Too much priming sugar?

[PintDrainer]

So I think I just messed up a bit.

Brewing a German Wheat beer, just bottled today after 2 weeks of fermentation.

Ok... so I grabbed the bag of Corn Sugar from my LHBS that SHOULD have been the right amount for the recipe, as the directions said, but as I got to the very last bit of sugar sliding out of the bag and into my waiting to be bottled brew... I noticed it had "1#" on the bag.

sweet spaghetti monster in the sky, have I created bottle bombs? It's 5.5 gallons or so, all freshly bottled, and laying on their side in a thick plastic container...

What can I expect, and what should I do? It looked like 1.5 or maybe 2 cups of sugar in the bag, so I'm assuming it really was a full pound, and not the 5-6 ounces the recipe says is in the bag.

:cross:

 

[masskrug]

I usually put 5 oz of sugar in for 5 gallons. You have three times as much. It's already in there, so cover them as best you can and hope for the best. Good luck!

 

[duboman]

Umm, more than a bit, like 2.5-3x the amount if sugar needed!

You need to either chalk it up and dump or place bottles in a sealed bin, wait 3-5 days, uncap, release pressure and recap, repeat process every 3-5 days and maybe you can save them but be careful, bottle bombs and glass shrapnel is a dangerous possibility.

I would take precautions each time you open the bin


Sent from the Commune

 

[PintDrainer]

Could I possibly uncap them and put foil over the top? Leave em to off gas for a few days?

I really, really hope I didn't ruin the beer. It tastes great! Like bananas and honey wheat!

 

[duboman]

Typically 2 weeks at 70oF would fully carbonate so I suppose you could leave the bottles uncapped for the first week and allow to partially ferment out and then cap, it's really going to be a guessing game


Sent from the Commune

 

[brewprint]

And here I have some raspberry wheat beers that I bottled a month ago with 5 Oz and I think that was way too much. These beers are so full of carbonation that it's excessive. I think it should've had more like 3 or 4 ounces instead of 5.

Good luck with your issue

 

[PintDrainer]

Would I be better off just gently pouring it all back into my fermenter to ferment out for a few days, then bottle it all again?

I could probably put it back in my bottling bucket as it has an airlock on the top, and has TOOONNNNSSS of head space should it flare up.

I think ill just accept my defeat and return the booze to the bucket from whence it came. *sigh*

 

[ReformedBrewer]

that's one way to increase your ABV lol

 

[PintDrainer]

It's all back in the bottling bucket with an airlock... apparently my yeast is still super active even though FG hit the target and the airlock had stopped... every single bottle was hissing and had that sweet fog after only a few hours... i totally wasn't expecting it to be that fast.

anyways, I kept one bottle in my container just to see how that turns out.

really tried hard not to make bubbles and to pour slow, so we shall see how the oxidation issue goes.... anyone have any input or guesses as to what this will do to my formally perfect banana and honey wheat brew?

I feel defeated, but I guess I just need to learn from my mistakes... and go get a scale.

 

[ReformedBrewer]

It's all back in the bottling bucket with an airlock... apparently my yeast is still super active even though FG hit the target and the airlock had stopped... every single bottle was hissing and had that sweet fog after only a few hours... i totally wasn't expecting it to be that fast.

anyways, I kept one bottle in my container just to see how that turns out.

really tried hard not to make bubbles and to pour slow, so we shall see how the oxidation issue goes.... anyone have any input or guesses as to what this will do to my formally perfect banana and honey wheat brew?

I feel defeated, but I guess I just need to learn from my mistakes... and go get a scale.

Just look at this mishap as one step closer to you making the kegging investment

 

[PintDrainer]

Just look at this mishap as one step closer to you making the kegging investment

aint that the truth. I just found a sweet kit locally on CL... fridge with taps, co2 system and a carboy, at a damn good price.

might have to pull the trigger. I love draught beer better, but bottles just seemed easier at the time... until I had to actually get round to cleaned and filling each one.

 

[PintDrainer]

Just for future reference, should anyone want to know information on how this turned out: I fermented the beer for 4 days, then bottled. Bottle aging for 3 or 4 days now and there is little to no carbonation in most bottles. There must have been a ton of yeast left over as there was pretty solid fermentation just hours after I put it back in the bottling bucket.

I'll let it sit another week or two, then try another bottle.

First one was flat, with a slight dryness to it, but lots of banana and orange in there. Bit boozey thanks to the extra sugar, but let's see if that gets any better as it sits.

 

[GuldTuborg]

So I'm looking at your new sig. 5.5 pounds of beer? Do you mean 5.5 gallons? 5.5 pounds of beer would be a little over 2/3 of a gallon.

One pound of sugar in 2/3 gallon of beer, bottled, would be crazy indeed.

 

[peterj]

Wait, did you add more priming sugar when you bottled it the second time? If not I wouldn't expect them to ever carbonate because it sounds like the first sugar you added probably fermented out.

Also, from your first post it sounds like you added dry sugar straight to the beer. It's a good idea to dissolve it in a small amount of boiling water, cool it, then add that to the bottling bucket. That way you sanitize the sugar, and you know that it all got mixed in and isn't just sitting at the bottom of the bucket.

 

[fartinmartin]

Wow, that is really ott.
I would give them all to my neighbour, I really don't like the. Ba::::d.

 

[fartinmartin]

Wow, that is really ott.
I would give them all to my neighbour, I really don't like the. Ba::::d.

 

[charliehorse]

You've ruined every bit of it. Ship it to me and I'll take care of it for you.

 

[PintDrainer]

5.5 gallons, sorry.

I boiled it in water before putting it in the beer.

I was hoping there would be some fermentation going on still, but you might be right, very well could have all fermented out.

Oh well, it's a learning experience and the beer actually tastes pretty darn good even with no carbonation whatsoever. Malt forward, sweet, with very pronounced banana flavors. Slight acidity and hop bitterness at the tail end, which finishes quite nicely, but relatively fast.

Oh well, I'll be looking into a kegging system next week, so let's hope my oktoberfest fares better.

 

[J187]

So I think I just messed up a bit.

Brewing a German Wheat beer, just bottled today after 2 weeks of fermentation.

Ok... so I grabbed the bag of Corn Sugar from my LHBS that SHOULD have been the right amount for the recipe, as the directions said, but as I got to the very last bit of sugar sliding out of the bag and into my waiting to be bottled brew... I noticed it had "1#" on the bag.

sweet spaghetti monster in the sky, have I created bottle bombs? It's 5.5 gallons or so, all freshly bottled, and laying on their side in a thick plastic container...

What can I expect, and what should I do? It looked like 1.5 or maybe 2 cups of sugar in the bag, so I'm assuming it really was a full pound, and not the 5-6 ounces the recipe says is in the bag.

:cross:

Hi, I hope everything turns out well for you. I'm just a bit confused as to where you are casting the blame... what do you mean "SHOULD" have been right for the recipe? The directions said to use an entire bag of corn sugar? Did you just assume that since you needed corn sugar to prime and the corn sugar came in a single little bag, that the amount was what you needed? I'm just trying to understand where all the confusion came about - it might be useful to you or others to figure out where the road turned.

 

[PintDrainer]

Not assigning blame to anyone, just painting a picture for future googlers.

The kit was said to be measured out exactly, with just enough to finish it all out. Only after I poured in the sugar did I realize my mistake.