Overflowing bottles

[whoward]

I brewed a centennial ipa extract kit put together by my LHBS. I let it ferment for three weeks and bottled it 10 days ago. I cracked two open tonight and the bottles overflowed for a good two minutes as soon as the cap was off.

Did I use too much priming sugar? Will this affect the flavor? Any remedy or do I just need to make sure they're all opened in the sink?

ABV (if that matters) is 7.75%.

I ended up with about 4 gallons and used 5oz of priming sugar.

 

[gromitdj]

That is more priming sugar than I would want for 4 gallons of finished beer. It is likely over-carbonated, but it could also be a possible infection. How did it taste once you knocked some of the carbonation out of it?

I would recommend you start using one of the online priming calculators. Brewer's Friend has good one.

Edit: According to the Brewer's Friend calculator 5 oz. in 4 gallons gives you 3.5 Volumes of CO2, which is Fruit Lambic levels..

How long did you refrigerate the bottles before opening them? I've heard that not giving them enough time in the fridge can lead to a gusher.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't think the bottles are fully conditioned. I saw a video of bottles opened early and they foamed. Later ones didn't. It takes at least 2 weeks and often 3 or more at about 70 for the bottles to condition properly. Then again 5 ounces is too much for 5 gallons. The worst possibility is an infection. If that is the case the foaming will probably get worse. If so watch out for extreme pressure. You could get exploding bottles.

I had 2 dark, high ABV beers do that. I did not use too much sugar. Didn't seem to have an infection as they lasted up to 2 years and when opening had a normal pssst. Then a slow foam, after carefully filling a glass and waiting for the foam to subside those 2 beers were very good.

 

[tgolanos]

Could be overcarbed. 5oz of priming sugar in 4 gallons would give you about 3.2 volumes of CO2. Most IPAs are around 2.5 if I recall correctly.

Did you refrigerate the beer before opening them? If you just crack them open out of the box, the CO2 hasn't dissolved back into the beer. This will cause gushing. Do a test- put several bottles in the fridge and open them at various intervals. 2 days, 4 days, 6 days, 8 days. If they're still gushing, your beer's possibly overcarbed.

I'd put them in a plastic tub just to be sure, as well. Last think you want to be doing is cleaning up burst bottles.

 

[whoward]

Bottles were just put in the freezer for an hour to chill them, I have them in a dark cabinet conditioning and just took one out to try it and opened it at after an hour in the freezer.

The kit that was put together had pre measured everything and I just used the entire package of priming sugar because that's what the instructions said. I thought I may have used too much after I had already started bottling, but at that point it was too late.

I don't think the batch was infected, if it was there was no sign of it while it was in primary or secondary. No growth or anything on the surface of it at all.

If it was infected is it safe to drink? How do you know if it is infected?

I'll give the rest of the bottles a couple more weeks to condition and then put them in the fridge a few days before opening.

 

[Jtk78]

I would do 2 things:
1. Put those bottles in some kind of container in case they start to pop. The cap will probably stay on, so if they go, it will be glass breaking and mess making.
2. Put one in the fridge and let it cool for at least 24hrs before opening. I would take safety precautions when opening (yes, safety glasses and gloves. You only get one set of eyes). If that's still a gusher, you need to take further steps. This may include chilling them all to slow it down, or popping the cap and re-capping. I've heard opening with a quarter on the cap will save the cap.

 

[JohnSand]

Infected beer usually tastes nasty, but not always. I have had gushers that tasted good. You need to chill them for a few days to absorb the carbonation, longer is better.
The advice about boxing them is good. They can be over-carbed without bursting, but a seriously over-carbed bottle may break violently. Put them in a covered box in a plastic tote to contain any possible mess.
If chilling the bottles helps, and they taste good, proceed as normal.
Even if there is an error, don't give up. Study and practice will yield great beer.

 

[slym2none]

Also, when putting your tester in the fridge, get a metal or plastic container that's larger than the bottle (like a plastic 1-Qt container you might get soup in at take out Chinese), put the bottle in that, then cover with ice-cold water. The water will contain the glass if the bottle breaks while in the fridge.