Beer foaming when bottling

Sprocker · Aug 20, 2024

Looking for advice please.
Just started to bottle my latest batch of Old Peculiar clone, which I've made three times before. Exactly the same recipe apart from the addition of 100g Torrified Wheat to aid head retention.
Fermented under minimal pressure in an all rounder for two weeks at 20 degs C.
Crashed to 4 degs C for two days. All Exactly as I've done before.
This time as soon I add 1tsp brewing sugar it foams up and out of the bottle.
Started at 1.060 (Usually 1.057) and finished at 1. 016 (Usually 1.014).
Any ideas why it's foaming, and is there anything I can do to recover it please?

Nicks90 · Aug 20, 2024

Must have lots of dissolved co2 and the sugar is acting as nucleation points.
Try adding the sugar to some boiled water and measure out the required sugar mix using a measuring spoon.

Agentgonzo · Aug 20, 2024

Sprocker said:
and is there anything I can do to recover it please?

There doesn't sound like there is anything wrong with it

Sprocker · Aug 20, 2024

Agentgonzo said:
There doesn't sound like there is anything wrong with it

I'm losing a quarter of it out the top as foam.

Agentgonzo · Aug 20, 2024

Sprocker said:
I'm losing a quarter of it out the top as foam.

Ah, sorry. It sounded like you'd already bottled it all.

As mentioned, it's a combination of the carbonated beer and nucleation sites on the sugar.

Let the pressure off the beer for 24/48 hours
Or make a sugar solution either in water or in beer (from your fermenter) and use that instead of sugar.

I also have a feeling (about 75% certain) you could put a small bit of beer in the bottom of each bottle on top of the priming sugar. Let it foam up and die down. Then fill the bottles after it's died down - it probably won't foam up much/at all as the sugar will have fewer nucleation sites as it'll have partially dissolved in the first shot of beer

Sprocker · Aug 20, 2024

Agentgonzo said:
Ah, sorry. It sounded like you'd already bottled it all.

As mentioned, it's a combination of the carbonated beer and nucleation sites on the sugar.

Let the pressure off the beer for 24/48 hours
Or make a sugar solution either in water or in beer (from your fermenter) and use that instead of sugar.

I also have a feeling (about 75% certain) you could put a small bit of beer in the bottom of each bottle on top of the priming sugar. Let it foam up and die down. Then fill the bottles after it's died down - it probably won't foam up much/at all as the sugar will have fewer nucleation sites as it'll have partially dissolved in the first shot of beer

That makes sense thankyou. I'll do as you suggest and de-pressurise the fermenter, ill leave it until the weekend and then try again.

MashBag · Aug 21, 2024

Why was it fermented under pressure?

Sprocker · Aug 21, 2024

I prefer to do everything closed from fermenting to kegging etc, so I ferment under a very minimum positive pressure.

Cwrw666 · Aug 21, 2024

Sounds like from the Op that you're filling the bottles then adding the sugar? Add the sugar to the bottle then fill with beer.

Sprocker · Aug 21, 2024

Cwrw666 said:
Sounds like from the Op that you're filling the bottles then adding the sugar? Add the sugar to the bottle then fill with beer.

I'll try a few more bottles doing it that way. Thankyou

Madhouse · Aug 21, 2024

+1 for using a sugar solution.

When I bottle carb I make up a sugar syrup and dose it in using a Calpol syringe although the main reason was it's a lot easier to get into the bottle.

Beer foaming when bottling

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