Over Carbed Bottles

[mike20793]

Well I guess I used too much priming sugar in my latest batch and the result is over carbed bottles. Whenever I open them, the yeast cake gets all tossed up into the beer and then it spews out of the bottle. Is there a way to fix this? I have had them refrigerated for 6 days now hoping that this would help. It has slowed it a bit but the yeast still mixes into my beer. I have had this happen before but the yeast cake didn't get disturbed. Any thoughts? Next time I will use less priming sugar. Thanks.

 

[Silverbullet]

Bummer. How much priming sugar did you use? Just curious....

 

[Polboy]

i would try opening it slowly, just lift the cap a tiny bit and let co2 come out slowly

 

[mike20793]

I used 4 ounces for a 5 gallon batch. That amount usually works great for me. I don't know what happened with this one. It is just a basic pale ale and it fermented in primary for 25 days. It is pushing me towards kegging though. I have already started looking at freezers. I'm so sick of bottling.

 

[jerryteague]

How long has the beer been conditioning in the bottle? It sounds like its not ready yet.

 

[Dan]

Just thinking out loud here. Any chance it hadn't reached a steady final gravity or ended higher than expected? I would think 25 days would be plenty of time though.

 

[Silverbullet]

Sound like it was still fermenting or infectEd. 4 Oz of priming sugar alone wouldn't do that.....one would think anyway. 25 days should have been good though too...

 

[Kate00]

4 oz in 5 gallons shouldn't do that. This sounds like a gusher infection. Make sure you sanitize EVERYTHING that touches the beer. If you're already doing that, check your tubing, it may be time to buy fresh tubes. Buy food grade tubing also. I used tubing from home depot that got infected quickly and lost two batches to gushers. No problems since switching out tubing. My buddy had the same problem. Lesson learned, we are switching out tubing more frequently.

Try a couple more bottles, and if they're all doing this you should dump em before you get bottle bombs.

Sorry man.

 

[mike20793]

They have been conditioning for a month, so I think they are done. They don't taste like they are infected, so I don't know if it's that; but I have never had an infection so I'm not completely sure. I'll just let them sit in the fridge for a bit. I'm not in any rush and my pipeline is good right now. I'll just have to be patient.. I'll go ahead and switch tubing anyways since that may the problem. My racking tubing has been in use for like 9 batches. Thanks for the ideas guys. Cheers.

 

[mike20793]

The problem still persists after the bottles have been refrigerated for 3 weeks, so I'm beginning to think this is a gusher infection. When I have dumped a few, I have noticed what looks like mold on the bottom of the bottles. I don't think its yeast cake because no matter how much hot water I run in it, it stays put. I guess I didn't sanitize my bottles well enough. I think I'm going to dump the rest to prevent bottle bombs. The ones at room temp spew out like crazy. Sucks but I guess I learned a lesson from this. The thing that baffles me is that they taste good, so I was hesitant to think its infection. I soaked my bottles overnight in star san but they were bottles that I cleaned and delabeled. Next time, I'll make sure there isn't any gunk left in the bottom of the bottles. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[Bamsdealer]

If they're all gushers then it was likely a batch infection. Either that or you missed the bottle cleaning/sanitation step completely.

 

[passedpawn]

Even if they taste good, it might still be an infection. While bacterial infections sour the beer, wild yeast like Brett might not be noticeable.

One test (that I've never done) is to de-gas one of those bottles and measure the gravity. If it has fallen below what you measured at bottling time, you know that the problem is NOT over-priming. In that case, you either bottled before fermentation was complete or you've got tourists in your bottles.

 

[jonmohno]

I dont think they will taste bad until maybe the wild yeast may completley ferment it out but that could mean bottle bombs if set long enough.If they are at the point of creeping foamers -- I would refrigerate them and drink them soon. If they spray out i would just get rid of them for your own safety.

Sounds like you need a bottle brush, I always usually inspect the inside up to the light too. But its not neccessary usually because i immediatly rinse/flush later after pouring them to a glass after drinking them. Then i reflush with hot water and bottle brush them with hot water/baking soda and rinse a few more times. Tip to dry overnight then store then sanitize before bottleing. They are really easy to clean if you rinse/flush them after drinking. Which doesnt give them a chance to have gunk or crust dry over.

 

[Calder]

Check the gravity of the next bottle you open. You may have just bottled before the beer was finished. It happened to me recently when I rushed a beer; it dropped another 6 points in the bottle. Tasted great, gushers every one.

Put the beers in the fridge (the cold will stop anything from working), and pour as best as you can.

 

[mike20793]

I tried degassing a bottle and taking a gravity reading. The gravity is 1.012 in the bottle which is the same after it sat in the fermenter for 4 weeks, so it's definitely done. I still think its an infection with the bottles not being cleaned well enough. I've got a bottle brush, I've just never had to use it before and I guess that's the lesson to learn. I'm going to dump them anyways so I don't get a bottle bomb. It just gives me a reason to brew again! At least I learned something from this experience (switch to kegging ASAP).

 

[amandabab]

I've got a bottle brush, I've just never had to use it before and I guess that's the lesson to learn.

yeah, you actually have to USE the cleaning equipment.

 

[mike20793]

Well I always soak them in oxiclean overnight and rinse them good for storage and then when I go to use them I soak them overnight in star san. These just had extra gunk because they were commercial bottles that I cleaned and delabeled. I will definitely be using it from now on. Thanks!

 

[Dan]

Even if they taste good, it might still be an infection. While bacterial infections sour the beer, wild yeast like Brett might not be noticeable.

One test (that I've never done) is to de-gas one of those bottles and measure the gravity. If it has fallen below what you measured at bottling time, you know that the problem is NOT over-priming. In that case, you either bottled before fermentation was complete or you've got tourists in your bottles.[/QUOTE]



Tourist - haha! That was funny! But a legit answer.

 

[ncbrewer]

It's possible that you made a mistake (?) in measuring the priming sugar and added too much.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Don't dump them. If they taste fine, just chill them and drink asap!

 

[mike20793]

It's possible that you made a mistake (?) in measuring the priming sugar and added too much.

It's possible, but I doubt it. This scale has worked fine for me all my other batches. I'm 99% sure it's a gusher infection from the "tourists" left over from the commercial bottles sitting too long before I cleaned them.

Don't dump them. If they taste fine, just chill them and drink asap!

Can't do it. Read my previous posts. No matter how much I chill them, they spew out like crazy. It's not worth the potential bottle bombs. I'll just brew it again. It was a citra pale ale and I have plenty of ingredients since I buy in bulk.

All in all, this was the first time this has happened to me and it will be the last. I learned that my process for cleaning and storing bottles (especially commercial bottles that haven't been cleaned yet) is flawed. I will make the necessary adjustments next time. It wasn't too bad of a loss for learning a crucial lesson in homebrewing.

 

[KuntzBrewing]

Uncap some and recap them. Chill a few days and taste. See how it tastes.
*Repeat as needed

 

[ktblunden]

At least I learned something from this experience (switch to kegging ASAP).

If you want to use this experience as an excuse to switch to kegging (I've justified expenses similarly in the past) that's fine, but the problem was not bottling in general, it was the process you used. Soaking the bottles overnight in oxy is a good practice (really only need to let soak for about an hour, more than that and it can leave residue on the glass that takes a lot of rinsing to get rid of), but the first thing you should do before you even dump the oxy is hit each bottle with the bottle brush. You'd be surprised how much crap can come out of a bottle that wasn't rinsed really good after pouring.

 

[KuntzBrewing]

I cut the open end of the bottle brush handle off and stick it in my electric drill to clean my bottles. Talk about cleaning power

 

[FarmerTed]

I tried degassing a bottle and taking a gravity reading. The gravity is 1.012 in the bottle which is the same after it sat in the fermenter for 4 weeks, so it's definitely done. I still think its an infection with the bottles not being cleaned well enough.

This makes zero sense. If the gravity is the same, then you don't have an infection. Either that, or you took a bad reading (before or after bottling). My guess would be that you either added too much priming sugar, or that your fermentation stuck a few points high (and the gravity was mis-measured); after bottling, the yeast attenuated those last few points and you ended up with too much carbonation.

Personally, I'd just vent the bottles and store them cold. I wouldn't dump them if the beer tastes good. It's not hard to do; just get a decent bottle opener, put a paper towel over the bottle cap (fold it over a time or two), then gently lift up on the cap with the opener while you press down on the cap with a thumb to keep the cap from coming off. Pull up until you hear a hiss, and let go when the foam get near the level of the cap. Go through all the bottles, then start over an repeat a few times. It's a lot easier than re-brewing.

 

[mike20793]

This makes zero sense. If the gravity is the same, then you don't have an infection. Either that, or you took a bad reading (before or after bottling). My guess would be that you either added too much priming sugar, or that your fermentation stuck a few points high (and the gravity was mis-measured); after bottling, the yeast attenuated those last few points and you ended up with too much carbonation.

Personally, I'd just vent the bottles and store them cold. I wouldn't dump them if the beer tastes good. It's not hard to do; just get a decent bottle opener, put a paper towel over the bottle cap (fold it over a time or two), then gently lift up on the cap with the opener while you press down on the cap with a thumb to keep the cap from coming off. Pull up until you hear a hiss, and let go when the foam get near the level of the cap. Go through all the bottles, then start over an repeat a few times. It's a lot easier than re-brewing.

Definitely not an error in reading the hydrometer. I have been kinda hesitant thinking it's an infection because it tastes fine. I'll give your idea a try though. Thanks.

 

[hepcat]

You might also consider not reusing those bottles. But if you do decide to re-use them, what I do first, as someone else already menitoned, is rinse out the bottles immediately after drinking them. It's a simple step that makes cleaning your bottles alot easier imho. The next thing I do with them is soak them in a 5 gallon bucket of water with a couple cap fulls of bleach and some dish soap in it. I know alot of home brewers are opposed to using bleach for cleaning/sanitizing but it is about the strongest thing I know of that is 100% effective. And if you do use bleach you of course have to do a super thorough rinse after that. I'll leave them in the water/bleach/soap solution for a few days to a week some times before I get around to the next step which is removing any labels which come off pretty easy usually after soaking in the bleach/soap/water solution. Then I sit in my drive way and use a high pressure garden hose nozzle and blast rinse the inside of the bottles with it until I don't smell any bleach or soap at all. Then I dry them on my bottle tree, store them in card board boxes and then on bottling day I soak them in Star San solution in another 5 gallon bucket while I rack my ale into my bottling bucket. Then I hold them up to a bright over head light in my kitchen for a final inspection inside the bottle before I fill it.
This method has worked perfectly for me so far, no infections and no bottle bombs, and to date, ~100 bottles of good, perfectly carbed beer.