Overcarbonation and Stirring - Any Suggestions?

[Commander_Nate]

I've made two batches of beer so far and both had a bit of an overcarbonation problem. The first batch, they all seemed to foam a bit more than normal upon first opening and a few bottles gushed. I went down from using 1 1/4 cup of corn sugar to using just 1 cup on my second batch and there was less of a problem with abnormal foaming, but a few bottles did gush (say like 3 or 4 out of batches of around 25 each). The batches were a heff and a stout, so they had very different ingredients.

After reading around here a little bit, I think I might just need to stir the primer mix after I've siphoned from my fermenter to my bottling bucket. I might also reduce the sugar amount a little more. The bottles are 22 ouncers and they were all brand new for my first batch. I was pretty anal about sanitizing them the first time and about cleaning and re-sanitizing them after so I don't think an infection is the problem. There weren't any off flavors either - both beers came out great except for this minor carbonation issue.

I was curious if anyone had any advice on stirring during the bottling process?

Side Note: The very last bottle of my 2nd batch was the worst gusher. It was the very last one bottled and was only filled to about 60% full. It went off like the Cuban Missile Crisis as soon as I opened it. I noticed a small amount of hop debris as the fire works display was going on - not sure if this was present in the other gushers. Any idea what may have happened here - too much headspace or did the hop debris have something to do with it?

 

[juslod]

If you are not stirring in the primer mix with the beer in the bottling bucket I would think that some of your beers are going to get more sugar than others.

Also, if I recall you shouldn't fill bottles to only 60% and let them carb.. The extra head room causes them to build up a lot more pressure and can turn them into bombs.

I classify as a "newbie" still, so hopefully someone with more experience can chime in...

 

[malkore]

1. you are using too much sugar to prime
2. you are not measuring the sugar properly - it must be weighed, as volume is not accurate

ballpark is 4oz of priming sugar for a typical 5 gallon batch, and that's roughly 3/4 cup of sugar, not 1 1/4 or 1 cup.

 

[Walker]

a good way to get the priming sugar mixed in well is to put the sugar solution into your bottling bucket FIRST, and then transfer the beer in on top of it. The swirling flow of incoming beer will mix the sugar solution pretty well for you and you won't have to stir.

Edit: I wasn't sure based on your description whether you were putting the beer in the bucket first, or whether you were putting the sugar solution in first.

 

[j1laskey]

a good way to get the priming sugar mixed in well is to put the sugar solution into your bottling bucket FIRST, and then transfer the beer in on top of it. The swirling flow of incoming beer will mix the sugar solution pretty well for you and you won't have to stir.

Edit: I wasn't sure based on your description whether you were putting the beer in the bucket first, or whether you were putting the sugar solution in first.

Also...3/4 cup of sugar --> 1.75 cup H2O....I found this has worked for me in the past

 

[j1laskey]

...ps. ....that is boiled H2O that has been cooled...

 

[COLObrewer]

What they^ said, plus, the only time I ever had a gusher was early on when I didn't let fermentation complete prior to bottling. Also, some brews will gush if you open them prior to appx. 21 days of being bottled, did you drink them all within 21 days? You bad boy?

 

[Commander_Nate]

If you are not stirring in the primer mix with the beer in the bottling bucket I would think that some of your beers are going to get more sugar than others.

Also, if I recall you shouldn't fill bottles to only 60% and let them carb.. The extra head room causes them to build up a lot more pressure and can turn them into bombs.

I classify as a "newbie" still, so hopefully someone with more experience can chime in...

Yeah, I guess I realize that now. I hadn't done too much reading beforehand, so I kinda assumed less liquid would mean less carbonation...big mistake there I guess!

Thanks to the rest of you for the advice on sugar and water amounts. The instructions I got with my kit had a range of 3/4 -1 1/4 cup and I was kinda just starting at the top and working my way down. I'll try 3/4 on this next one and look into getting a kitchen scale since I don't have one yet.

For the record, I was putting the solution in the bucket first, siphoning from the carboy and using a spring-loaded bottle filler to fill each one to the same level (as long as there was enough beer left). I think I'm still going to try stirring though since it seems to be only a few bottles each time with the problem.

What they^ said, plus, the only time I ever had a gusher was early on when I didn't let fermentation complete prior to bottling. Also, some brews will gush if you open them prior to appx. 21 days of being bottled, did you drink them all within 21 days? You bad boy?

Heh, the first time yes because all of our friends wanted to try in basically the same weekend. The second time no, they lasted about 5 weeks.

 

[BeerJorge]

Hefeweizens are best when they are young.... the amount of priming sugar to use varies a bit from style to style...

German Wheats have about 3.3 to 4.5 volumes of CO2... stouts have about 2.3 to 2.6 volumes of CO2.

To reach these levels the amount of priming sugar you'll need to use if you are storing your bottles at room temperature (75 F) is 6 to 8 oz (which is about 1 1/4 cup) for your Hefeweizen, and for your stout you are looking at about 3.8 to 4.2 oz of corn sugar.

If you are storing your bottles at a lower temperature, then you'll need less priming sugar...