5 oz of priming sugar to 4 gallons of beer

[borden]

The title says it all. I got sloppy and used my entire 5oz bag of priming sugar for a batch that turned out to be just a smidgeon over 4 gallons. I'm not sure how it turned out this way, but I imagine on brew day I misjudged/miscalculated how much top-off water to add. Lesson learned on that front.

Final gravity was about 1.017, and it's a German Alt. I opted to fill the bottles a little low, figuring that might help avoid explosions. But that gets at my real question: should I be anticipating some bottle bombs, or is this not likely to really impact the beer much?

 

[pdxal]

More room in the bottle usually results in more foam for me.
You can use one of the free calculators online and figure out what carbonation level that will result in to be sure, but I'd expect you'll have some beer cannons when you open them, but probably few bombs.
Good luck.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I would seriously consider opening them up, dumping them very slowly back into the bottling and re-bottling. BeerSmith shows 5oz in 4gallons will result in the bottles have 3.2 vol of CO2; that's pretty high.

Also, IIRC more headspace is likely to help create bottle bombs. If the CO2 has more room to disperse it won't dissolve into solution as quickly.

 

[borden]

Alright, thanks for the feedback. I can live with gushers but bombs frighten me. I might just leave them covered in a garbage bag in the basement and hope for the best. Ugh. What a pain.

 

[Jeffrey1122]

How did this turn out? I did the same thing.

 

[Revvy]

I would seriously consider opening them up, dumping them very slowly back into the bottling and re-bottling. BeerSmith shows 5oz in 4gallons will result in the bottles have 3.2 vol of CO2; that's pretty high.

Also, IIRC more headspace is likely to help create bottle bombs. If the CO2 has more room to disperse it won't dissolve into solution as quickly.

I would seriously consider NOT taking this advice, unless you like liquid cardboard.

The deed has been done. If in a couple weeks the bottles seem highly carbed, carefully open them up to bleed off the co2 and re-cap.

Don't risk oxygenating your beer by dumping it back into a bucket. There is no careful way to do it. Oxygentation trying that is inevitable.

Rather than trying to preemtively fix something...let the process go, you may luck out. Or you can bleed off the pressure. But trying to re-bottle is asking for worse trouble.

 

[EricScott]

Hi,
I have made the same mistake in my first batch, which has been int he bottle for 10 days. Revvy, how would you judge if the bottles "seem highly carbed"?
Thanks much,
Eric

 

[Revvy]

Hi,
I have made the same mistake in my first batch, which has been int he bottle for 10 days. Revvy, how would you judge if the bottles "seem highly carbed"?
Thanks much,
Eric

If after about 2 weeks in the bottles you open one and it gushes out then it is probably over carbed. I'd stick one in the fridge for about 5-6 hours just to pull down the co2 and check on it. If it gushes out it is too highly carbed.

But you know something guys? We often carb to style on our beers and sometimes we put what amounts to another ounce of sugar in many of our beers with no issues. All that may happen is that your beer is more carbed per the STYLE of the beer, but that doesn't mean you get a gusher.

Instead of worry about this, you can always double check the amount if co2 you are generating by using a priming calculator.

Most kit recipes that call for 4.5-5 ounces of sugar are generating between 2 and 2.5 volumes of co2, but if you look at your style that may just be for the middle of the range of your beer (they usually give you a range from the low to the high end of your style) your over sugaring may just be the Top END for the style, OR just slightly over, but still close to the norm for your beer. And therefore you are worring for nothing.

 

[EricScott]

Got it, thanks again!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Sorry for the crappy advice. My bad. I tried editing my last post and it for some reason posted a new one

 

[EricScott]

So, I popped a bottle open last night. The brew was lightly carbed and delicious. No gushing, no exploding glass.
Although Im no expert, I believe it tastes a bit young still (surprise surprise) like, a bit bitter at the end, and the alcohol is noticeable. Ill wait two more weeks before trying the next one.
Thanks for the advice!