Overcarbonated after Three Weeks in Bottle

[WooHokie]

Not sure how to title this post. I don't want to be guilty of another 'did i ruin my batch' thread.

Here's what I did... brewed a True Brew IPA, left it in fermenter for 3 weeks. Bottled with the amount of sugar included in the package and let sit at room temp for 3 weeks.

I opened one bottle at week one to see where we were at and it was way overcarbonated. It overflowed literally until the bottle was empty. This worried me so I opened a second bottle and this one was not carbonated at all.

I'm thinking, "oh crap". So now I'm at the 3 week mark, I've had 1 six pack in the fridge for 24 hours. I opened two different bottles, both were way overcarbonated. Definitely had that carbic acid bite when I tried to drink them.

I have now poured one into a large stein to let it carb out so i can take a gravity reading. I've also slightly lifted the cap of another one to let CO2 out so I can take a taste of one with slightly less carbonation.

Apologies for the long post. I'm still fairly new to this but feel I have done ample research to have successful batches. I'm a bit stumped on this one.

 

[eagle83]

Did you add the sugar to boiled water then syphon on top of the sugar water? This ensures the sugar is mixed well into the beer without oxygenating the beer. If you added sugar to the beer in the bottling bucket without any way of mixing it, that could be the problem?

 

[homebrewdad]

If you boiled your sugar water and poured it in first, then racked the beer on top, it shoudl have mixed okay.

Note that 24 horus in the fridge may not be enough - most suggest a couple of days or more.

It may also just not be done carbing yet. Sometimes gushers are due to lots of CO2 in the bottle that hasn't yet saturated into the beer, hence gushing. A little more time (plus some cold) gets the CO2 in suspension.

 

[klnosaj]

Yeah...you have to make sure the sugar is distributed evenly in the beer you're about to bottle. Presumably you boiled, or at least dissolved, the sugar in water before adding it to your bucket. The typical technique is to feed the sugar into the whirlpool you create with your racking tube as you siphon from fermenter to bucket. Many of us also give a gentle stir afterwards being careful not to inject too much O2. Then let it settle for a couple of minutes so that distribution is even. And remember: every mistake is another opportunity to make better beer the next time!

 

[WooHokie]

Thanks for the responses guys. I did boil the sugar into water and pour that over top of the beer as it was being siphoned between buckets.

 

[kevokie]

How did you sanitize your bottles before bottling?

 

[WooHokie]

Sanitized a bottle rack then dumped each bottle in a bucket of starsan solution and hung on the rack. Let them dry for a few hours before bottling. Sanitized the caps too.

 

[kevokie]

Sounds good there. I only asked because I have some doubts about my dishwasher lately whether it is doing the job or not. I have star sanned my bottles last two batches.

 

[unionrdr]

I like to pour it at the surface of the swirling beer as it's racked to the bottling bucket. No extra o2 that way. Then stir it gently a few times to make sure it's mixed.
And it def has to be stored in boxes or in the dark at at least 70F to carb properly,let alone in the "normal" time frame. Also,start using a hydrometer to make sure the beer is done fermenting. Time alone can't be sure of this.
If it wasn't fermented out when you racked it,& you then add priming solution,they can create gushers.