I just cracked open a bottle from my latest batch and was caught off guard by a fountain of beer/foam shooting out of the top of the bottle when I opened it. Being still new to the brewing game my question is this… Is this a clear sign of contaminated beer or did I just over prime my bottles? I used a cup of corn sugar to prime which is what the recipe called for so I’m assuming it’s contamination. Any help would be great.
Thanks!
A cup is a little overkill to my mind. if you’re doing it by volume then the usual I remember is 3/4.
How did the foam, I mean beer, taste?
You’ll get more reliable results if you weigh the sugar instead of measure by volume. Usually 3-4 oz per 5 gallons is enough.
Taste the beer. Is it bad or just over carbonated? Gushers can be caused by too much sugar, maybe you went to the bottle too soon and the beer wasn’t finished fermenting. Did you take a gravity reading first?
And just in case - refrigerate the rest right away and watch out for bottle bombs!
Aside from having to battle through an excessive head it tastes good, exactly like I had hoped it would. I’m pretty confident about it being done fermenting before I bottled it, I checked the gravity a twice before bottling to make sure it was finished. Maybe I did just over prime it. I did notice after they had sat in the fridge and got nice and cold the explosion was less.
Thanks for the help guys.
Already did. I just have to remember to open these guys over the sink or outside.
I have been using this old but good carb. calculator.
Thanks for the carb calculator. I’ll be giving it a whirl next weekend when I bottle up the latest batch.