Infection or just non chilled bottles?

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I have a batch of porter that has been sitting in my pantry for 3 weeks now, and tried one just to see how the carbonation was going. The bottle when I opened it didn't give off any violent hiss, so there didn't seem to be any excessive pressure in it.
But there was some gushing, it took a few seconds for it to start and was creeping up really slowly and absolutely no fountain. I tried the SG in another bottle after pouring it back and forth between 2 glasses and it was at a tie between .010 and .011 as opposed to .012 it had stabilised at during fermentation. But that diffence may very well be due to the slight alcohol increase during carbonation.
It tasted as it had not matured enough as expected, but other than that it was nothing funky, could this be just because they were opened at room temperature and will solve it self by sitting in the fridge for a while? I have had the same issues in some commercial belgians and bottles of Robinson's Old Tom and Fullers vintage ale that are bottle conditioned and when opened at room temp. Do I need to worry, I have only had to dump one batch due to infection and would like to keep it that way.
 
What temp is that pantry? Maybe a little too, low? Low room temps (66-72F) work best. At cellar temps (50-55F) it will take longer.
Sounds like it's not fully carbonated yet.

And yeah, the bottles should be chilled for a few days before opening, to prevent gushers. The time in the fridge also helps to integrate/dissolve the carbonation, so you get less foam, while keeping richer/thicker mouthfeel.

I doubt it's infected or you would experience over-carbonation and fountains, as the bugs will eat the more complex sugars and what not.
 
What temp is that pantry? Maybe a little too, low? Low room temps (66-72F) work best. At cellar temps (50-55F) it will take longer.
Sounds like it's not fully carbonated yet.

And yeah, the bottles should be chilled for a few days before opening, to prevent gushers. The time in the fridge also helps to integrate/dissolve the carbonation, so you get less foam, while keeping richer/thicker mouthfeel.

I doubt it's infected or you would experience over-carbonation and fountains, as the bugs will eat the more complex sugars and what not.
19-20c I'd guess, so about 66-68F, and only three weeks conditioning.
I put one in the fridge and gonna test it later tonight or tomorrow, but it could be that it's not fully carbonated yet. I had another batch of ESB that was done carbonating after 4 weeks, and started to taste really good after about 6 so I might just have to give it more time.
The thing that lead me to believe it not necesarrily is infection is that there don't seem to be any extreme pressure in the bottles indicating an agressive second fermentation, and no funky flavours. I'll let it sit a couple weeks more and try again, after chilling the bottles overnight.
I really need to get a beer fridge because most maltier ales are better just chilled to like 12c rather than almost freezing as in a kitchen fridge...
 
Aside from the foaming, was it overcarbonated? Brett contamination wouldn't necessarily make it taste funky or plastic-y in 3 weeks. The sg change is somewhat worrying but could be from other factors like you said. If there is a contamination issue that caused a 1-2 point drop, then the beer would be noticeably overcarbonated. If that's the case, I'd carefully move all bottles to the fridge immediately to avoid explosions (no need to dump them if they taste ok). Otherwise, probably no big deal and could be from room temp and some nucleation points in the bottle like you said 🍻
 
There didn't seem to be any excessive carbonation, I calculated for 2.3 vol and it felt like it was around that. And as you said, a contamination causing that drop would likely be a rather violent gusher, and this was more gently foaming than gushing. Could be the alcohol produced during carbonation that lowers the density a bit. Ill let them sit a couple of weeks and try again.
I really need to learn to wait the full month before I start testing, but man it's hard not to, those bottles are calling for me...
 
Oh, and is foaming/ accelerated carbondioxide release a general issue in warm bottle conditioned beer? Like the yeast cake starts some kind of reaction or something when the bottles is opened, I have had the same thing happen in unchilled commercial bottle conditioned beer aswell, and they were likely not infected since they had been stores for a year+ and it was just a slowly creeping foaming.
 
There didn't seem to be any excessive carbonation, I calculated for 2.3 vol and it felt like it was around that. And as you said, a contamination causing that drop would likely be a rather violent gusher, and this was more gently foaming than gushing. Could be the alcohol produced during carbonation that lowers the density a bit. Ill let them sit a couple of weeks and try again.
I really need to learn to wait the full month before I start testing, but man it's hard not to, those bottles are calling for me...

I hear ya. I brew mostly hoppy stuff so I'm usually trying to get them conditioned and chilled within 5-10 days. When I do a big dark beer it's soooooo tough to wait the proper 4-8 weeks+ before they're usually at their best. Last big stout I made was in December and I brewed it specifically to peak around March. Luckily I've managed to restrain myself and I'm thrilled I did as it's absolutely 🔥🔥🔥 right now compared to how it was in December. Let us know how this turns out 🍻🍻🍻
 
Oh, and is foaming/ accelerated carbondioxide release a general issue in warm bottle conditioned beer? Like the yeast cake starts some kind of reaction or something when the bottles is opened, I have had the same thing happen in unchilled commercial bottle conditioned beer aswell, and they were likely not infected since they had been stores for a year+ and it was just a slowly creeping foaming.

If you open them warmer, less co2 will want be in solution, so depressurization (by opening the bottle) can absolutely have a bigger effect. Summer temps can even cause bottle explosions if temps get too extreme
 
If you open them warmer, less co2 will want be in solution, so depressurization (by opening the bottle) can absolutely have a bigger effect. Summer temps can even cause bottle explosions if temps get too extreme
Guess I'll have to convince SWMBO I need a beer fridge to use at the lowest effect setting then, since the kitchen fridge is too small and way too cold for keeping the types of beers i brew at serving temps.
 
Guess I'll have to convince SWMBO I need a beer fridge to use at the lowest effect setting then, since the kitchen fridge is too small and way too cold for keeping the types of beers i brew at serving temps.
Just make sure you set rules up front... beer fridges have been known to turn into extra veggie/cheese/other stuff fridges pretty quickly.
 
I've had this problem bottling in the winter and drinking beers in the summer - difference in basement temp.
 
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