My beer gushes when I open it? Ruined or not?

[cbc818]

Hello everyone,

So I've brewed only a few times (with partial success). This time however was a genuine marvel to me.
What I was brewing was a Cherry tart Cherry Tart (though it admittedly got overpowered by the zest.)
But more importantly, when I opened the bottle after the fermentation was finished, it gushed like a volcano for 11 solid minutes. I did try a taste however and it was mostly okay.

However I read somewhere that gushing is a result of a bacterial infection. Should I dump it or is there anything worth saving in it?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

How many bottles have you opened?

 

[cbc818]

How many bottles have you opened?

I've opened 4 of the 12. Of those 4, only one of them didn't gush as much as the others. I'll call that one '5y' as per my labelling. I bottled 5 of them and then I waited 4 days to bottle the rest to experiment with the time for fermentation. 5y was part of that second group.

 

[tracer bullet]

It sounds over-carbonated. Yeast went nuts in the bottle, did extra fermenting, and made extra CO2.

Maybe wasn't finished fermenting before you bottled it?
Maybe added too much sugar / tablets / whatever your method was during the bottling process?

 

[cbc818]

It sounds over-carbonated. Yeast went nuts in the bottle, did extra fermenting, and made extra CO2.

Maybe wasn't finished fermenting before you bottled it?
Maybe added too much sugar / tablets / whatever your method was during the bottling process?

Possible. Of the 4 I opened this was how much sugar I used:
5or: 2 tsp of cane sugar
5y: 2 tsp of cane sugar, but bottled 4 days later
5g: 2 tsp of turbinado sugar
8or: 2 tsp of cane sugar but more time for fermenting

 

[Sammy86]

I'm with @tracer bullet sounds like it might be over carbed...what was your process for fermentation and did you take a gravity reading/multiple gravity readings to ensure fermentation was actually complete?

 

[cbc818]

I'm with @tracer bullet sounds like it might be over carbed...what was your process for fermentation and did you take a gravity reading/multiple gravity readings to ensure fermentation was actually complete?

My fermentation process was I let the batch sit in the fermenter for a week, then added in pureed red tart cherries and lime zest (which I put too much in) into the fermenter, and then it sat for 2 more weeks.

After this 2 weeks, I bottled 5 of the 12. I waited 4 more days and bottled the rest.

In terms of gravity readings I didn't take these. Don't have a means to, yet.

 

[Sammy86]

My fermentation process was I let the batch sit in the fermenter for a week, then added in pureed red tart cherries and lime zest (which I put too much in) into the fermenter, and then it sat for 2 more weeks.

After this 2 weeks, I bottled 5 of the 12. I waited 4 more days and bottled the rest.

In terms of gravity readings I didn't take these. Don't have a means to, yet.

My guess is that it wasn't done fermenting...that is a whole lot of new sugar being introduced. Need to get yourself a hydrometer to check those gravity readings...you're playing a dangerous game with bottle bombs without knowing whether or not its done fermenting.

 

[cbc818]

My guess is that it wasn't done fermenting...that is a whole lot of new sugar being introduced. Need to get yourself a hydrometer to check those gravity readings...you're playing a dangerous game with bottle bombs without knowing whether or not its done fermenting.

I was following a set of instructions that told me not to let it sit longer than the amount of time I gave it and just trusted it's word. But yeah hydrometer is next on my list of items to get.

 

[bracconiere]

i drank a gusher for 2 days, woke up with a liver so painful could barely get out of bed.....you can google fusarium/aflatoxin, was the, what i assume malt wet for a few days or anything?

 

[cbc818]

i drank a gusher for 2 days, woke up with a liver so painful could barely get out of bed.....you can google fusarium/aflatoxin, was the, what i assume malt wet for a few days or anything?

I don't believe so but not certain on that

 

[bracconiere]

well your life, but it took me a month to heal it....but i'll never drink a gusher again! (in my case i keg and only carb to 8psi, so gushers are easy to distinguish from over carbed)


not trying to be a fear monger or anything.....just a word of warning.....

 

[cbc818]

well your life, but it took me a month to heal it....but i'll never drink a gusher again! (in my case i keg and only carb to 8psi, so gushers are easy to distinguish from over carbed)


not trying to be a fear monger or anything.....just a word of warning.....

I appreciate it!

 

[davidabcd]

added in pureed red tart cherries

That's your issue. When you add fruit, you're starting over with fermentation (sugar added). As mentioned above, you can't go wrong with using a hydrometer and taking a reading two days apart to see if the brew is stable.
Fruit is weird because if you leave it compact, things seem fine when you take a reading. But I think you are liable to release more sugar while you're handling it (removing it from the fermenter), therefore your readings will be invalid.
I'm in the "puree the hell out of it so all the possible surface area of the fruit gets exposed" club. If the fruit is allowed to be fully exposed, then you can be confident you won't get gushers. It's a mess to separate but that's what I've found is workable.

 

[camonick]

Possible. Of the 4 I opened this was how much sugar I used:
5or: 2 tsp of cane sugar
5y: 2 tsp of cane sugar, but bottled 4 days later
5g: 2 tsp of turbinado sugar
8or: 2 tsp of cane sugar but more time for fermenting

Severely over carbonated is my guess. Are those measurements per bottle?

 

[cbc818]

That's your issue. When you add fruit, you're starting over with fermentation (sugar added). As mentioned above, you can't go wrong with using a hydrometer and taking a reading two days apart to see if the brew is stable.
Fruit is weird because if you leave it compact, things seem fine when you take a reading. But I think you are liable to release more sugar while you're handling it (removing it from the fermenter), therefore your readings will be invalid.
I'm in the "puree the hell out of it so all the possible surface area of the fruit gets exposed" club. If the fruit is allowed to be fully exposed, then you can be confident you won't get gushers. It's a mess to separate but that's what I've found is workable.

That makes perfect sense to me. I can't believe I never thought of this!

 

[cbc818]

Severely over carbonated is my guess. Are those measurements per bottle?

Each bottle is 22 oz

 

[camonick]

To achieve the general 2.5 volumes of CO2, a 22oz bottle @70° would be dosed with about 3.99 grams of turbinado sugar. A teaspoon of turbinado sugar weighs ≈4.21 grams which is 2.1X as much sugar needed if you used 2 teaspoons.
Here is a priming sugar calculator for you Homebrew Priming Sugar Calculator

 

[cbc818]

To achieve the general 2.5 volumes of CO2, a 22oz bottle @70° would be dosed with about 3.99 grams of turbinado sugar. A teaspoon of turbinado sugar weighs ≈4.21 grams which is 2.1X as much sugar needed if you used 2 teaspoons.
Here is a priming sugar calculator for you Homebrew Priming Sugar Calculator

I appreciate it! Thanks very much!

 

[jrgtr42]

Each bottle is 22 oz

Sure, but did you use 2tsp of sugar for each bottle, or the batch as a whole as bottled.
For a 5 gallon batch, I'll use between 3 - 4 oz of corn sugar dissolved in boiling water for the whole batch - that comes to maybe a half cup, if that. That would get me about 25or so 22oz bombers.

 

[cbc818]

Sure, but did you use 2tsp of sugar for each bottle, or the batch as a whole as bottled.
For a 5 gallon batch, I'll use between 3 - 4 oz of corn sugar dissolved in boiling water for the whole batch - that comes to maybe a half cup, if that. That would get me about 25or so 22oz bombers.

I used 2 tsp in each of them

 

[jrgtr42]

I used 2 tsp in each of them

OK. You're overcarbonated, not an infection to worry about.
See, there's a few reasons a bottle can be a gusher. One is that there's an infection in there, which eats sugars that the typical yeast won't / can't - that causes more CO2 to come out, etc.
The second is adding too much additional fermentables when bottling - that's what you did here.
Generally you'd be looking at something like 1/4 or 1/2 tsp of cane sugar in a bottle - it's more recomended to prime the batch as a whole - you have more margin of error that way, in a bottling bucket, then split into the bottles. Turbinado I haven't used as priming - I'll take Camonick's word about the measurements there. I generally use corn sugar, which I'm used to - though I may switch over to cane once I finish my currect stock since my LHBS (Local HomeBrew SHop) closed.

 

[Sammy86]

For future reference take those instructions more as guidance, not set in stone. Remember, the yeast are living things and might not always act the way they are "supposed" to. Good luck with future brews and keep us posted!

 

[cbc818]

I greatly appreciate the help of everyone on here. I've learned quite a lot and I'm hoping my next batch turns out the better for it!

 

[MikeCo]

+1 on batch-priming next time. Use a priming sugar calculator and weigh the sugar with a scale.

 

[tracer bullet]

I greatly appreciate the help of everyone on here. I've learned quite a lot and I'm hoping my next batch turns out the better for it!

Experience goes a long ways. We all started somewhere.

You don't necessarily want or need to change your methods or swap all your equipment, but FYI you can get much better beer than the Mr. Beer stuff will allow without putting too much $'s into it. A large stainless pot, a food grade bucket that's used only for beer, and a handful of other items can be ~$100 or so. Even better stuff for fewer $'s on Craigslist if you live in a good sized town.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Bottles may be a bit warm. Put them in the fridge for a while and then open. Does the gushing still happen?

 

[jimyoung]

+1 on batch priming.

Turbandino sugar will impart flavour - which you may be aiming for, but if not, just be warned. It's just refined sugar with basically molasses added back in. I use dextrose as I've found it to be the most transparent.

You can also always just pick up a hydrometer - they're cheap - and test the beer now. It'll help you see how much sugar is in there. I personally prefer my refractometer, but there are a few gotchas, and you still want a hydrometer to calibrate a new one against.

 

[cbc818]

Bottles may be a bit warm. Put them in the fridge for a while and then open. Does the gushing still happen?

I haven't tested them since that initial opening. However they were sitting in the fridge for quite a while before I opened them, I think 48 hours.

 

[cbc818]

+1 on batch priming.

Turbandino sugar will impart flavour - which you may be aiming for, but if not, just be warned. It's just refined sugar with basically molasses added back in. I use dextrose as I've found it to be the most transparent.

You can also always just pick up a hydrometer - they're cheap - and test the beer now. It'll help you see how much sugar is in there. I personally prefer my refractometer, but there are a few gotchas, and you still want a hydrometer to calibrate a new one against.

Yeah I just wanted to test the effects different sugars had on the final product!