my 78 degree closet (72 in winter). Then chill for over a week in the fridge.

Any ideas?

 

[AleDave]

I'd love to know why... am experiencing the same thing. Brewed a lot last fall/winter and stuff is foaming over when I pour into a glass. A few styles have been gushing more than others.

 

[Stauffbier]

My beer is perfectly carbonated the first two months or so. Then, I noticed that turn into gushers around three months or so.

My process:

Rinse bottles then sanitize by pouring some Star-San in, cover opening with thumb ad shaking vigorously. Turn sanitized bottles upside down in dishwasher to dry. Boil priming solution according to carbonation profile: My British Ales get over 3 oz's of corn sugar. Rack a bit, about an inch or so, into the bottling bucket and then add priming solution. Bottle and cap as normal. Let sit for over three weeks in my 78 degree closet (72 in winter). Then chill for over a week in the fridge.

Any ideas?

You shouldn't let the star-san dry. It's a wet-contact sanitizer. Sanitize them and fill them right away while they're still wet after the one minute contact time. With that said I doubt it's a sanitary issue you're having. It's very possible your beers aren't totally finished fermenting when you bottle. I guess it's also possible that your bottles weren't perfectly clean before you sanitized them. Try a more vigorous bottle washing maybe...

EDIT: Another possibility is that you might be using too much priming sugar. Do you use a priming calculator for each batch?

 

[chalkboardbrewer]

Thanks for the ideas. All my beers are extract batches and I let my wort ferment for in primary for three weeks then bottle. I never really checked FG which I also use for the priming calculator in Beersmith. I also forgot to mention that I don't let the star-san dry, I have lots of foam from it while bottling.

 

[Stauffbier]

I never really checked FG

I'd bet this is your culprit! I'd highly recommend checking your OG and FG in the future. You might need to start raising the temp of your beer for the last couple of days of fermentation to fully attenuate...

 

[AleDave]

My similar issue relates only to beers that are several months old. First few months they are carbonated nicely but then I get foam overs from many of them - but not all. It is not a final gravity issue for me as mine finish lower than recipes call for. It could be a slight sanitation issue that does not emerge until some time has passed. Or it could be slight over carbonation. When I say foam over, I don't mean bottle bombs. It's when I pour into a glass that I get lots of head and it eventually settles down..

 

[machinelf]

Same here. We record OG/FG, hit our numbers, use Starsan, etc. They carb up where we want them at first, but if they are still around for a few months they start getting more and more foamy. What yeast is everyone using? We mostly use Cali V.

My similar issue relates only to beers that are several months old. First few months they are carbonated nicely but then I get foam overs from many of them - but not all. It is not a final gravity issue for me as mine finish lower than recipes call for. It could be a slight sanitation issue that does not emerge until some time has passed. Or it could be slight over carbonation. When I say foam over, I don't mean bottle bombs. It's when I pour into a glass that I get lots of head and it eventually settles down..

 

[chalkboardbrewer]

This has happened to a variety of my beers which use a variety of yeasts. I used Nottingham for my stout, Wyeast 1028 for my ESB, and probably S-04 or US-05 for my True Brew Oktoberfest. My newer beers are still OK which used Nottingham for a Nut Brown, another Wyeast 1028 for another ESB, and US-05 with my Cream Ale.

I don't mind waiting for the foam to subside, but it really stirs up the yeast and thus changes the flavor.

 

[AleDave]

I use English ale yeasts. Nottingham, West Yorkshire, and Yorkshire square. The only thing I have observed consistently is that well carbed beers are the worst with this issue.