Jack
Well-Known Member
I bottled a Belgian wit this week and when I was rinsing off the bottles, I noticed that one cap didn't look like it was securely capped. I thought I could smell beer when I put the neck of the bottle right up to my nose. So I decided to recap it. Unfortunately, it not only released pressure but started gushing.
I haven't had a gusher before, so I'm a bit puzzled. Here's some information about the beer:
1. Brewed it April 10, 2009. OG=1.052
2. Sat in primary for eight weeks, bottled May 31, 2009. FG=1.012
3. Measured temperature to be 75.8°F at bottling time, added 80 g table sugar in order to achieve 2.6 volumes of CO2.
Used calculator:
The Beer Recipator - Carbonation
with parameters:
desired volumes of CO2=2.6
bottle priming
volume being bottled=3 gallons
beer temperature at bottling=75.8°F
priming ingredient:cane sugar
result=79.4 g
4. Since it had sat in the primary for so long, I was afraid that some of the more delicate chamomile and spice aromas would have diminished. So when I bottled, I prepared my priming solution as follows. I dissolved 80 g of sugar into one cup of water with gentle heating. I brought this solution to a rolling boil, turned off the burner and added two tea bags of chamomile tea and a small handful of black pepper and coriander (same spices used during brewing). I let this steep for five minutes, and then I poured my priming solution into my bottling bucket through a sanitized strainer.
Here are all the reasons why I can think of a bottle gushing five days after bottling:
1. Maybe the priming sugar not evenly mixed (though I stirred the priming solution 50 times in each direction with my racking cane, which is what I've always done. At any rate, as I start to open bottles for drinking I'll see whether they gush consistently.)
2. Is it possible that chamomile tea contributes fermentable sugars of its own?
3. The final gravity was a little high, and fermentation may have kickstarted once more oxygen became available during the racking/bottling steps.
4. The beer may have picked up some kind of higher attenuating yeast, which is causing additional fermentation to occur.
Do any of you have any idea why this might have happened, other than bad luck?
I haven't had a gusher before, so I'm a bit puzzled. Here's some information about the beer:
1. Brewed it April 10, 2009. OG=1.052
2. Sat in primary for eight weeks, bottled May 31, 2009. FG=1.012
3. Measured temperature to be 75.8°F at bottling time, added 80 g table sugar in order to achieve 2.6 volumes of CO2.
Used calculator:
The Beer Recipator - Carbonation
with parameters:
desired volumes of CO2=2.6
bottle priming
volume being bottled=3 gallons
beer temperature at bottling=75.8°F
priming ingredient:cane sugar
result=79.4 g
4. Since it had sat in the primary for so long, I was afraid that some of the more delicate chamomile and spice aromas would have diminished. So when I bottled, I prepared my priming solution as follows. I dissolved 80 g of sugar into one cup of water with gentle heating. I brought this solution to a rolling boil, turned off the burner and added two tea bags of chamomile tea and a small handful of black pepper and coriander (same spices used during brewing). I let this steep for five minutes, and then I poured my priming solution into my bottling bucket through a sanitized strainer.
Here are all the reasons why I can think of a bottle gushing five days after bottling:
1. Maybe the priming sugar not evenly mixed (though I stirred the priming solution 50 times in each direction with my racking cane, which is what I've always done. At any rate, as I start to open bottles for drinking I'll see whether they gush consistently.)
2. Is it possible that chamomile tea contributes fermentable sugars of its own?
3. The final gravity was a little high, and fermentation may have kickstarted once more oxygen became available during the racking/bottling steps.
4. The beer may have picked up some kind of higher attenuating yeast, which is causing additional fermentation to occur.
Do any of you have any idea why this might have happened, other than bad luck?
