Overcarbonated beer what should I do?
- Thread starter Jazzeux
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KettleCorn
Well-Known Member
Naaaa... Send them to me 
Actaully if we are concerned we store them in a trash bag and wait it out. It they pop... easy to deal with. Otherwise, maybe all will be ok....
BTW: how much suger did you prime with?
Actaully if we are concerned we store them in a trash bag and wait it out. It they pop... easy to deal with. Otherwise, maybe all will be ok....
BTW: how much suger did you prime with?
Any chance you didn't get the priming solution to mix in very well, so just some of the bottles are overcarbed? I'd definitely wait it out though, seems a waste to throw out because of a little extra fizz 
How long have they actually been in the bottles? A lot of folks think their beer is over crabed, when in reality they're opening too soon, and the co2 hasn't fully gone into solution yet.
Before you do ANYTHING, let's make sure you actually have a problem or not.
Before you do ANYTHING, let's make sure you actually have a problem or not.
sidepart
Well-Known Member
This is the best advice.
If your asking because bottles are currently exploding, I've had really good luck with Bensiff's advice. Just be careful. Consider using some thick gloves and eye protection. Shouldn't be a problem but better safe then sorry where glass and pressure is concerned.
Whatever you do, don't dump the beer. That'd be a tragedy!
The beer is bottled for 2 month now. I drank some and it was amazing. It's my first partial mash batch. But now, I have like 24 bottles and each one I open pop like hell and half of the beer comes out in foam. None explode, but I don't want to take any chance.
When you say don't dump, what can I do? Pour the bottles in a bucket and recap? Thanks to all of you
No, you would NOt pour your beer back intpo something. WHy would you think that. You would just recap. Pouring beer anywhere would run the risk of oxydizing your beer, because you'd be pouring it through AIR, and air is the enemy of beer. If you want to recap, just take the old cap off and put a fresh one on.
But I hate to tell you if the majority of the batch was fine initially and now it's foaming, you have a late onset gusher infection. Nothing you can do is going to make that stop. You just need to get them really really chilled and drink them fast.
AND you need to look at your sanitization process and gear and see what you're missing. Pay particular attention to your bottling spigot. Hop gunk can get trapped deep inside the spigot and infect beer.
But I hate to tell you if the majority of the batch was fine initially and now it's foaming, you have a late onset gusher infection. Nothing you can do is going to make that stop. You just need to get them really really chilled and drink them fast.
AND you need to look at your sanitization process and gear and see what you're missing. Pay particular attention to your bottling spigot. Hop gunk can get trapped deep inside the spigot and infect beer.
How long are they in the fridge before you open them? May be a time to try "burping" just one and see how that works for you. Still the worst thing to do is dump, especially if it still tastes good, some beer is definitely better than none.
+1
dstranger99
Well-Known Member
The beer is bottled for 2 month now. I drank some and it was amazing. It's my first partial mash batch. But now, I have like 24 bottles and each one I open pop like hell and half of the beer comes out in foam. None explode, but I don't want to take any chance.
When you say don't dump, what can I do? Pour the bottles in a bucket and recap? Thanks to all of you
LOL... How much sugar did you use ?
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
If it's getting worse over time then there's a sanitation issue/infection or you bottled too soon. A beer that has reached a stable FG and is not infected will not continue to produce CO2 after the first 2-3 days of bottling. (We wait the additional weeks for the CO2 to be absorbed into solution and for the yeast to continue to condition and clean up the beer.) It's not like extra sugar is lying around to be used up.
Did you take gravity readings? Did you take multiple readings before bottling to make sure fermentation had ended? If not, it's possible the conditions in the bottle, temperature, reaeration, etc. could have restarted fermentation. Although you said the beer has been bottled for two months. That is probably not the issue but rule it out if you can.
Are you opening these bottles at room temperature? Beer at room temperature releases the CO2 back into the headspace so it will gush when opened if the pressure gets too great. You are probably chilling the beer but again, just rule out possible causes.
If neither of those are the case, it sounds like an infection. Are you seeing signs of infection in fermenters? (Smell for off flavors or look for filmy pellicles on top of the beer.) If not then it is somewhere in the bottling process. Thoroughly clean and sanitize your bottling equipment and bottles. Do not just sanitize. You need to clean first then sanitize.
Did you take gravity readings? Did you take multiple readings before bottling to make sure fermentation had ended? If not, it's possible the conditions in the bottle, temperature, reaeration, etc. could have restarted fermentation. Although you said the beer has been bottled for two months. That is probably not the issue but rule it out if you can.
Are you opening these bottles at room temperature? Beer at room temperature releases the CO2 back into the headspace so it will gush when opened if the pressure gets too great. You are probably chilling the beer but again, just rule out possible causes.
If neither of those are the case, it sounds like an infection. Are you seeing signs of infection in fermenters? (Smell for off flavors or look for filmy pellicles on top of the beer.) If not then it is somewhere in the bottling process. Thoroughly clean and sanitize your bottling equipment and bottles. Do not just sanitize. You need to clean first then sanitize.
It may be the case, I used star san on all my equipment but the bottles. I washed the bottles in the dishwasher using the "sanitize" option.
I took the gravity reading, but the beer was rack for over a month prior to bottle. So I don't think the FG is in case. Concerning sugar, I used beersmith to know how much sugar pour. Honestly, I don't remember how much I pour and I did not keep track (my mistake).
Lol, you know what, no I did not chill the beer. So I will try to chill it. But it shoulod still be overcarbonated. So I think I will try to chill it, uncap and recap.
Again, I'm learning a lot of things from you guys. Thanks a lot. I'm still a newbe, but I'm very interested in great beer. I'm making my own herms system right now. Maybe I'm going fast, but I will learn from my mistakes.
I personally don't trust the diswasher sanitization method especially since there was that dishwasher cleaner commercial a few years back where they took all the internal covers off everything and showed all the biomatter in all the nooks and crannies. I don't care that it's heated to sanitization temps, it's not an autoclave with a vacuum in it, it's still just a warm damp enviroment where all sorts of god knows what can breed.
Plus using a wet contact, no rinse sanitizer you know that the surface is sanitized just by seeing the wetness on the surface.
Plus using a wet contact, no rinse sanitizer you know that the surface is sanitized just by seeing the wetness on the surface.
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