Releasing excess carbonation

[BolgBeorach]

I bottled an IPA today, but I miscalculated the amount of trub at the bottom of the fermenter, and also had issues siphoning the beer into the bottling bucket. As a result, I ended up less beer that has too much priming sugar for its volume. My question is how I would best release the excess carbonation and get it down to where I want it. If I go the route of popping the caps to release a bit of CO2, do I need to leave them open for a while, or is it enough to just pop them and then recap them right away? I was planning on waiting a few days to let the yeast eat through some of the sugar and then trying. Any help is appreciated!

 

[VikeMan]

First, if the beer would be slightly over-carbonated, but not dangerous, I wouldn't mess around with trying to relieve pressure. But that's a big if.

How much sugar did you use and what was the volume of the beer?

ETA: The reason I ask is that you're not going to be able to reduce the Co2 with any kind of precision. So I'd look at this as a potential safety issue.

 

[BolgBeorach]

First, if the beer would be slightly over-carbonated, but not dangerous, I wouldn't mess around with trying to relieve pressure. But that's a big if.

How much sugar did you use and what was the volume of the beer?

I used 120 grams of table sugar, and the final beer volume was 11 litres. The calculator tells me it will end up being about 3.5 volumes of CO2, which seems like it would be too much for an IPA.

 

[VikeMan]

I used 120 grams of table sugar, and the final beer volume was 11 litres. The calculator tells me it will end up being about 3.5 volumes of CO2, which seems like it would be too much for an IPA.

3.5 volumes is definitely a lot for an IPA. But it shouldn't be a safety issue, unless the bottles are defective.

If you still want to reduce the CO2 after they are carbonated, you can try opening and recapping, but you'd have to leave them open for some period of time before recapping, which would allow oxygen to enter. I can't tell you how long you'd need to leave them open. Hopefully someone has done the math to get you in the ballpark.

 

[Snuffy]

I don’t see you fixing this to be honest. Either 3.5 will be ok or this batch may contain some gushers. Bottle condition, pop your tops in a prepared location, catch what comes out and enjoy. May not even be a problem. Wet your glasses before pouring. That helps keep the foam down.

 

[VikeMan]

I don’t see you fixing this to be honest. Either 3.5 will be ok or this batch may contain some gushers.

If any of his bottles gush when carefully opened, they have more than 3.5 volumes of CO2, or there are nucleation points, or some reason other than 3.5 volumes of CO2. I have an Orval clone carb'd to ~5 volumes (in champagne bottles), with no problems.

 

[Vale71]

I wouldn't recommend leaving the bottles open for any amount of time as besides the oxidation issue there is also a risk of gushing. The safest way is to pry the cap open just enough for pressure to equalize and then recap them right away. If carbonation is really as high as 3.5 volumes then you'd certainly have to repeat the (tedious) process a number of times for it to be effective.

 

[BolgBeorach]

Update on this. I let the bottles carbonate for 2 weeks and then put them in the cold to condition. The beer was definitely over-carbed for an IPA, but apart from that it was fine. No gushers or anything.