Over carbonated or what

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wildcatman17

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There is quite a bit of trub in my bottles. When i open a bottle the beer just foams out after i open it after about 5 seconds. You can just watch it start bubbling then explode out. Whats going on been in bottles for 4 weeks.
 
Sounds like over carbonation. (Either too much priming, bottled too early or gusher infection) Are your bottles chilled before opening?
 
What beer was it, OG and FG? How did you prime and how much? Whats was final bottle bucket vol??
 
ballsy said:
What beer was it, OG and FG? How did you prime and how much? Whats was final bottle bucket vol??

Primed with priming sugar not sure on amount but what it called for. Thinking maybe it didnt mix well enough
 
add the priming sugar after first boiling it with a small volume of water. as you start to rack the beer into the bottom of your bottling bucket , add the priming sugar solution. let the siphon create a nice whirlpool. i think a 1/2" siphon creates better turbulance.

if the bottles have a ring around the neck, around the top of the beer line, chances are you have a bottle infection and that is causing the gushers.

chilling the beer for a couple days tends to reduce gushing.
 
"There is quite a bit of trub in my bottles."

Trub and bottles don't mix.
How did you bottle?
Did you get a lot of yeast into your bottles? Why?
Were they clean? Is this a possible infection?
Too much sugar? More than 6 oz?
Maybe it is just a few bottles that got too much sugar (bad mix)?
 
wildcatman17 said:
Primed with priming sugar not sure on amount but what it called for. Thinking maybe it didnt mix well enough

How do you know if you used the "amount it called for" if you don't know how much you used or what kind of sugar it was? Did you use a priming calculator or the "bag that came with your kit" (which magically knows how much beer you brewed, what your desired carbonation level is for the type of beer you used, and what temperature your beer is)?

Over carbed bottles can only come from the 3 things I listed previously: too much priming sugar, bottling before terminal gravity, or infection.
 
How do you know if you used the "amount it called for" if you don't know how much you used or what kind of sugar it was? Did you use a priming calculator or the "bag that came with your kit" (which magically knows how much beer you brewed, what your desired carbonation level is for the type of beer you used, and what temperature your beer is)?

Over carbed bottles can only come from the 3 things I listed previously: too much priming sugar, bottling before terminal gravity, or infection.

I'm newer to brewing...couldn't the "trub" be a factor if too much yeast cake off bottom get siphoned into bottles? Could this cause overcarb b/c more yeast in bottle than should have been? Or is an evenly distributed amount of sugar (in proper amt) eaten by yeast in bottle till gone so left with same carb no matter how much yeast is in bottle? The latter seems to make more sense...
Also, kits typically come with anywhere from 4.5 to 5 oz of priming sugar, typical is 1oz sugar to 1gal beer and tweak to style. If this was used, there would be no gushing.
 
the trub is irrelevant to the discussion of carbonation. the distribution of sugar is super relevant.

i remember my first batch had like and inch of sediment in each bottle and carbonation was variable, mostly on the high side.
 
progmac said:
the trub is irrelevant to the discussion of carbonation. the distribution of sugar is super relevant.

i remember my first batch had like and inch of sediment in each bottle and carbonation was variable, mostly on the high side.

Amount of trub does not matter in terms of carbonation. "Too much" yeast also does not. Uneven distribution DOES. (I put this in the category of too much priming sugar). Think about it this way... The yeast eat sugar and make alcohol and co2. They will keep doing this until they finish all sugars that they can digest, or die/go dormant. If there is more sugar in a bottle, more CO2 will be produced and more carb in that bottle. This is why too much priming sugar and bottling early result in overcarbonated bottles.

Infections can produce gushers bc the bacteria can digest the long chain sugars beer yeast cannot which will then be broken down further into CO2, increasing your carbonation.

The summary is that yeast will stop when there's nothing left to eat, not when the desired level of carbonation is reached. Amount of yeast matters only if there isn't enough viable yeast left which is rarely an issue for homebrewers for most routine recipes.
 
Would excess star san in bottle lead to any overcarbing? I know it ferments out but would imagine a tiny amt in bottom of bottles after dipped and dumped would not really lead to this? My first batch was overcarbed but I only had about 4.4oz of priming sugar to 5gal's and noticed no signs if infection...never found the cause.
 
A little excess Starsan won't make a difference in that sense.
How long have the bottles been carbonating? If they have been in the bottle for just a week or two it could be that the gas is foaming out because it isn't comfortably dissolved into the beer yet.
Is the poured beer still quite fizzy? Or does it end up a bit flat after gushing?
You can accelerate getting the CO2 to adequately dissolve by putting the bottle in the fridge for a few days. However, if there is an uneven distribution then there is no way to tell if that is what is going on until you've opened a good number of the bottles.

Sometimes, I've found that I get more trub in the bottles just due to the yeast - I'll never use the Yeast with Youngs kits again unless I can put my full fermenter in the fridge, because I can't get the yeast to settle out nicely, even after a month; they just like swimming, and so my its harder for friends to pour the homebrew too without getting some yeast in their glass. With Safale S-04 on the other hand, there was a tiny film of yeast at the bottom of each bottle and it stuck there even after tipping the bottle upside down; this is without using a bottling bucket too - I add a solution of sugar to the primary at 3 weeks, and stir with a slotted spatula, being careful not to rouse up too much yeast. I only stir for a minute or so, and I try to blend the middle volume of the beer by moving the spatula through it back and forth firmly, rather than spinning the beer up at all as this will bring up some trub. Half an hour later, I bottle; never had problems with distribution of sugar/carbonation (In fact, its more even than it was when I was putting a teaspoon of sugar in every bottle as my first kit recommended - total P.I.T.A, sugar everywhere :p )
I wonder if the yeast are assisting me in spreading the sugar solution around in that half hour...
 
Not sure of OP's length of time. My IPA has been in bottles for 3mths now. No difference in foaming b/w week 4 and week 12. I leave open in fridge for few hours and carb becomes perfect. No bubbly "champagne" feel anymore.
 
I used 5.oz of priming sugar but I dont think it mixed good enough not all bottles are gushing mostly the first 12 or so....
 
I used what the recipe called for caps are not blowing off but when I open a bottle 75% foams out. Will it calm down with age if I let it sit for a couple of months....
 
wildcatman17 said:
I used what the recipe called for caps are not blowing off but when I open a bottle 75% foams out. Will it calm down with age if I let it sit for a couple of months....

No. Your best bet is get them cold and very slowly try to open them and burp some of the co2 out. Then recap. I've never done this but it's really the only thing to try. Sorry for the bummer news.
 

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