I have been having significant problems with my last several batches. I would like to know what is wrong and what I can do or I will be forced to hang up the brewing spoon. The last 4 beers I have brewed have become extreme gusher bottles. Here are some of the facts on them. -All around 1.050 SG and 1.010 FG fermented with 1 pkg safale-05 or 04 at about 68-70F between 4-5 weeks, and I test gravity 3 days in a row before bottling to ensure it is the same. -Bottled with 3oz corn sugar for 48-52 bottles sitting at 70F -All bottles are consistently over carbonated, though usually perfect for 2 weeks or so. They taste just fine when foaming goes down. -Starsan is used on everything coming into contact with beer. Is there anything you expert folks can tell me that I might be able to do in order to stop this? I actually have a beer in secondary right now that I dry hopped 1 week ago. Today I noticed some foam around the top of the glass carboy, now I am afraid to bottle it and make bombs. Is this another gusher that I should just dump?
"All bottles are consistently over carbonated, though usually perfect for 2 weeks or so." This sounds like a reoccuring infection in your bottling line somewhere to me...clean, sanitize thoroughly, discard anything suspect, repeat as necessary. Disclaimer: no experience with infections.
3oz of corn sugar measured by weight should put you around 2.0 volumes of co2, which should not cause gushers. That being said, infection seems the likely suspect.
Are you sure they taste just fine? ie they taste as good as if not better than the fermenter samples you tested? Are you using Starsan with the bottles too? I don't use a secondary any more - but when I did, I never saw any activity in there. Assuming your primary was done before you transferred, you should not see "foam around the top of the glass carboy." It may be time to think about starting over with a new set of fermenters, and seeing if that works for you - ie eliminates the infection.
Three steady gravity readings are relative as long as the temp of the beer is the same for each so you should be good if those readings are where the expected FG should be. However, if they are higher than the expected then you may want to check the calibration of your hydrometer. That's a longshot, but worth checking by putting it into some water for a reading.
They taste as good at first, but do end up tasting a little more estery flavor but it could just be the extreme carbonation affecting the taste. Yes bottles are cleaned with starsan, but they are likely not the issue as my fermenter seems to have the infection already, and every bottle becomes a gusher. I only use a secondary for dry hopping and this is certainly my first time seeing foam in there. I wish I could salvage this batch as there is 5oz each of galaxy and mosaic in there.
I have calibrated it with water at 60F and it is about a point short and I adjust for that. I also adjust for temperature. I wish it was that easy. Thanks for the ideas.
What is the gravity of the bottled beer? Pour one out, degas, measure gravity. If it is lower than the FG at bottling, you have an infection. No change in FG? One other thing that can cause gushing is beer stone crystals, which provide nucleation points for the beer. Addition calcium in the mash or boil might help that, IIRC. Source for beer stone gushers is the Water book.
What is your primary fermenter? Also, if it does end up being an infection...I'd suggest sterilizing all your bottles in the oven. If you raise and lower the temp slowly, you shouldn't have an issue with weakening the glass.
I had a batch of beer that over carbonated earlier this year. I had used US 05 powdered yeast and after looking into it and discussing with some more experienced folks, it was suggested that the powdered yeast stalled fermentation (hence the appearance of stability) that then re-started when I primed and bottled it. I am only mentioning it because that batch of beer behaved just like you described with your beers. The only difference being that it was the only time I used that specific yeast this past year, and the problem did not occur afterward with several different yeast selections, using the same container and equipment otherwise.
My batches have been doing the same recently. Cold crash them for a couple days and they seem to not gush anymore. But have significant head! Taste fine though, even after a few weeks. I posted a similar thread not that long ago,.
Do you happen to use a bucket to ferment in, and a bottling bucket to bottle all of the said beers? Chances are, I think you have a scratch in there somewhere, or some junk in your fermenters that isn't getting cleaned out and sanitized well. Check your siphon and your tubing too. Everything that come in contact post chill needs to be looked at. EVERYTHING. I have a feeling it's something in your primary/secondary or your tubing/siphon. Especially if every single bottle is a gusher. Replace the siphon and hosing. It's cheap enough. If you use a bucket, get a new one, they are also cheap enough. Glass carboys shouldn't have an issue, but a good hot bleach soak, followed by a PBW wash, rinse and a good soak in star san should get ya back square.
This is what I am thinking. Most likely siphon issue because they don't seem to do anything strange until moved. I will probably get a new siphon and primary bucket as there might be a scratch or some guys hiding. I thought I sanitized stuff pretty thoroughly. Thanks for the help everyone. Drag.
Good luck with it. It's frustrating. I had an issue early on, with a siphon and a fermentation bucket. I tossed both, and got new tubing and all has been well since.
Do you use a bottling bucket with a spigot to bottle your beer, or do you bottle from the fermenter with a siphon? If it's a bottling bucket, then the spigot valve itself could be the culprit. There are many hidden surfaces inside the valve portion that get wetted with beer, but it's very difficult to clean and sanitize inside without complete valve disassembly.
I bottle with a bucket/spigot. It is more likely that my racking cane is creating the problem because my secondary has shown signs of infection before the beer has touched bottling bucket. I suppose I might play it super safe and replace everything.
