Too Much Priming Sugar

[Tbhooptie]

I bottled my first batch of beer last night. Maybe it was me just being new to this or it was late... I am using a 5 gallon kit, I only ended up with 3.5 gallons to finish off (due to testing a lot for FG). FG was 1.011 before bottling.

Now my issue, I ended up using all the priming sugar (5 oz.) that was MEANT for 5 gallons... I used 12oz bottles bought from a homebrew shop near my home. I have them in a cooler now (due to fear of bombs) in my basement which is about 67 degrees.

Am I in for trouble? If so, anything I can do to resolve?

Thanks for all your help and thanks for helping me through my first homebrew! These forums are GREAT help (even though I may have screwed it up on my own!!)

 

[frazier]

Usually, bombs are the result of bottling before fermentation is complete. Most likely, you will just get very fizzy beer.

And did you really waste 1.5 gallons on hydrometer tests??? I check twice - once at the start and once on bottling day. If I'm in a hurry, I'll check another time three days before bottling. You must have done about 20 tests. Was it for a science paper or something?

 

[Tbhooptie]

No... Sorry... Didnt explain fully...

After I boiled and cooled my wort... poured it into my fermenting bucket... I needed to add about 2 gallons of water to reach 5 gallons. I had only boiled about a gallon of water to add to reach the 5 gallons (simple overlook due to anxiety in doing my first batch). I thought about using tap water to make up the remaining gallon but thought against it due to fear of infection. So it was at 4 gallons from the get go.

Sad part is... even at that time, I thought, "remember to figure out how much priming sugar you will need when bottling"... and then I go and have a brain fart and put all 5 oz. in anyways....

 

[GASoline71]

You need to get a wine thief... sanitize it (and your hydro) with Star-san, use it to take gravity readings, then the brew can go back in the fermenter.

I bought a wine thief from my LHBS for about 8 bucks.

Gary

 

[unionrdr]

As long as your tap water isn't off colored or smell/taste off or chemically,it would've been fine. But you'll def have some serious carbonation there,imo. A gallon & a half is like 15 bottles max.

 

[earwig]

You could have boiled more tap water, cooled and added it later or bought some spring water.

For the future, you'd probably be safe just taking an OG sample and then as long as you see some fermentation take place don't worry about taking any samples for 2 or 3 weeks. I normally take one when it goes in the fermenter and then one right before bottling.

I use a turkey baster to take samples I think it works great.

As for your beer, it will be over carbonated but you won't have to worry about explosions.

 

[Tbhooptie]

Yeah... I realize that now.... know of any tricks to alleviate some of the pressure in the bottles? Maybe open them around 5 days to release some pressure then recap?

 

[StittsvilleJames]

I bought a wine thief from my LHBS for about 8 bucks.

Gary

I bought a turkey baster for a buck.

 

[dnslater]

What style is the beer. Heffeweisens need extra priming sugar to carb to style while stouts and such need less. When I first started home brewing I overcarbed my first stout. Still good but fizzy. Much more rewarding now that I am carbing to style.

 

[Tbhooptie]

American Amber Ale

 

[Pezman1]

If you are doing partial boils, and brewing from a kit, don't bother with taking an OG. The practice of obtaining OGs from partial boil kits is notorious for obtaining strange OGs. This is because it is difficult to get the relatively small wort volume and top off water to completely mix. This gives rise to fluctuations in OG.

The kit should come with an estimated OG. Use that figure. Its not like you are going to add more extract if your OG was low, or mix in water to six gallons if it was high. That's one of the nice thing about kits, less work!

Make sure that if your kit calls for 5 gallons that you top off your fermentor to that amount. You can use filtered water, store bought water, or tap water if you have good water. You can boil your top off water if you want, but it is not mandatory. True, you have the possibility of contamination with tap water, but that would mean your tap water has a problem.

Lastly, when taking SGs, do not return your wort sample. There is more chance of infection that way, and it is best to taste your beer to see how it is doing. You are only going to take a max of 3-4 gravity readings at the most anyway, and that amount of loss won't matter. If you are taking a lot more SGs than that, you need to hold off a few weeks and let the yeast do their thing. Most beers wont be ready for at least 3 weeks, with some exceptions like small beers or hefes. I wait at least three weeks before taking a gravity, and its been a while since I had to take more than two per batch.


There was a thread not long ago about using too much priming sugar. One suggestion was to open the bottles for a while and recap. If it was me, I would monitor them for proper caronation and them refrigerate as much of them as possible. This will slow them down. Oh, and drink them quick....

Pez.

 

[Tbhooptie]

How soon should I start opening a beer and testing it out?

 

[davis119]

I bought a turkey baster for a buck.

this

 

[Pezman1]

How soon should I start opening a beer and testing it out?

With that much sugar, I'd try one at a week (assuming you condition at 70 degrees) just to gauge how fast they are carbing. If they aren't close, then wait another week. Once they are close, I wouldn't let more than about three days go by without trying one.
Pez.

EDIT: Use this experience to see how different levels of carbonation effect a beer, and to see what levels you like for this style. You just might like a real fizzy American amber. I know that I prefer my British Ales at a carb level a bit higher than style guidelines dictate.
Cheers! Pez.

 

[Tbhooptie]

With that much sugar, I'd try one at a week (assuming you condition at 70 degrees) just to gauge how fast they are carbing. If they aren't close, then wait another week. Once they are close, I wouldn't let more than about three days go by without trying one.
Pez.

Sounds good...

Thanks for your help! Like I said before, it's because of people like you that help us NOOBS learn from our mistakes! Thanks!