Stouts over carbed. Thoughts?

[stompwampa]

We bottled 10 gallons of an oatmeal stout back in July.

The first few bottles I remember having were amazing. Then I let it sit for a while because it was summer and hot and not much of a stout drinking weather.

Now…the last couple dozen bottles I’ve opened are way over carbed. Like…the beer foams out of the top and I have to let it sit in the sink for several minutes before I can pour. I’m lucky if I get half a bottle out of it.

There is a ton of sediment that settles in the glass too.

This could be because the yeast at the bottom got disturbed upon gushing…but it looks like there is more than there should be.

We’ve always been careful to measure just over a half cup of sugar (5/8) per 5 gallons…so I don’t think we added too much sugar.

My other thought is some sort of infection…but the beer tastes fine…so I don’t know.

Thoughts?

[loopie_beer]

It could be an infection that is hard to notice due to the flavor profile of the stout. How did you add the sugar? Is there any chance that you didn’t mix it well enough and that some bottles got more than others? Is it possible that you made a mistake on the measuring?

[dmtaylo2]

It could be an infection. Or, did you just bottle it too early? How long was it in primary and secondary, and at what temperature? What yeast did you use?

[stompwampa]

@Loopie Beer

It could be an infection that is hard to notice due to the flavor profile of the stout. How did you add the sugar? Is there any chance that you didn’t mix it well enough and that some bottles got more than others? Is it possible that you made a mistake on the measuring?

Possible, yes…I just know that we’ve been diligent lately on mixing sugar well enough. Sugar was added normally…boiled with water, added to bottling bucket, racked on top…mixed slowly.

@dmtaylo2

It could be an infection. Or, did you just bottle it too early? How long was it in primary and secondary, and at what temperature? What yeast did you use?

Brewed on 6/15, bottled on 7/7.

WLP001, fermented at 65, OG 1.054, FG 1.012

EDIT: Reading through my brew day notes, I see that our post boil volume was “just under 10 gallons.” I bet we lost some in the yeast cake and alike had closer to 4/4.25 gallons in the bottling bucket. I don’t remember accounting for that.

[dmtaylo2]

@stompwampa

EDIT: Reading through my brew day notes, I see that our post boil volume was “just under 10 gallons.” I bet we lost some in the yeast cake and alike had closer to 4/4.25 gallons in the bottling bucket. I don’t remember accounting for that.

And there you have it. Overprimed. Oh darn.

When I get an overcarbonated beer, which is rare, sometimes I’ll pour it into a pitcher and let it settle for 10 minutes, then pour into a regular glass. Sometimes I also stir the beer in the pitcher to get some of the extra carbonation out. It helps, and then you don’t lose much that way.

[stompwampa]

[quote=“dmtaylo2”]And there you have it. Overprimed. Oh darn.

When I get an overcarbonated beer, which is rare, sometimes I’ll pour it into a pitcher and let it settle for 10 minutes, then pour into a regular glass. Sometimes I also stir the beer in the pitcher to get some of the extra carbonation out. It helps, and then you don’t lose much that way.[/quote]

Good thought. Didn’t think about using a pitcher!

[pietro]

You can also do it glass by glass. I have a biere de mars that is cellaring, but it was fermented with a saison yeast so I went for 2.75 volumes of CO2. Its nice and crisp, but sometimes there is almost too much effervescence. Give the glass a hard wiggle after its poured or use a spoon/straw.

Oh and also, if the bottles gush, start pouring it quickly after opening, otherwise the sediment will disturb from the gush.

[tom_sawyer]

There are several variables that make bottle conditioning a bit of a challenge. I keep a couple of quart-sized plastic decanters on hand for those fizzy beers.