Bottle Gushes While Priming Wheat Beer

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williewtb

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Any idea why its happening? i drop 2 carbonation drops into the 750ml pet bottles and it gushes in like 3 seconds, had to cap it so fast so i wont lose the beer :)

My recipe:
1 can of cooper wheat beer kit
Wheat dry malt 1kg
dextrose 300g
WB06 yeast

OG:1042 FG:1011, in the fermenter for 7 days before i bottled.

This is just now 2nd brew, 1st brew was a cooper lager which didn't have this issue at all.
 
Put your carb drops into the bottle before you fill them.
 
Put your carb drops into the bottle before you fill them.

Won't that make the problem worse? :lol:

Seriously, I have no idea. :huh: Sounds like the sort of thing that would happen if you dropped a your priming sugar into an already carbed beer. You may have carbon dioxide in solution or something of that sort. You might want to look at the temp you have been fermenting at.
The only thing I could suggest would be to leave the beer another couple of weeks before bottling.
 
Good thing you're not using glass bottles. :(
 


CO2 rapidly coming out of solution with minimal head space= gusher!









Note- video for illustrative purposes only. Diet coke is not beer and mentos are not carb drops.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I prime my bottles with Caster Sugar.
I always put my dose into each bottle before filling them.
Never a problem.

If I was to drop the Caster Sugar onto the bottle after it is filled, it would undoubtedly create a gusher before I could cap them.

Trust me, I've been doing this for over 5 years, I reasonably confident I know how it works.
It's also been discussed a number of times previously on this forum, and the answer is always to prime before filling the bottles (or to go to bulk priming).

Another issue may well be that only 1 week in the fermenter is not particularly long. I'd leave it for another week before bottling. However, that's another subject, and not one the OP raised.
 
Put your carb drops into the bottle before you fill them.

I tried that, its worst, im not able to fill the bottle at all.


Won't that make the problem worse? :lol:

Seriously, I have no idea. :huh: Sounds like the sort of thing that would happen if you dropped a your priming sugar into an already carbed beer. You may have carbon dioxide in solution or something of that sort. You might want to look at the temp you have been fermenting at.
The only thing I could suggest would be to leave the beer another couple of weeks before bottling.

Will leaving longer help? I thought it was ok to bottle since FG was quite acceptable..

Good thing you're not using glass bottles. :(

Ya i am, i got 12 of the beers in glass long necks, the rest in PETs, will the explode?

I prime my bottles with Caster Sugar.
I always put my dose into each bottle before filling them.
Never a problem.

If I was to drop the Caster Sugar onto the bottle after it is filled, it would undoubtedly create a gusher before I could cap them.

Trust me, I've been doing this for over 5 years, I reasonably confident I know how it works.
It's also been discussed a number of times previously on this forum, and the answer is always to prime before filling the bottles (or to go to bulk priming).

Another issue may well be that only 1 week in the fermenter is not particularly long. I'd leave it for another week before bottling. However, that's another subject, and not one the OP raised.


Im going to try bulk prime the next round with this same recipe, i tasted it while i bottle, it tasted so good. Is 200g of Dextrose enough for a 23L batch? It was a mess bottling this batch.. but it was worth it, haha.
 
will the explode?
Absolutely no evidence to worry about this yet (assuming your beer was actually at FG and your priming rate sensible).

Is 200g of Dextrose enough for a 23L batch?
That seems like a lot to me. Search google for a priming calculator - will tell you how much you need - just be aware you need to keep track of your temps throughout fermentation to use it accurately.
 
Absolutely no evidence to worry about this yet (assuming your beer was actually at FG and your priming rate sensible).


That seems like a lot to me. Search google for a priming calculator - will tell you how much you need - just be aware you need to keep track of your temps throughout fermentation to use it accurately.

You mean fermentation temperature affects priming amount? This batch i kept to a constant 18-19 degrees, read a few recipe and this seems to be a good temperature range..
 
Yes, you use the warmest temperature the beer got to at or after end of fermentation. Once fermentation finishes, there is no more CO2 going into solution. Raising the temperature causes CO2 to come out but lowering it has no effec since the fermentation has ended. So, use the warmest past end of fermentation temp. To make it easy, raise the temperature by a couple of degrees at end to give the yeast a little help in making sure its done. Use this elevated temperature for the calculator.

Also, those carb drops are a waste of time mostly. They tend to overcarbonate. 1 in a grolsch bottle will give you quite a loud pop when flipping the lid off. Calculate exact weights, use table sugar or dextrose and either use the scoops, bulk prime or a dispenser that screws into a bottle mouth, whatever you can get easiest.
 
That is a very good range for most ale yeasts - nicely done!

Temperature greatly effects the amount of CO2 (produced by fermentation) that will stay in solution. So the temp of your brew at different stages can impact how much priming sugar you need to add depending on how much CO2 is likely to already be in there - if that makes any sense. It is a little bit more complicated than that sometimes - long story short - put what you think are the correct values into a priming calculator and err on the safe side with your desired amount of carb and tweak it as you get more experienced. I promise it isn't as complicated is it might look.
 
my calculations indicate your FG should be around 1009, how many days was your reading steady for?

7 days is a bit quick to bottle generally.


Leave your brew for a week after hitting FG, it will clear a lot more and give a better result, also this ensures fermentation is complete...

I'm thinking this batch hasn't finished, but doesnt really explain gushers when bottling....keep a close eye on your bottles you may have bombs sitting in wait.
 
Yes, you use the warmest temperature the beer got to at or after end of fermentation. Once fermentation finishes, there is no more CO2 going into solution. Raising the temperature causes CO2 to come out but lowering it has no effec since the fermentation has ended. So, use the warmest past end of fermentation temp. To make it easy, raise the temperature by a couple of degrees at end to give the yeast a little help in making sure its done. Use this elevated temperature for the calculator.

Also, those carb drops are a waste of time mostly. They tend to overcarbonate. 1 in a grolsch bottle will give you quite a loud pop when flipping the lid off. Calculate exact weights, use table sugar or dextrose and either use the scoops, bulk prime or a dispenser that screws into a bottle mouth, whatever you can get easiest.

That is a very good range for most ale yeasts - nicely done!

Temperature greatly effects the amount of CO2 (produced by fermentation) that will stay in solution. So the temp of your brew at different stages can impact how much priming sugar you need to add depending on how much CO2 is likely to already be in there - if that makes any sense. It is a little bit more complicated than that sometimes - long story short - put what you think are the correct values into a priming calculator and err on the safe side with your desired amount of carb and tweak it as you get more experienced. I promise it isn't as complicated is it might look.

I guess using IanH spreadsheet to calculate bulk priming amounts would be ok?

my calculations indicate your FG should be around 1009, how many days was your reading steady for?

7 days is a bit quick to bottle generally.


Leave your brew for a week after hitting FG, it will clear a lot more and give a better result, also this ensures fermentation is complete...

I'm thinking this batch hasn't finished, but doesnt really explain gushers when bottling....keep a close eye on your bottles you may have bombs sitting in wait.

About 2 days on constant reading. My Hydrometer actually broke, so it might not be really acurate, need to get a new one soon as this current one is just hanging on with tapes. I was thinking the gushing are caused by yeast eating up the sugar as i drop them into the bottles but it doesn't happen that quick right?

Do glass long necks explode that easily? I'm really worried right now, what should i do?
 
Mate, crack a chilled longneck at 5 days and see what the carbonation is like. Then another at 10 days or so. If they are ok, try again at 2 weeks. If all good, don't stress and let them condition for another week. If they are really over carbonated, you could gently vent some CO2 by lifting an edge of the caps with a bottle opener just enough to let out some gas. If you are careful, they reseal just fine. Otherwise, remove the caps and quickly reseal with some sanitised caps.

Either way, weizens are great drunk young, so don't be afraid to start nailing those babies as soon as they are carbed up :icon_drunk:

BTW, The final OG doesn't seem over the top to me, but definitely let your beer sit for a week after it's done (if you can). The difference it makes is very noticeable.
 
If you're really worried and want to play it safe you could remove caps altogether and cover with glad wrap and a rubber band. Wait 2 weeks and drop a couple of fresh carb drops into the bottles and reseal.
 
Ok, i just popped all the glass long necks & put on new caps, no gushing now, just a loud hiss, similar to commerical bottles or maybe even louder. I took a close look and it was bubbling like crazy after i remove the caps, big and small bubbles.

I feel so much safer now, don't want any curious kid to get hurt as there just kept in a corner in the kitchen.
 
I have them in beer crates now, covered the top, keeping my fingers crossed. Let hope it turns out well, it smells nice though.. hah
 
I have them in beer crates now, covered the top, keeping my fingers crossed. Let hope it turns out well, it smells nice though.. hah

keep them cool too. Don't stack them high or where it gets warm.

I think your starting gravity should be a little higher.

If you can still see bubbles rising to the top, it's still fermenting. You don't need a hydro for that. If you throw sugar into a carbonated drink it will go wild. It wasn't done yet.

Cheers

Bob
 
Ok, i just popped all the glass long necks & put on new caps, no gushing now, just a loud hiss, similar to commerical bottles or maybe even louder. I took a close look and it was bubbling like crazy after i remove the caps, big and small bubbles.

I feel so much safer now, don't want any curious kid to get hurt as there just kept in a corner in the kitchen.

How long had they been in the bottles carbonating? This may not have been needed...
 

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