Carbonation questions and CO2 in unbottled beer.

[Dadux]

Hey guys.
So i usually bottle my beers using brewersfriend priming calculator. This is all well and fine when i try to carbonate at 2-2.2 which is pretty much my standard. But when i go above to 2.5 or so for certain pils or lagers i have had problems. The beer is good at 2-3 weeks after bottling but then it starts gushing out when i open the bottles and to be overcarbonated. Since i use a scale and a calculator i know im adding the right ammounts. Any idea why this might happen? One thing i thought of is that i usualy bottle beers quite early (maybe after 2 weeks of fermentation). They are definitely done (airlocks bubbles every several minutes but thats it, and fg is stable)but i wonder if they have more co2 dissolved that the calculator says there is.

Im about to bottle a wheat beer and i was gonna prime to 2.8 but i dont want to end up with a shower of beer.
Any advice and comments are welcome.
Also in case youbwonder, if you chill the beers it helps, but it isnusually not enough. I handle them with care and dont shake them or anything.

Thanks,
Dadux

 

[Epos7]

There are a lot of different theories about what causes gushers. I get the occasional gusher, but always between 3 - 5 weeks in bottle. After 5 weeks things seem to settle down. Just make sure you allow enough time to condition. A few days in the fridge before opening seems to help too, I think it helps any suspended sediment to settle out, otherwise it could act as a nucleation point for CO2.

 

[Dadux]

Yes i know this. However after 5 weeks and 6 and 10 i keep having the same problems

 

[ncbrewer]

I think it helps any suspended sediment to settle out, otherwise it could act as a nucleation point for CO2.

I second this theory, at least as a possibility. Maybe some hops in the bottles, or a low flocculating yeast. Maybe too much trub going into the bottling bucket.

Another possibility - Are you calculating priming sugar based on what is in the fermenter, or what goes to the bottling bucket? If it's based on what is in the fermenter it would be over-primed.

Maybe basing sugar on dextrose, but actually using sucrose (table sugar)?

 

[Dadux]

I use table sugar. I calculate for that. And i calculate for what us in the bottling bucket+added water (i dissolve the sugar in water then add it)

 

[bpgreen]

Are you checking the gravity a few days apart to make sure it's finished? I don't think you should still be seeing airlock activity if it's finished.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Degas and check a gravity reading on a gushing bottle.

That will help determine whether there may be a contaminant or if the beer wasn't finished fermenting.

I've never had a gusher. I bottle everything, at various carbonation levels, up to 3.6 volumes for a hefeweizen.

 

[Epos7]

Yes i know this. However after 5 weeks and 6 and 10 i keep having the same problems

Hmmm, are you mixing the priming solution in well? I usually boil the sugar in water, let it cool down a bit, then pour that in the bottom of my bottling bucket. I rack the beer on top, letting it mix in. Before I bottle I give it a few gentle stirs with a long spoon. If not mixed thoroughly the sugar, being dense, will settle on the bottom of the bucket, so the first x beers you bottle will have a lot more sugar and thus carbonation in them.

Another possibility is a minor infection. Are you cleaning and sanitizing your bottles and everything the beer is coming into contact with? An infection during bottling but after the beer has fermented out may be subtle enough not to affect the flavor much, but those unwanted microbes can sometimes convert stuff into CO2 that your beer yeast can't, resulting in an overcarbed gusher.

Do all your bottled beers turn into gushers, or just some?

 

[Dadux]

I dont check the gravity anymore. I know when it is finished. I have checked it before and with gusher bottles and fg is the same as when bottling.

I dilute in near boiling water, let it cool, add to bottling bucket then rack on top. By the way i do it the beer coming in enters in an angle and the whole thing swirls. All of the bottles are "gushers" (after a certain amount of time, and how much they gush depends on what i was aiming for in carbonation. Up of 2.6 they tend to gush after 3 weeks. Just at 2.6 if theybsit in the fridge for a while and are treated carefully they dont).
I clean my bottking bucket well with normal dishwashing soap, and the bottles i clean thoroughly when emptied and once again befor bottling with boiling water. I maje sure there is no leftover yeast or fungi om them

 

[RPh_Guy]

Up of 2.6 they tend to gush after 3 weeks.

Gushing is not normal.

Either you're adding too much sugar (maybe your scale is off), or the beer wasn't finished fermenting (especially if you aren't checking gravity), or you have a contamination with a high attenuation yeast (try some new bottling equipment and/or using a real cleaner like PBW), or the bottles aren't being cleaned properly, causing nucleation points.

Metal ions and beer stone can build up inside bottles over time. You need a real cleaner (not dish soap) to prevent it. Beer stone is extremely difficult to remove once it's built up enough to be visible.
https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/OYWATj5i7D/gushing/

You could try some new bottles and see if that helps.

Hope this helps. Cheers

 

[@RoyalGallon]

Could it be your bottles - are they old? Maybe small scratches from the bottle brush when you clean them being nucleation sites?