I was making a 7.5 gallon batch of cherry wheat just before bottling i added a package and a half (each package was 1 lb) of corn sugar. Never having used corn sugar before i thought it was the right amount, after doing some research online a noticed i added to much. Is there anything i can do even though i have already bottled.
Too much corn sugar please help
- Thread starter grubb
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
DrawTap88
Well-Known Member
Put them in a plastic box, or bath tub and pray that they don't blow.
BendBrewer
Well-Known Member
Start opening them before they explode. I guess you could dump them back into a fermenter and let those sugars ferment out but I am not going to say that it is going to taste very good.
SathingtonWilloby
Well-Known Member
I'd open and recap them all to vent the pressure already in there. Then put them in a plastic bin with a lid and store them all in a fridge to stall the yeast from eating the sugar. And drink them all up quickly! They're probably going to taste sweet if you stopped the yeast in time. If you didn't... cross your fingers that they don't explode.
SathingtonWilloby
Well-Known Member
I forgot to ask... How long since you bottled them?
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
SathingtonWilloby
Well-Known Member
Well, they're not going to be carbed yet, so no worries about releasing pressure at this point. Sample one each day until you feel like you have the carb level you like. Then toss 'em all in the fridge to slow the yeast down. I'd still put them in a plastic tub or something as a precaution.
BendBrewer
Well-Known Member
I think he is suggesting that you uncap just to relieve the pressure that is already built up and replace the cap immediately. But since you just bottled them, I don't think that will do any good yet as the pressure you are looking to relieve has not built up yet.
Maybe pop one tomorrow. If there is a big HISS when you do, then uncap ans cap the rest. If you don't hear the HISS of Co2 escaping, wait another day and try another bottle.
This is all a guessing game at this point and you are dealing with glass that could explode. I really haven't had to deal with anything like this but I would think real hard about getting that beer back into a fermenter and let the yeast eat all that sugar in there. It's going to mean re-bottling but I know it would put my mind at ease.
Maybe pop one tomorrow. If there is a big HISS when you do, then uncap ans cap the rest. If you don't hear the HISS of Co2 escaping, wait another day and try another bottle.
This is all a guessing game at this point and you are dealing with glass that could explode. I really haven't had to deal with anything like this but I would think real hard about getting that beer back into a fermenter and let the yeast eat all that sugar in there. It's going to mean re-bottling but I know it would put my mind at ease.
That's about 6 vols of co2
I'd be worried about going over 3.5 vols in average beer bottles. Beside the definite bottle bombs you will get if you don't release the pressure, it seems really dangerous to be manually doing that to the bottles when you are talking about 6 vols of co2. If it were me, I'd call it a major mess up and dump it. You could try dumping them gently back into a primary and hopefully any o2 from this transfer will be scrubbed out from the refermentation. But you will have a decent amount of simple sugar in the beer, regardless.
I'd be worried about going over 3.5 vols in average beer bottles. Beside the definite bottle bombs you will get if you don't release the pressure, it seems really dangerous to be manually doing that to the bottles when you are talking about 6 vols of co2. If it were me, I'd call it a major mess up and dump it. You could try dumping them gently back into a primary and hopefully any o2 from this transfer will be scrubbed out from the refermentation. But you will have a decent amount of simple sugar in the beer, regardless.
ChshreCat
Well-Known Member
Just to clarify... "just before bottling". Does that mean you added the sugar and immediately bottled? Or is "just before bottling" more like a day or two before bottling and you used a normal amount of priming sugar when you bottled?
You most defiantly have bottle bombs brewing. Its going to be a pain in the ass but you should dump them back into a sanitized brew bucket and let it ferment out.
Do you know what the FG of the brew was before you added the sugar? Its possible to let it ferment down until its .002 or .003 above what your old FG was and then re-bottle and let them carb.
It only takes a couple points SG to carb up a bottle. If the sugar was 1.5 lbs, that would be roughly about 60% of the sugar a can an kilo beer kit would use for sugar for the primary ferment in a 6 Gallon batch.
That stuff is going to be potent that's for sure.
Do you know what the FG of the brew was before you added the sugar? Its possible to let it ferment down until its .002 or .003 above what your old FG was and then re-bottle and let them carb.
It only takes a couple points SG to carb up a bottle. If the sugar was 1.5 lbs, that would be roughly about 60% of the sugar a can an kilo beer kit would use for sugar for the primary ferment in a 6 Gallon batch.
That stuff is going to be potent that's for sure.
I actually did a pretty similar thing a few years ago, double charged a batch, maybe a bit over than that.
I just let it go a couple days and then gently cracked each cap, releasing pressure, and cracking cap enough that additional pressure could get out, but still keep the bottles more or less closed to where larger creatures could not get in. I let it sit with caps on sem-tightly for another day (fermenting) in a sanitized environment, then removed each cap and recapped immediately.
Actually turned out fine, great in fact, but I feel I got lucky. Could have been bombs, or flat infected beer. Back to a fermenter is sure something to consider but you'd be looking at 1) infection possibilities 2) Ox probabilities 3) Pain in the ass certainty. We named this one the "Whew! Brew". As in close call. Turned out way better than "Floorshine Amber", but that's another story.
Just think of each bottle as a mini fermenter and let it vent a bit then slam a cap back on when you think the stars line up in your favor.
Probably better ideas out there but this worked for me.... once!
I just let it go a couple days and then gently cracked each cap, releasing pressure, and cracking cap enough that additional pressure could get out, but still keep the bottles more or less closed to where larger creatures could not get in. I let it sit with caps on sem-tightly for another day (fermenting) in a sanitized environment, then removed each cap and recapped immediately.
Actually turned out fine, great in fact, but I feel I got lucky. Could have been bombs, or flat infected beer. Back to a fermenter is sure something to consider but you'd be looking at 1) infection possibilities 2) Ox probabilities 3) Pain in the ass certainty. We named this one the "Whew! Brew". As in close call. Turned out way better than "Floorshine Amber", but that's another story.
Just think of each bottle as a mini fermenter and let it vent a bit then slam a cap back on when you think the stars line up in your favor.
Probably better ideas out there but this worked for me.... once!
I think you were very lucky in your case. Glad you were able to save the batch. The problem is, when these bottles start taking off with that much sugar added, its going to move fast.
If you sanitize your fermenting bucket and are careful transfering you won't have oxidization issues as the ferment will drive off any oxygen that you put in, and you hopefully won't have any infections. There's always a risk of that no matter what you do.
He is in recovery mode at this time. The only way to be safe is to put it back in a bucket. One thing for sure, if he can recover, this stuff is going to need some time to mellow. It's likely to have quite a bit of alcohol in it depending on where he was before the sugar.
You never know, this might even turn out ok.
Yep, like I admitted I think I got lucky. And your back into the fermenter idea is probably best. BUT how is leaving a loosely capped bottle much different, assuming you get them vented prior to them developing grenade characteristics?
Just relating what I did when the chips were down, never suggested that was the best, or even a logical approach. YMMV drastically.
Well, what you did was a good idea at the time. It worked. It might work again. The only problem is you can't measure anything while its in the bottle. If you put it back in the bucket, you can at least measure and get your timing right to put it back in the bottle and let her carb.
I just went through the numbers again and the sugar the OP added will only raise the ABV by about 1% so it won't be quite as hot as I thought. It might turn out ok. If it was a typical Ale and he had around 4 to 5 % ABV he's looking at about 6% ABV. Heck our Canadian friends would think thats water anyway
Well, what you did was a good idea at the time. It worked. It might work again. The only problem is you can't measure anything while its in the bottle. If you put it back in the bucket, you can at least measure and get your timing right to put it back in the bottle and let her carb.
I just went through the numbers again and the sugar the OP added will only raise the ABV by about 1% so it won't be quite as hot as I thought. It might turn out ok. If it was a typical Ale and he had around 4 to 5 % ABV he's looking at about 6% ABV. Heck our Canadian friends would think thats water anyway
Absolutely everything you said is correct. No way we could measure anything, just flying by the seat of our pants. Might be worth mentioning that this was 1992 and, well, much of our brewing information was in the seat of our pants and therefore techniques were pulled from some pretty dark cavities.
Well, I admire the folks who have been doing this for a long time. I'm sure information was sparse at best back then. I defiantly wasn't criticizing your recovery. In fact it was a pretty good idea at the time. Hell, any recovery with a minor disaster is a good one
We have all made some mistakes as we begin in this hobby. Take shortcuts, not be as good with sanitization, ect. I don't know about anyone else but I've had more than my share of F-ups. Its probably the best learning tool though. You'll never forget the mistakes and you are much more careful the next time.
I haven't been doing this for very long but I've done allot of experimenting and reading everything I can get my hands on. When I first started, I was so excited that I forgot a few things along the way. Especially when I did my first all grain. That one was a trip.
Well, I admire the folks who have been doing this for a long time. I'm sure information was sparse at best back then. I defiantly wasn't criticizing your recovery. In fact it was a pretty good idea at the time. Hell, any recovery with a minor disaster is a good one
I never considered you were criticizing in any way. Just a bit of e-discourse. Don't want to highjack the thread, and I definitely want to hear from OP what his course of action was/is and how he defused the potential bottle bombs.
I put them in my garage on friday and just got home from a weekend trip and open one up. My wife and I think it is the best beer I have made thus far. One of my friends also said it was one of the best beers they have ever had. What are the chances that these explode since they are in cold temps.
