Stumped by gushers

[rhythmsteve]

I've gotten pretty successful brewing, I've won a few homebrew competitions but I'm stumped on something. Every time it make an IPA if I don't drink them within a few weeks after bottling they turn into gushers. The beer still tastes the same but I'm wasting half a bomber at a clip. I use 5 oz of corn sugar per 5-6 gallon batches as standard protocol... What could be going on?

 

[Calder]

What could be going on?

1) The beer is continuing to ferment in the bottle. Let one of the beers go flat and take a gravity reading to see what is happening.

2) You are getting hop flakes in the bottle and they are acting as nucleation points.

 

[rhythmsteve]

Gravity readings are at baseline when I bottle, however I don't filter or cold crash so yeast is obviously still present. Hop flakes are present, not many but they are there, usually 1 or 2 minuscule remnants

 

[shaarm]

I've had a similar issue. It would be fine and then eventually get overcarbinated, causing gushers. I had a couple bottle bombs with beers that were 8-9 month old and we're fine for 5 months or so (I had been trying to save a 6er to see how they age). Recently, it was taking hold after only a few weeks. I checked a couple beers after letting it go flat and the Gravity was .995 or 1.000. The beer initially finished around 1.010-1.012 which was per the recipe. It is some sort of bug that doesn't produce many off flavors, just thins the beer out to the point it is un drinkable. My problem seemed to be coming from either my immersion chiller or my brew pot, because I switched out everything else and even bought a new glass carboy to ferment in. Out went the buckets, racking/siphon, tubing, removed anything else that touched the beer. I even had the issue in the new glass carboy, before I even racked or bottled which is why I could pinpoint it to the two things that were constant -brew pot or immersion chiller. I was attempting a pumpkin spiced ale and it just kept bubbling away for 6 weeks and never stopped. If I had to take a guess, there is some kind of bug on the top of the pot, above the point of the boiling wort that is/was not killed since it may not get hot enough without the wort.

I haven't brewed much since, as I have been growing up sour dregs in 1 gallon batches. However I really cleaned out my brew pot and bought new copper to make a new immersion chiller.

Good luck to you. I will know soon enough if I have solved my problems. I also got a new pot for Christmas so I have replaced everything now.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[rhythmsteve]

Thank you for the breakdown, I have also replaced boil kettle, and glass carboy. I also have dregs and sours going. But I'm maniacal about keeping all equipment, separated, and quarantined from one another. I definitely would taste Brett, lacto, or civil disobedience if it was present. But then again there are so many bugs that I'm unaware of that it almost has to be the case

 

[catdaddy66]

Subbed.

I've had issues with this but the over carb was evident early rather than late.

 

[Calder]

Gravity readings are at baseline when I bottle, however I don't filter or cold crash so yeast is obviously still present. Hop flakes are present, not many but they are there, usually 1 or 2 minuscule remnants

It has only happened to me once, but I had a beer that I thought was done. Something like 1.060 to 1.016. Was steady for a few weeks. I think I bottled at 6 weeks. I later had a bottle go. When I checked the gravity from another bottle, it was 1.009 or something like that.

Just because it is stable does not always mean it is done. Some Belgian yeasts are notorious for stopping part way, and then taking a long time to finish off.

The hop flakes could be the cause. The flakes can provide nucleation sites for the CO2 to come our of solution when the bottle is opened, resulting in gushers for a normally carbonated bottle.

 

[rhythmsteve]

This particular IPA had a whole can of Heady Topper put into it as well, and I don't know the attenuation of that yeast, nor am I entirely sure it was even present, but grav readings were at1.010 and stable for 2 weeks

 

[AnonyBrew]

If this is only occurring on IPAs, look at what's different in your process. Perhaps how you dry hop is somehow leading to the gushers?

 

[shaarm]

My issue was with everything, not ipas. and it was not a brett flavor and not sour. The beers typically tasted fine until bug(s) at hand over-attenuated to the point that there was no residual sugars. Also, my issues started before I was into sours and/or brett. I've since taken a liking to sours. If you can't beat them, join them, right? I was a craft noob when I started brewing, but if I let the beer release some of the carbonation they still tasted good, to me anyway. Once a couple of the bottle bombs happened I tried some of the beers and they were watery and pretty tasteless. I searched and searched but couldn't find anything online that resembled my issues. I initially thought I was either adding too much sugar at bottling or bottling too soon. Turns out neither was the case.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[shaarm]

OP, keep us posted. If it is just IPAs the other guy is right, it could be something with dry hopping. Bag maybe?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[rhythmsteve]

It's almost like i need a hop rocket or something, there's just no replacement for the hop leaf making direct contact with the beer in the carboy. I've tried hop bags but it just doesn't give the same result in aroma, and it's hard to get out of the carboy. I don't want to filter, so I may have to strain into the bottling bucket better

 

[shaarm]

Are you transferring the beer from a primary to a secondary to dry hop? Is that the only time you would use that siphon? Do you strain the hops out any way when trying to get beer to a bottling bucket? Without knowing what your steps are it is hard to figure out where exactly it is happening. There has got to be something different that would be causing your problems.


The first thing I did was eliminate all extra stuff. I used to filter the wort going into my fermenter to try to keep trub out. I also thought it was in my bottling bucket, so I bottled the next batch just sticking a wand on the end of my siphon. Not it. I eliminated anything I could and started from the end and got all the way back to the boil pot.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Beerbeque]

You got a bug. I know cause I got a similar bug, it was awful. I took steps and killed my bug. I hope you kill yours.

 

[rhythmsteve]

I always secondary into a glass carboy, I always strain for primary and secondary. I don't think it's a bug, because the taste doesn't change, and this only happens with dry hopped IPA's. I am very meticulous about sanitation, and I have multiple tubing connections for individual types of beers.

 

[shaarm]

You got a bug. I know cause I got a similar bug, it was awful. I took steps and killed my bug. I hope you kill yours.

What steps did you take? I think I have finally gotten rid of mine but have been too nervous (well mainly too busy) to brew.

 

[brewcat]

5 oz of priming sugar always seems like too much. Sounds like they are just overprimed. For 5 gallons of IPA you really only need 3-4 oz