One Bottle Infected?

I've done that, or tried. Problem is, some of these beers foam right out the top until they're empty. Especially if they're warm. I've returned to find half my beer slowly erupted on the counter! Is it possible that a beer could be infected but not taste bad? That's my main question. I'm hoping my answer is to reduce the priming sugar.
 
yes you can have an infection that doesn't taste bad, the issue would arise later or the next morning when your body says get out lol, what happens in most cases is the yeast will eat that type of infection as sugar then your gravity will be much lower and the beer will have more alcohol than it should

guess the key would be to drink ice cold only and pour half in a glass if its just a priming sugar issue
 
Yeah. Some of these beers when I pour half a glass, you can see some vigorous bubbles, and the head will rise over the top of the glass. So far, no ill effects from drinking it.
 
I have a new working theory, and I want to see if any of you think it's plausible. Is it possible that my brews are starting out with carbonation (after a typical 8-9 days in a primary, and 2 weeks in a secondary) when bottled? Maybe by adding the standard 3/4 C of corn sugar to the brew that has some carbonation to it, it gets to be too much. The problem is becoming evident after about 3 months in the bottle. I have a batch I bottled on May 30 that I opened warm today. A bunch of gas was released, and it started bringing out foam with it. I do all of my brewing steps in the basement, anywhere from 64°-68°. Maybe the brew is just holding on to more carbonation during fermentation than I'm used to? Bottom line is this is not a problem until it's about 3 months in the bottle. I plan to only use 1/2 C corn sugar for a while.
 
jeffpn said:
Maybe by adding the standard 3/4 C of corn sugar to the brew that has some carbonation to it, it gets to be too much.... I plan to only use 1/2 C corn sugar for a while.
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this might be the problem. are you using a priming calculator? different temperatures will cause more or less CO2 to stay in solution and some styles call for more carbonation than others. you can't really say one amount of priming sugar will suit any and all conditions.
Also, try to weigh out the sugar, rather than measure by volume. it's much more accurate, since there could be pockets of air, clumps of sugar, etc. that throw off the measurement a bit.
fwiw, i always seem to be a bit over-carbed, so i've just learned to go with the low end of CO2 for the style, and maybe even use a little bit less sugar than what the calculator says to use
 
20 years of brewing, and I've never had a problem with any recipe except a single one using 3/4 C for priming. Everything always came out carbed well enough, except for the one recipe if the bottle wasn't good and chilled. It would foam out if it was too warm. I don't like to do a lot of thinking while brewing. I never have. I don't have a scale, either. I'm just baffled why this problem rears its ugly head at the 3 month point in the bottle. That seems like a long time to be fermenting.
 
2 months in the bottle, the brew is ok. Maybe even a tad under carbonated. At 3 months, it's unpourable, all foam, every batch. Basement is in the upper 60° range where it is conditioned and stored. The beer doesn't taste funky, just overcarbonated. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? This one has me stumped. If I reduce my priming sugar to 1/2 C, I have to wonder if it'll take 3 months to carbonate. At this point, I feel I have no choice bu to reduce the corn sugar.
 
I just opened a bottle that was bottled on 5-18. I did use 1/2 C of priming sugar in it, not 3/4. It's overcarbonated too. Not as bad as the others, but not a good pour. This is so aggravating. I've never seen this problem before. Now it's affecting every batch. Other than doing BIAB now instead of extracts, nothing has changed. And my last extract batch was affected, too. There's been 2 times in my life when I found year old homebrew, and it was not overcarbonated. Now everything I make is unpourable at 3 months in the bottle. Has anyone else ever experienced this?
 
I actually wondered about that train of thought. My homebrew store sells bagged corn sugar. I have no idea what brand it would be. I wonder if any of their other customers are experiencing the same thing. How many people keep homebrew for 3 months, though? I had as many as 10-12 batches on hand, so some of them are getting old.
 
I've kept homebrew over two years and it's still carbonated. As long as the bottles are sealed, you won't lose carbonation over time.

You're measuring by volume, there could be a difference in packing or grain size: A sugar that's finer than another will have less air so a cup will be more sugar. Try using the priming sugar calculator and priming by weight. Another possibility that could change the sugar is water. Corn sugar absorbs it from humidity in the air, cane sugar does not. Cane sugar - sucrose - is more effective than corn sugar at carbonation so if you use it, use less. It's cheaper, too.
 
I'm not losing carbonation. I'm gaining carbonation. It's like the corn sugar is infused by the active enzyme in Beano, allowing the nonfermentables to ferment. Last night I thought about looking at the gravity, but there's so much foam in the beer I'm afraid it would not be accurate, even if I could see it.
 
If this is due to the amount of priming sugar that I use, then why is it taking 3 months for the problem to show? I would think that the priming sugar would ferment out in a month, tops. I'll get a scale and weigh it instead. I'm not convinced that will help. I've always done corn sugar by volume and never had an issue. This is frustrating me to the point of losing interest in homebrewing. I know infected beer can wildly ferment. But if infections always taste bad, I'm stumped. The beer doesn't taste bad.
 
keg it much easier :D, I stopped bottling 10 years ago never looked back, only bottle for friends out of the keg
 
Yeah, that'd be the easy solution. I don't have the room for that. I don't mind bottling. It allows me to have several different recipes on hand. I've had as many as 11 at once. That's why some of them are getting old.
 
Ive bet you've run into a few gnats as well, I absolutely hate those creatures almost as much as flies
 
I may try to use gyle to prime. Gotta think ahead on that, and it's a little more inconvenient, due to taking up my wife's fridge space. That'd be nice if that was the answer to my problem.
 
I got a scale and weighed out 3.5 ozs of corn sugar. Than I scooped it up to see what the volume is. Very close to 3/4 C. I don't think the amount of sugar I use is greater than it ought to be.

I have a hypothesis that my brew itself is continuing to ferment very slowly. Slow enough that you wouldn't see a day to day change in a hydrometer reading, but enough to where after 3 months in the bottle, it has too much carbonation. Does anyone have thoughts on the possibility that fermentation is just not stopping?
 
sounds like you need to test the levels then chill at a very low temperature for at least 4 days but after don't put it in an extremely warm place, the warm bottle is what is fermenting the carbonation yeast, you can also use a different yeast for carbonation that will stop and flocculate, this is what pro brewers did in the past, some still do
 
My basement is anywhere from 64°-68°. It's the same basement where I used the same bottling method on a batch I forgot about for a year. It was not overcarbonated when I found it. I brewed for 20 years before I ever cold crashed a batch. Can you clarify "test the levels?" Just before bottling? How do I test the levels. Chill for 4 days when? Before bottling? At bottling?
 
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