Help! Why is this happening? Some Foam, others Perfect!

[Trophy_Brew21]

Last night I opened a bottle of my home brew, and it just turned all into foam, and started poring out of the bottle (second time this has happened, out of 25ish). 12 oz. bottle, got about 2 oz of beer, if that. All my other beers (in this same batch) have been a little foamy (i.e inch-ish of head) to perfect. Why did this happen? My only idea is, it was maybe a beer from the bottom of the bucket, so it had more yeast, to cause more carbonation?

The beer was in the fridge cooling for about 30-36 hours, if that helps? but that is about how long they are normally in there for anyways.

The unopened beers are still at room temperature, until i feel like drinking one, then put it in the fridge to cool down, to make the yeast go dormant. Could that be causing the issue?

I would like to get an understanding of why this might happen, Thanks!

 

[mlyday]

My guess is that you didnt mix the priming sugar in very well. So some got more than others.

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

My guess is that you didnt mix the priming sugar in very well. So some got more than others.

Even if I stirred it around for about 15-20 seconds? It took me about 25-30 min to do all my bottling. First time bottling, normally keg. So I guess some of the priming sugar could fall towards the bottom?

 

[pwndabear]

not in such a short amount of time.

 

[rifraf]

You're just not done carbing. This happened to me too, give your beers another week then cool for 48 hours.

 

[LouBrew13]

I've had that happen before. It's doubtful that your priming sugar solution would separate in the time it took to bottle. It's more than likely a "not as clean as the others" bottle. Or a funny guy that shook it like crazy prior to opening and you're on a you tube vid somewhere.

 

[rifraf]

Here is what Revvy said to a very similar question I posed a while back:

Nope. more than likely the fact that some gushed and some were under is really just because they're just on the cusp of being ready.

Inconsistant carbonation, usually simply means that they are not ready yet. If you had opened them a week later, or even two, you never would have noticed. Each one is it's own little microcosm, and although generally the should come up at the same time, it's not an automatic switch, and they all pop on.

A tiny difference in temps between bottles in storage can affect the yeasties, speed them up or slow them down. Like if you store them in a closet against a warm wall, the beers closest to the heat source may be a tad warmer than those further way, so thy may carb/condition at slightly different rates. I usually store a batch in 2 seperate locations in my loft 1 case in my bedroom which is a little warmer, and the other in the closet in the lving room, which being in a larger space is a tad cooler, at least according to the thermostat next to that closet. It can be 5-10 degrees warmer in my bedroom. So I usually start with that case at three weeks. Giving the other half a little more time.

If you watch Poindexter's video on time lapsed carbonation, you will see that in many instances, before a beer is carbed it my gush, that's not from infection, or mixing of sugars, but because the co2 hasn't evened out- it hasn't been pulled fully into the beer. Think of it as there's a lot of co2 being generated and most of it is in the headspace, not in the beer, so there's still "over pressure" in the bottle, so it gushes when it is opened.

But when the beer is truly carbed it all evens out, across the bottles.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlBlnTfZ2iw

You just caught some before they evened out, and others had. The 3 weeks is kinda just an average, some take longer some sooner.

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

i would go with sanitation. i have had some bottles that just didn't get completely clean. look inside the gushers and see if there is a film on the inside. if there is, you need to use a brush and scrub them. just rinsing won't get all of the stuff out. it got to a point with mine that i had to bleach bomb all of my bottles. got to be a bit rediculous. if there isn't a film, then i would see above at revvy's answer. might not be done yet

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

I've had that happen before. It's doubtful that your priming sugar solution would separate in the time it took to bottle. It's more than likely a "not as clean as the others" bottle. Or a funny guy that shook it like crazy prior to opening and you're on a you tube vid somewhere.

I sure hope no one would mess with my home brew! haha

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

Here is what Revvy said to a very similar question I posed a while back:

Thank you rifraf, and Revvy! That was very informative!

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

Oh, and I forgot to mention. I primed with honey, so could that be part of the problem? Since I know honey can be inconsistent in sugar levels.

 

[rifraf]

Oh, and I forgot to mention. I primed with honey, so could that be part of the problem? Since I know honey can be inconsistent in sugar levels.

Did you bulk prime (all priming into the bucket) or did you prime each bottle individually?

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

Did you bulk prime (all priming into the bucket) or did you prime each bottle individually?

Bulk, thought it would be easier and quicker. And safer for no bottle bombs

 

[rifraf]

Then I don't think honey will have made a difference unless you just opened the bear and squirt some into your bottling buck after you filled it with beer

 

[Trophy_Brew21]

Sounds good, thank you very much!