How much hop is to much

[ocluke]

This is a rhetorical question, right?

See post above for a failed attempt at ironic humor.

 

[LittleBroBrews]

I don't know what your recipe was, but was it supposed to smell smoky? That could be a sign of infection. There are other reasons for the foaming, likely overcarbonation, but temperature change can also cause that.

4kg Golden Promise
700g Torrified Wheat
600g Pale Chocolate Malt
500g Smoked Malt
250g Carafa II

It was supposed to have a smokey note to it and it has thy fine.

If it was an infection can someone explain what kind of infection and why it happened and how I can avoid it in the future?

Like I said only one of the bottles has foamed over in a small volcano the rest just have a good hardy head to them. I still drank the one that foamed over and did not get sick I would have thought with an infection you would get sick at least a little bit.

 

[peterj]

Again:

It's not the same kind of infection that people get like a cold or something. It's some type of bacteria like lactobacillus or something that is found commonly in the environment. If you don't sanitize everything that touches the beer then there is a chance the bacteria could grow in your beer. It doesn't infect you, it infects the beer and is able to process the more complex sugars that the yeast isn't able to. When the bacteria process these they create lactic acid (which makes the beer taste sour) and CO2 (which will make an already carbonated beer overcarbonated). Many of these bacteria are used to make yogurt and a lot of yogurt contain live active cultures of these bacteria. So people ingest them all the time and it is actually somewhat good for your digestive system.

So to avoid this you should always sanitize everything that comes in contact with your beer and wort. Hops have antimicrobial properties and are usually packaged pretty cleanly so it's ok to just toss them in for a dry hop without sanitizing them.

If it was just the one bottle that gushed then I would say that bottle probably didn't get properly sanitized. It must have contained some bacteria that infected just that bottle of beer. Not all bacteria is harmful to people. In fact we have thousands of different types bacteria inside and outside our body that are essential to our survival. They aid in digestion, immune responses, and many other ways.

 

[AlCophile]

I had same bad luck with hop residue in bottle. It was a heavy Scot ale, from Munton's. I never really solved problem to where I'd swear to it, but, try this: you can sloooowwwly leak out some gas over course of few days, by gently prying edge of cap up till hear hiss, then backing off. Can also gently recap same cap, in place, if you are careful. At least you won't have to chase your brew down the drain.

 

[peterj]

I had same bad luck with hop residue in bottle. It was a heavy Scot ale, from Munton's. I never really solved problem to where I'd swear to it, but, try this: you can sloooowwwly leak out some gas over course of few days, by gently prying edge of cap up till hear hiss, then backing off. Can also gently recap same cap, in place, if you are careful. At least you won't have to chase your brew down the drain.

I did that for a batch of Hefe that I added too much priming sugar to. Had to do it a few times, but it definitely helped.