Explosive Carbonation - Barleywine

[The Bone2]

It's been about 3 weeks since I bottled. The OG and FG were right on target. I know you guys say to wait awhile for Barleywine, but I just wanted to sample for fun.:fro:

I just opened a bottle....the entire contents of the bottle exploded out of the bottle all over everything, including the new Radiohead CD (borrowed!!).

No bottle bombs....

Just wait?

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Any pics? We love to see stuff exploding!

 

[BierMuncher]

Hitting the final gravity target, doesn't mean the beer was done fermenting.

1) How long did you let the beer primary and secondary before bottling?

2) How much corn sugar did you use to bottle?

 

[The Bone2]

was 5 oz, just as called for.

I did not use a secondary. I bottled it after the final gravity was established. Will it settle down?

 

[BierMuncher]

was 5 oz, just as called for.

I did not use a secondary. I bottled it after the final gravity was established. Will it settle down?

Time heals a lot of things, but excessive carbonation isn't one of them.

Was the beer chilled and for how long before your served it?

 

[The Bone2]

in the refrig about 1 hour before decanting.

 

[Yooper]

Well, chill the next one for at least three days first, so that the co2 can be dissolved into the beer instead of the headspace. That will help alot.

One thing that comes to mind is maybe your priming sugar wasn't mixed properly? Maybe some will be undercarbed and some overcarbed. I'd put on in the fridge right away, try it in 3-5 days, and see how that one is. If it's ok, but slightly overcarbed, I'd chill the rest of them too.

 

[The Bone2]

I seriously doubt that my priming sugar wasn't mixed properly. I suppose, but doubt. The beer is "young" for a barleywine, from what I have heard. So, the additional conditioning time in the bottle will not make a difference, just how long I chill it before I pop?

 

[Yooper]

Well, additional conditioning time in the bottle could, in theory, lead to bottle bombs if fermentation wasn't finished. Still, it probably was finished since you reached your fg (what was the og and fg, by the way?). Chilling makes a big difference in the carbonation- it seems to "calm" down and the co2 dissolves into the beer better when it's cold. Also, if fermentation wasn't quite done, chilling will halt any further fermentation.

I just know from experience that a few days in the fridge at a minimum really helps when you have an issue like this. A week in the fridge would be better, but it would be hard to wait another week!

 

[BierMuncher]

Follow what Yoop said.

If you test another bottle and the problem seems to be worsening, we'll need to go to plan "B".