Issues - Bottled - What now?

[bobobio]

Hi,

I'm looking a little advice on what if anything I can do to salvage a potential problem batch.

For my 3rd batch, I'm trying a very hoppy IPA. This to be exact: http://www.homebrewing.org/Arrogant-Bastard-Clone-Recipe-Kit_p_1583.html I followed the instructions except I left it in primary for 2.5 weeks because I broke my hydrometer.

My first issue was while racking to secondary, about a third of the batch got aerated because of a problem with my auto-syphon. After 2 weeks of dry-hopping in secondary, I started racking to my bottling bucket. In the days before I almos panicked because I saw some small things floating on the top. I don't think it was an infection. When I (very gently) lifted my carboy onto the table, I suddenly saw a lot of large spongy, blobs rising from the bottom. I waited until they seemed to settle on the top and proceeded to rack from underneath, but the lower the level got in the carboy, the more floaters got sucked into the tube. I had a piece of muslin over the end of the tube to keep large debris out, but this stuff got sucked right in, it seemed to disolve as it hit the tube and break down into nothing but bubbles. As I got to about 4 gallons through, there was so much transferring and so many bubbles in the tubing, I lost my nerve and stopped the transfer. What was left in the carboy was now quite cloudy with tons of this floating sponge. What was in my bottling bucket was very clear and smelled great! So I went ahead and bottled the 4 gallons.

Only at the end did I realise that I added 5oz of priming sugar (what I think was the right amount for a 5 gallon batch of IPA) to 4 gallons. It's currently stored at 67F. I'd like advice on what I might be able to do to get the best out of it. I'm wondering if 67F is cool enough that carbonation will take a while and if I start drinking it soon enough, it won't be too over-carbonated? Will putting them in the fridge at the right time halt carbonation? If so, I'm wondering if I should start opening a bottle periodically to see how it's doing - maybe every other day starting at a week in?

Any idea what the floating blobs could be and what they'll do to the batch?

Also, I tasted a spot while bottling and while I like strong hoppy IPAs, this was extremely bitter. Will that mellow with time in the bottle? (If so, it seems I'll have to balance carbonation against bitterness.)

The story doesn't quite stop there.... once I finished bottling, I went back to work leaving everything in place and an hour later decided I couldn't bring myself to dump the last gallon down the drain. Almost as an experiment and just on the offchance it wasn't totally ruined by now, I went and bottled the last gallon from the carboy. I racked everything, including all the broken up spongy stuff and I used a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar to prime it. Given the high concentration of whatever that is, any guesses what this gallon will be like? Another thing I did was throw it straight into the fridge since I was worried that it was somehow yeast that could be reactivated, ferment and bomb, and my thought being that chilling it in the fridge would stop that. How off-base am I with that logic?

Thanks for any input!
Karl

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

First thing... That's sponge stuff is probably yeast. So that last bit you bottled will have a lot of yeast cake mixed in. I'd probably drink those last to give as much time as possible for it all to settle in the bottle.

While it is possible you were aerating the beer too much during transfer I think your probably fine. Its frustrating when that happens with your siphon but it happens and usually its no big deal.

That does sound like a lot of priming sugar. I'd probably check a bottle a week so you know what your dealing with. If you check one and notice its super over carbed you can throw the whole batch in the fridge, try stove top pasteurizing(how to thread in bottling section I believe), or pop open and recap each bottle. Wouldn't really recommend the last option but I've seen where others have done it to prevent bottle bombs.

 

[MrNickVT]

Sometimes if you move your secondary or fermenter while getting ready to rack into the bottling bucket will cause a stir up. Did you give the yeast time to move back down?

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Hi...

...Thanks for any input!
Karl

Karl for you and your familys sake PLEASE uncap all of those bottles before glass starts flying all over the place, and possibly in your face....no good. YOu will most likly hear a large PSFHH. You can recap and hope that the priming sugar didnt fullly ferment out.

What you saw on the top were yeast/co2 rafts and completly normal.

Fermented beer is actually VERY lightly carbed after fermentation, when you lifted and shocked your fermentation vessel you released co2 from suspension (bubbles coming from the yeast cake to the top)

The beer is very bitter because well, you used alot of hops and the beer is still not clear...yeast and hop material on the palate is VERY offputting.

SOooo, now keep those re capped bottles in a room of atleast 70* for them to carb up...hopefully. If they dont after 3 weeks you will have to buy carb drops or redose each bottle with the correct amount of sugar and re cap again

To the last growler, you will have no fermentation in the fridge and it will not carbonate. Yeast go dormant below the optimal temps. Next time what u can do is throw it in a gallon growler and toss is in the fridge, once all the particulate has dropped out you can bottle with brown sugar or whatever you like.


Good luck!

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Personally I'd try catch it at the right carb level then pasteurize the batch before its overcarbed. Saves a lot of time and bottle caps. Granted you'd have to get it at the right time because once its overcarbed pasteurizing would become too dangerous.

I do it all the time with cider you just have to pop open a bottle every other day to keep a close eye on the carb level.

 

[bobobio]

Great information guys, thanks.

ok, sounds like I need to test opening bottles. I read the how to on pasteurizing, sounds easy enough, is the idea there to kill the yeast and stop any further fermentation/carbonation? On the day I find the bottles carbonated, will putting them in the fridge not be enough to stop any further carbonation?

MrNick, no I didn't wait for it to settle again, I wasn't sure what it was and thought it best to rack quickly before it mixed in too much.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Great information guys, thanks.

ok, sounds like I need to test opening bottles. I read the how to on pasteurizing, sounds easy enough, is the idea there to kill the yeast and stop any further fermentation/carbonation? On the day I find the bottles carbonated, will putting them in the fridge not be enough to stop any further carbonation?

MrNick, no I didn't wait for it to settle again, I wasn't sure what it was and thought it best to rack quickly before it mixed in too much.

Pasteurization is a process that kills off any bacteria or in this case yeast. Once done the beer won't carb any further. You can stick em in the fridge and the yeast should go dormant but pasteurizing will make 100% sure they won't eat through any more sugar. Ultimately your call in the end.

 

[bobobio]

Pasteurization is a process that kills off any bacteria or in this case yeast. Once done the beer won't carb any further. You can stick em in the fridge and the yeast should go dormant but pasteurizing will make 100% sure they won't eat through any more sugar. Ultimately your call in the end.

Gotchya. I think I'll try each method with a handful of bottles each and see which I have more luck with.

Thanks.

 

[bobobio]

After 6 days in bottles, I opened one this evening to see where it's at. A slight hiss on opening, and sure enough it was just lightly carbonated. I like fizz in my beer, so I'll leave it another 6 days I think and test again. It was fairly cloudy with some debris visibly swirling around. It tasted great though! Except for the last mouthful, left a strange aftertaste I can't quite describe....wonder what that was? Even still, quite relieved and happy and looking forward to enjoying the rest of it.

 

[heckler73]

for beer's sake man, put them in the fridge for two days before you open one. the debris (yeasties) will settle. then don't swirl them around in the bottle when you pour, and don't ever describe the last mouthful, because that's what you dump out in the sink.