Gusher

[michael61182]

My questions is regarding a gusher.

I would like to start from the beginning and my gusher is from a Mr Beer kit.

This kit was gifted to me about 3 Christmas'. My concern with this kit is that I live in Phoenix AZ and it had not been stored all the time inside. When I pulled it out it was outside in the storage room with outside temps of 110+.
Anyway I decided to try it out. However when I went to do it, the package of booster was solid, so I just boiled it until it finally dissolved. I let ferment in a temperature controlled refrigerator at 70.5 degrees for 2 weeks. I used cleaned and sanitized glass bottles and bottled them with Muntons brew tabs (4) which I purchased at my local brew store. I put them back in the same refrigerator. I noticed after a week that the tabs had not dissolved. After 10 days I started reading about tabs online and read mixed the bottle after a week to make the tabs dissolve. I started agitating a few bottles 2 days in a row until I saw they had dissolved then noticed 1 looked completely dissolved so I put that one in the refrigerator. When I opened it this morning it gushed as soon as I popped the top.

I would like to know if I screwed up by mixing the bottles. I decided to immediately put all the bottles in the refrigerator but noticed the tabs in the others has not dissolved either. My hopes were that if I let them sit in the cold for a few days that the carbonation would decrease, however I am also concerned with the undissolved tabs.

On a side note I bought a homebrew starter kits and cooked up a kit by BrewersBest.

 

[NTXBrauer]

What was your FG reading? My assumption is there were too many fermentable sugars still available, which led to over carbonation with the addition of the Muntons carb tabs. Keep them in the fridge for 2-3 days to let the CO2 disperse, and the next one you open should not gush out as bad.

Now since you used an almost 3 year old kit, the taste may not be optimal, but hey..taste is purely subjective right?

 

[michael61182]

Well at the time I didn't have a hydrometer since this was from a Mr Beer kit. I wasn't as concerned with the age of the kit as much as the temperature it had been stored. Will the colder temps help the tabs dissolve as well?

 

[NTXBrauer]

Will the colder temps help the tabs dissolve as well?

I would not expect so. You would have to agitate the bottles for this to happen.

 

[Grinder12000]

There are lots of things that can cause a gusher. How does it taste. if it's pretty funky then it could be an infection but otherwise one problem many people have is that just just put too much dissolved sugar in the bottling bucket and don't account for the temperature of the wort.

YOUR problem could be yet a few more layers to the gusher onion from a 3 year old kit to blasted tabs which I would stay away from to maybe sanitation conditions and the like.

PLUS - 2 weeks?? I've never bottled in less then 3 weeks tops! 2 weeks for only a very few beers and then go 3 weeks! I bet you there was still fermentation still going on . . .maybe!

 

[michael61182]

According to Mr Beer, 7 days is good. According to an online review from an experienced brewer I fermented for 2 weeks. At the time I had no way to test it and it only has a vented top to let the gases out.

I did taste it before bottling and did not care for the taste or smell. I was hoping it would get better after bottled and cooled. I did taste the one I opened which unfortunately was flat after it gushed everywhere (luckily I was outside). The smell still isn't great almost has a sour smell. As mentioned I did not have much hope for it considering it has been stored at such high temps.
Mr Beer did give me an itch however to try it with a brew kit.

I refrigerated the bottles yesterday and just agitated them as the tabs were not dissolving still. I will crack another one open in a day or 2 and see if there is any improvement.
I'm not worried if this batch isn't drinkable it's a learning experience.

However of course it would be nice to have some drinkable beer.

In the mean time I have enjoyed tasted all sorts of beers I haven't tasted before while I collect bottles.

 

[michael61182]

Well I've opened 1 beer for the past 3 days. All gushers.
I'm going to skip today and see what tomorrow brings. Maybe I'll get lucky over the weekend.