Welp. I just found out that I put too much priming sugar in the batch I bottled last week. 1.25 cups of corn sugar for 5 gallons. What should I do? Drink them all real fast? Any other options?
Keep them cold after a few days of room temp conditioning. I would open a bottle 1/2 week in, 1 week in, and possibly 1.5 weeks after bottling. Whenever the carbonation is slightly undercarbed, i would at that point throw them all in the refeigerator or you can try the pasteurize them in a hot water bath (170 F) for 5 mins to kill the yeast. Granted its an ale, the cold storage should work and be easier.
Thanks! Will killing the yeast affect the taste? even several months down the road? Considering this is a Hefe with (supposed to be) strong yeast characteristics?
I would sanitize a bottle opener, open them, then recap. Caps are cheap. There is no way that I know of to dial in a certain volume of c02 by doing this, but it should get you closer.
No offense, I know I asked for advice, but this Seems pretty bush league to me. I won't be back at home until tomorrow night. At that point it would have been 4 1/2 days, and I feel like a good portion of the sugar will have already been eaten.
Bush league, seriously? Bush league would be priming a beer to nearly 4.6 volumes of CO2, and then throwing it in the fridge to hope it kills the chances of over carbonation (do you like the taste of priming sugar in your beer??). Easiest and most effective way to remove pressure built up in a bottle would be to uncap it and relieve the pressure and recap. I would not chance bottle bombs or drink beer with unfermented priming sugar in it. Also, please don't try to pasteurize it by heating to 170 F from a cold bottle. I'd really not like to read about a homebrewer in the next Darwin Awards book.
Well, I am new to this. That was just my unprofessional opinion. I liked the first suggestion earlier, but I do appreciate the second and third opinions. I still don't know what I'm going to do.... What do you think about slowing the process down by refrigeration, then getting back home and upcapping/recapping, then putting them back to 72 degrees and letting it continue?
Is this operating on the idea that some of the priming sugar has not yet been gotten at by the yeast so once recapped some carbonation will be regained? Or once recapped the CO2 already in solution would remain and keep the beer relatively carbonated?
I've done this quite a few times, although the situation was different. Room temp bottles, bottled from keg a week prior using beer gun, 170 F for 5 mins in my mash tun, never had a problem. I've had problems with beer that I bottle from keg that just wants to defy me and ferment out more and over carb after 3-4 weeks in the bottle. My pasteurization method has helped cure that.
Dead cells will rupture sooner than living cells. So the answer is yes. It's just a question of how fast, to which I don't have a definitive answer.
That would probably be the best course of action. Might take 1-2 recappings to get just right, but it is the safest.
Def uncap recap. The fridge only or the pastuerizing is going to leave (if it stops the yeast) you with unfermented sugars in the bottle. This will change the finish and flavor of the beer as it won't be as dry, and will be sweeter than intended. It could be a good beer, it could make what was a good beer an average beer, it could make a great beer an average beer, if your fermentation dried it out too much, it could take an average beer and make it better. Another issue with cold storage or pastuerizing is acetaldehyde (green apple jolly ranchers), if there is any production of acetaldehyde from the carbing and you stop the yeast from finishing there job your Hefe could potentially stay in the "green beer" phase forever (and be sweeter than intended to boot).
Both, or neither. It just depends on how soon the uncapping occurs. As Barfdiggs said, "might take 1-2 recappings." I don't think it would make a big difference either way, but I would probably let the beer fully over-carb then open them to relieve the pressure, then let the over-carbed beer of-gas to repressurize the bottles. The repressurizing should occur pretty fast (a day or 2) after recapping, so at that point one could open a beer to check the carb level. If it's still to high, then they would have to be re-capped again. I just think it would be easier to dail in the carb level after all of the sugar is utilized.
OP Update: So here's the rundown: I used 1.25 cups to prime my 5 gallon batch. After reading more online I realized this was too much. (thus I created this thread.) 4 days in bottle: I was away from home, but after 4 days of being in bottles I asked my sister to move them to the fridge to slow down the yeast activity. (many have suggested to re-cap once I get home.) 5 days in bottle: After one day in the fridge, I get home and crack one open to try it. It has a healthy 1 1/2 finger head with good retention, some carbonation in the body, but not quite enough. It still tastes a little "green," but I really like the direction the carbonation and flavor is headed. So should I leave them all in the fridge? Leave them? Recap them? Test in a few days? Will the green flavor eventually go away if left in the fridge? Thanks guys.
If you're going to recap, I'd do it now or very soon. If by 'green' you mean 'green apple' (acetaldehyde) you need the yeast working at higher temps to get rid of it. IMO the fridge is not the long term solution.
You're incorrect. That priming sugar calculator doesn't give you the amount in cups, because measuring priming sugar by volume (cups) is inaccurate (Get a scale). According to northern brewers calculator and beersmith, 1.5 cups of priming sugar in 5 gallons if beer at 68 F will give you ~4.8 volumes if co2.
