Should I Re-cap?

Hi all,

About two weeks ago (11/8) I bottled an IPA. I had 4 gallons of room temperature beer and used 4 oz of dextrose to prime. I've done a little research since then and found a calculator that said I should use a little less, but no big deal, 4 ounces won't overcarb on it's own.

Last Friday I snuck one, even though I knew it probably had a ways to go, and it was great. It had the right amount of carbonation, great hoppy taste...

Last night I tried another, and wow what a difference a week made. I poured about an two inches into a pint glass, and immediately all the rest filled up with foam.

I've heard of venting and re-capping to alleviate this problem, but is there a proper way to do it? Is it worth the trouble?

Thank you!

Some more info:
OG: 1.060
At transfer to secondary: 1.021
(by the way is there a common term for this reading?)
FG: 1.018

7 days in primary at 66°F
24 days in secondary at 66°F

After reading through the forums I now know that I need to use my hydrometer to make sure fermentation is absolutely complete before bottling, but after more than 3 weeks in secondary it was probably done right?

 

Sometimes longer,depending on yeast pitch rate & if you can control temps. My Burton ale (OG 1.065) took 4 weeks to get down to FG 1.018,& gave it another week to clean up & settle more.
I had my APA & IPA do something like that. You def have to fridge them for a week to get past chill haze & drive more co2 into solution. I had a happy accident over Labor day,finding that 2 weeks fridge time (especially in these cases) gives better head & longer lasting carbonation that doesn't make like a volcano model when you open them.

 

Oh man I didn't even think about waiting for the CO2 to dissolve. I used the "throw it in the freezer for half an hour" method. I'll put a few in there today and wait a couple weeks.

 

If they do start bursting, venting caps is incredibly easy/straightforward. You don't need to remove them.

 

I found out the same way that mother nature doesn't take too well with us trying to cheat her system. She then rats you out to the brewing gods & this sort of thing is the result. Seriously though,it does take time for the process to occur. 1 week is good,2 weeks turned out bloody fabulous. Just try it once at,say 3 days,then 1 week,then 2 weeks at about 47F fridge temp. We have digital controls on our new fridge. Makes accuracy a bit easier in this regard.

 

So I just pop them a little with a bottle opener, then re-crimp?

 

If you start getting bottle bombs or if your properly chilled bottles pour all foam, this will save them. I saved an overcarbed russian imperial stout with this technique 2 years ago, and the few bottles I have left are still pouring with perfect carbonation after venting.

Work with room temperature bottles. Set your handheld bottle opener on top of the cap (the position it would usually be in if you were going to pry the cap off) and very gently go through the motion of opening the bottle, but in extremely slow motion. As you begin to apply pressure to the edge of the cap, you will hear a hiss of carbon dioxide exiting the distorted cap. Don't push the opener any further than this "hissing angle." As the hissing begins to die down, release the pressure with the opener. If the bottles are really overcarbed, foam will rise from the surface of the beer up inside the neck of the bottle. Once the foam reaches the cap, stop. With severely overcarbed bottles, you might have to vent multiple times, waiting for the foam to subside between each venting (~10 minutes). The caps will still hold pressure if you work gently with the opener and avoid permanently distorting the caps. If you want to take out some insurance on the seal of the caps, hit them with your bottle capper to make sure they're tight. That's it. Easy as pie.

 

Sounds easy enough, thanks for the advice and happy Thanksgiving!

 

You shouldn't tasnfer your beer to secondary until primary fermentation is complete.