Gushers

[LarryF]

I did a Coopers Stout with 1kg BE, 454g H&B malt extract, a hop tea and four tsp of coco powder. It had 4 weeks in the FV and then primed with 1/2tsp of brown sugar per 500ml bottle. The first couple of early ones were fine, I then opened one mid-session on a Friday night and it went off like a grenade, I was wiping stout off kitchen appliances the next day. They all seem like that, so I've now started a program of loosening the lids and doing them back up sharpish. I've tried it on a couple of test bottles and got them nearly flat so it's going to be three or four times each bottle over a fortnight. I'm just sooooo happy.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I did a Coopers Stout with 1kg BE, 454g H&B malt extract, a hop tea and four tsp of coco powder. It had 4 weeks in the FV and then primed with 1/2tsp of brown sugar per 500ml bottle. The first couple of early ones were fine, I then opened one mid-session on a Friday night and it went off like a grenade, I was wiping stout off kitchen appliances the next day. They all seem like that, so I've now started a program of loosening the lids and doing them back up sharpish. I've tried it on a couple of test bottles and got them nearly flat so it's going to be three or four times each bottle over a fortnight. I'm just sooooo happy.

that and a freeze chill will help :thumb:

 

[strange-steve]

Over primed, infection or bottling too early are the most common causes of gushers, though 4 weeks in the fv doesn't sound too early.

 

[Covrich]

Only gushers I ever had (two of them) were isolated bottles in a batch.. I put it down to probably not properly clean bottle.

Sounds like it had plenty of time in the FV

Sounds like It may have had a wild yeast infection if it started happening mid season

 

[LarryF]

Only gushers I ever had (two of them) were isolated bottles in a batch.. I put it down to probably not properly clean bottle.

Sounds like it had plenty of time in the FV

Sounds like It may have had a wild yeast infection if it started happening mid season

They taste fine Corvich, but it's my first time using the H&B malt extract and this time of year with it being warmer I'm wondering if it's a combination of elements that have resulted in this issue. I had it once before with a Wherry, that once done tasted lovely because of the amount of time it'd had in the bottle, but it was at this time of year, I'm wondering if it's because they're not getting the full two weeks in the cold due to the summer temps.

 

[Leon103]

Only gushers I have had is over priming. Batch priming works best.

 

[chuffer]

There's specialist websites for this sort of thing, no?

 

[Linalmeemow]

Only gushers I've had have been Coopers Stout to the Russian Imperial Stout recipe on their website. They were in the FV for over a month and I don't think I overprimed them, but I have to open every bottle in a bowl in the sink to avoid soaking the entire kitchen!

 

[Sandimas]

I had a series of gushers last year and they all turned out to be infections. They didn't all taste bad at first, in fact some were quite nice but they just produced volumes of CO2 - one hit the ceiling when I opened it, and several later exploded.

As well as excess CO2, they produced a lot of dirty-looking trub in the bottom of the bottles, so much more than normal.

I did what you did and re-capped a batch of them - this is where you can tell if you have an infection: see what happens in 3-4 weeks time. Any normal fermentation will have long since stopped, if they've re-carbonated to excess then you have an infection.

 

[Ale]

I've only had that with cider I made from apples from the trees in my garden last year. I ended up not drinking them as they had a very slight off taste. I did have one and didnt feel ill but ending up tipping the whole batch down the drain except a couple of bottles I found hiding in a cupboard a few days ago. THey will be going down the drain tomorrow.

 

[BeerCat]

Be careful. I woke up with a painful red eye after a session and didnt realise why until my friend told me a week later. Then i remembered, hurt my finger and nearly took my eye out.

 

[LarryF]

Thanks all, I'll release the pressure another couple of times over the next week and will chill them right down before opening them and just keep an eye on them looking for the excess trub in the bottom of the bottle.

 

[Alexislife]

I've got some bottles like this at the moment, it's a bit hit and miss as to which ones are gushers and which aren't.

I'm putting it down to bottles and sanitisation as I got a bunch of empties off a friend which were a bit grim with caked on yeast/trub remnants and I don't think my bottle brush got to the edges at the bottom well enough.

Hope that letting the pressure out works well for you.

 

[MickDundee]

I'm working through a couple of batches of gushers at the moment. The first lot (a German pale ale kit) I overprimed. The second, my first AG, I think was because some hop pellet debris from my dry hop made its way into my bottles and crated a nucleating point for the CO2. The kit beers tend to go down and be fairly drinkable. The AG gushers ruin the beer because the fire up big chunks of yeast with the foam

 

[Cwrw666]

I quite often have gushers. Well, usually not so bad that the brew squirts out like champagne, but quite a lot where you have to open the bottle and pour it really quickly otherwise the bubbles drag up the sediment. If you're quick though you can pour it all without any bother.
It's not overpriming - it's either a wild yeast infection or maybe the yeast stalled just before the end and restarted again in the bottle. Either way the beer tastes fine and refrigeration before opening calms it down a lot.

 

[BeerisGOD]

Only gushers I ever had (two of them) were isolated bottles in a batch.. I put it down to probably not properly clean bottle.

Sounds like it had plenty of time in the FV

Sounds like It may have had a wild yeast infection if it started happening mid season

same as. most definitely down to bottles in my case. was only starsanin them. I now soak them well and rinse straight after. no probs since, ..oh no I've said it now

 

[Sandimas]

Most my gushers have tasted terrible, really astringent :sick:

I think it was the same infections that persisted through last summer and autumn. Got rid of it from the FVs and kegs now, but still get the odd rogue bottle infected. Still, I'm happy chucking one or two down the drain rather than whole batches.

 

[Flatline9]

I've only had one batch of gushers in which they all gushed. I blame my friends as they bottled them while I was away on holiday. Probably down to poor sanitation of the secondary keg before bottling with a wand... Interestingly though, one bottle which I managed to open and pour without it gushing tasted completely different to the rest which had gushed. It tasted less "funky" but also seemed a lot less interesting and didn't carry the flavour that the others did!

 

[Covrich]

Most my gushers have tasted terrible, really astringent :sick:

I think it was the same infections that persisted through last summer and autumn. Got rid of it from the FVs and kegs now, but still get the odd rogue bottle infected. Still, I'm happy chucking one or two down the drain rather than whole batches.

I think the problem is they pull all the trub and everything up..

The ones I had just had everything floating around in there :lol:

Was is Dad of Jon or someone who had a gusher and it went all over his father in laws sunday roast :lol:

 

[Sandimas]

One of mine hit and stained the kitchen ceiling ... someone in the house was NOT happy with that

I had a couple that didn't gush but poured clear but still had a horrible TCP-like taste.