1st brew issues

[fstfrd00]

Homebrewers,
Last weekend (2/16) I got to open my first ever brew (a blonde american ale). When I opened them they spewed and foamed, like a foam volcano. I tasted good but was very cloudy (picture)
Am I correct in assuming it was just over primed?
I followed the BBS instructions exactly, used 3tbsp of honey as it perscribes.

 

[1977Brewer]

The BBS instrutions likely told you (like they did me) to bottle at 1 week in the fermenter. Too soon. Your yeast weren't done yet. Get all of your bottles in the fridge ASAP, or they're gonna blow.

I have no idea why kit instructions are ruining brewing for everyone. Next brew day, before you even pour water in your kettle, come here. We'll help.

 

[fstfrd00]

Cool, thanks! So it was just over-primed?

 

[jschein]

Under fermented, not over primed

 

[aprichman]

If your bottles are overprimed wouldn't you want to keep them in the fridge? Assuming that there were still fermentables taking them out of the fridge seems like it would increase the chance of bottle grenades.

Priming with honey Did you boil the honey in water before adding it to the bottles? If not you could have introduced some other micro organisms to the beer besides yeast.

Most people (including me) prime with corn sugar. Why? The number one reason for me is that it's cheap. Corn sugar (dextrose) at my LHBS is about half the price per lb as cane sugar from Fred Meyers or Trader Joes. Honey is going to be even more expensive. Another reason I use corn sugar is that it has a neutral flavor - I'm not looking to add any new flavors to my beer during the bottling process. Anything like that I'm going to add during boil or after primary fermentation dies down.

 

[fstfrd00]

Honey is what the instructions called for - I had it - I used it. :-\
Yes the instructions called for the honey to be boiled, so that's what I did.

 

[edco76]

It actually looks to me like you under primed....

I just brewed a Honey Brown Ale that I primed with honey.

I think I added 4.5oz of honey for a 2.3 Co2 volume for a 5g batch @ 68F

The source I just googled says 3TBS of honey should weigh about 2.4oz







What yeast did you use? I used S-05 on mine and after 5 days I still had airlock activity. It started slow and just kept going and Ive seen some others say they had the same issue with it.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Were the bottles well chilled for several days in the fridge? A good thorough chill can help overcarbed beers.

 

[fstfrd00]

Not several days but a couple days. The first after two days in the fridge. S-33 I believe is the yeast used in the kit.
Under fermented makes sense. Maybe I should've left for another week before bottling? I did two weeks per the instructions but go with three?

 

[ncbrewer]

The rule of thumb is to check gravity, then check again 2 - 3 days later. If gravity is stable and it's clear to slightly misty, it's ready to bottle. If not, wait and check again later.