FOAM and More Foam

[tom66]

I have not made a lot of beer, but my last batch confused me.
The flavor is great, but when I open a bottle it foams. Foam comes out of the bottle almost as soon as it is opened. when I pour the foaming brew into a glass it keeps foaming. I lose nearly half of each bottle.
What went wrong? any Ideas?

 

[Yooper]

If it's not an infection (and if it tastes good, it probably isn't), then only a few things come to mind. One is that it was bottled before it was 100% finished. That's the most likely reason. Another reason could be too much priming sugar was added at bottling, or the priming sugar wasn't mixed into the beer evenly. The last reason is that the beer hasn't been chilled long enough to absorb the co2 in the headspace in the bottle, so when it's opened, there is a lot of foaming.

A way to check- chill one bottle for at least 48 hours and then open it.

If you bottled a bit too early, there isn't any fix except not to do that next time!

 

[beerthirty]

How long has it been bottled? At 1-3 weeks they seem to volcano. At 5 weeks and longer the carbonation is held in solution much better and it pours a nice beer.

 

[tom66]

it has been bottled for a few months now. I left 3 or 4 bottles in the refrigerator for several days with the same result. While it is not spraying out, it just keeps bubling out. I guess I will let the next batch go a little longer before I bottle it.

 

[Yooper]

Do you take hydrometer readings? That's really the only way to know for sure if the beer is finished.

 

[tom66]

I have not done that, but know I should. I usually just watch the airlock and when it stops bubbling I know it is time to bottle. I will use it on my next batch.

 

[Yooper]

I have not done that, but know I should. I usually just watch the airlock and when it stops bubbling I know it is time to bottle.

I guess you figured out why you have foamers, then.

Using the hydrometer from now on will prevent this kind of problem in the future.

 

[tom66]

Thanks for the help!