Sampling my Honey Beer

[Lilyflower]

Opened my Honey Beer tonight and it exploded everywhere, second bottle I opened in the garden with success, chilled it beforehand, why was it so fizzy?

 

[Lilyflower]

Opened my Honey Beer tonight and it exploded everywhere, second bottle I opened in the garden with success, chilled it beforehand, why was it so fizzy?

The aftermath of opening a bottle!

 

[dan125]

why was it so fizzy?

The fizz is created by the yeast fermenting any available sugar in the bottle, so either too much priming sugar at bottling time, or it hadn't quite finished fermenting before you bottled - leaving extra sugar available in the bottles for the yeast to work on.
Did you check the FG before bottling?

 

[simon12]

What was the OG, FG, yeast used, how long was it fermenting for and how much of what did you prime it with? If you can answer as much as possible we could get to the bottom of it.

 

[Lilyflower]

Not sure how to answer all the questions, just followed the recipe, used Windsor British style beer yeast but also put a carbonation drop in the bottle when bottling, second bottle wasn’t so bad when opened, did it in the garden just in case

 

[simon12]

OK I assume you don't have a hydrometer then so I advice get one there only a few £s in wilkinsons or on ebay. I suspect either fermentation was not complete at the time you bottled either due to not enough time or a stuck fermentation which can be common with Windsor yeast. Whats the recipe and how long between making and bottling?

 

[Pavros]

I've never brewed with honey before but understand that it is almost 100% fermentable so there may be a chance it hadn't finished fermenting when you bottled.

Also, do you have to do anything to honey before adding it? Could it contain wild yeast unless it is pasteurised? I am not sure but I know some of the other experts on here can contribute to this.

 

[foxy]

Two other possibles, if the first bottle wasn't chilled the co2 hadn't been absorbed into the beer, the second reason if the first bottle had been chilled and gushed could be an infection in the bottle.

 

[Lilyflower]

Here is the recipe, I bottled after 8 days and not 3-4 as the recipe suggested as it seemed quite active until then, maybe it was too soon

 

[Zephyr259]

Here is the recipe, I bottled after 8 days and not 3-4 as the recipe suggested as it seemed quite active until then, maybe it was too soon

Ah right so it's a hopped mead you made. 8 days is was probably too soon for bottling. The only way to know it's safe to bottle is to use a hydrometer showing a stable final gravity over 2-3 days.

 

[cheshirehomebrew]

That was a very misleading thread title, I was going to volunteer myself to sample it