Volcanic Tendencies with Stubby Bottles

[NTXBrauer]

I recently acquired some Maredsous stubby bottles (same as Duvel), and encountered volcanic eruptions when opening each of them. The same Christmas Ale was perfectly carbonated in all other 12 and 22 oz bottles I used, but for some reason the beer would erupt after a second and create a huge head when pouring into a glass. Has anyone else encountered this? Could this be attributed to the bottle shape alone?

Here is a example of the bottle used.

 

[Wynne-R]

NTX have you considered that the yeast in the bottle may be attenuating your beer a few extra points?

Geysers are caused by too much pressure. I don’t imagine the shape of the bottle is a factor.

 

[NTXBrauer]

I didn't have any geysers per se, and when opening each bottle, they did not seem overly carbonated. I did not experience this with any of the 12 oz long necks or bombers used, which led to my thought that bottle shape might have some affect. Only the stubbies (and every one of them) had the same consistent overflow of head out of the bottle, as if shaken.

After 3 weeks in the FV, I reached a stable FG of 1.011 with an attenuation of 84%.

 

[sweetcell]

bottle shape should not affect carbonation. i have a big collection of those belgian stubbies which are generally reserved for high pressure beers, but sometimes i need to use the for "regular" beers. i have not had any differences in carbonation.

how did you prime? did you add sugar to the bucket, or did you prime each bottle individually? those bottles are a little smaller than regular bottles: 11.3 oz vs. 12. it's not a huge difference, but the same amount of sugar (ex: one carb tab) in the smaller volume would lead to an increase in carbonation.

did you clean the bottles the same way as your other bottles? maybe you have an infection in those bottles?

 

[NTXBrauer]

I primed in the bottling bucket with corn sugar. As for cleaning/sanitation, I followed the same process for all the bottles used.

It is good to know that you have not had any issues, as I want to use these bottles again. Maybe there was something in the bottles that did not get removed when cleaning, and increased the head buildup.

 

[sweetcell]

well that's weird indeed.

per your question, maybe there there was something left behind in the bottles and they caused nucleation points (re: glasses with etching on the bottom or along the sides).

give them a nice hot PBW/Oxyclean soak, rinse in hot water, and try try again. hopefully your next time using them won't have the same issue. perhaps use just a few bottles to test them out, instead of using them all (in case you have this problem again).