Resolved...sort of: Foaming Beer Bottles Batman!

[arturobandini]

Hi all,

First time using Fullers Yeasts from both Wyeast and White Labs and cracked a couple of my tester bottles (5-6 weeks in the bottle) and although nothing starts raging out of the bottle when I crack the cap...as soon as I pour I get a pint of foam.

I primed the White Labs Fullers with 80g over a 23 litre batch and got 7 bottles and a polypin. The Polypin won’t be cracked for some weeks to come but I tried one of the beers from that batch and it is another pint of foam story once I start pouring. This beer had been in the fridge for one day.

The Wyeast Fullers was primed slightly heavier with 100g over a 23 litre batch into 44 bottles and when one of these was sampled last night there was a ridiculous amount of foam produced and once again, only when I start pouring does this happen, it doesn’t gush from the bottle neck as soon as the cap is released. This beer had been in the fridge for four days.

Extra Info – I have recently moved house and as such some of these beers got an absolute pasting in terms of their handling and being stored flat, upside down and any which way. This was two weeks ago and the above White Labs beer had had three days upright whereas the Wyeast had had roughly two weeks.

Any suggestions for remedy? Is this the strain of yeast? Have I hugely overprimed? I am used to priming quite a lot heavier than the above amounts as I am a heathen and I like a bit of sparkle in my ales and tend to brew paler hoppier brews but the above is moderate priming in my view. Any advice gratefully received as always.

[Scotty]

I've no experience with these yeasts but could it be an infection that is eating the rest of the sugar? Gusher?

Possible problems aside, I chill bottles to nigh-on freezing over a period of a few days before consuming. This tends to sort out any carbonation problems I have.

[Eric]

I'd say it is likely the yeast, did you measure the FG? By comparison, Nottingham would during primary ferment much more of the sugars. As a result, you will get more CO2 produced during secondary. I only occasionally bottle and then only after a couple of weeks in secondary and I can vent my kegs as required. Might you vent and recap a bottle?

[arturobandini]

Cheers guys,

Can positively rule out infection as the beers are tasting fantastic even at this early stage and nothing in them suggests anything awry.

FG on Wyeast was 1.010 and on White Labs was 1.012, these readings were consistent for at least 48 hours.

Eric, I think I'll stick another of each in the fridge before I start looking at opening and recapping but you may be right there.

Scotty, I'll whack the temperature down in the fridge and see what comes of that too.

Thanks

[arturobandini]

Here's the beer after a considerable chilling...bit too cold for my liking though:

[Eric]

It looks cold. Brrrr.

[arturobandini]

Ok,

I think I was right in initially attributing this to the moving house as I cracked a Porter at room temperature and there was no avalanche of foaming liquid escaping the bottle. It poured normally with a right amount of head and tasted...well...like Porter. Result! I thought as I held it up to the light to check the colour and clarity and caught sight of some unholy yeasty snow globe swarming about my glass.

What the move caused in terms of volcanic eruptions has now progressed to a secondary phase where the yeast is loose and volatile in the glass no matter how carefully I pour them. It has been a week since I cracked my last so will give another week in their cool storage cupboard and check where I am at then.

Anyone else had a similar experience using liquid yeast? It doesn't seem to sit down and shut up like dried but then you are dealing with a wilder beast than the domesticated safale and danstar breeds.

[jimp2003]

I don't think that using liquid yeast has caused the yeast in the bottle to be more mobile. Just like dried yeast they vary. Some pack down really well (like the Fullers yeast WLP002 for example) and others don't.

It is more likely that originally the yeast had formed a nice crust at the bottom of the bottle then got dislodged and broken up during house move and now the initial release of carbonation when opening a bottle causes these chunks to float about.

It might just be a case of having to wait a bit longer for the yeast to consolidate again at the bottom of the bottle.

[arturobandini]

That makes sense looking at the beer Jim.

Odd as I usually carbonate heavy for American style ales etc. and these beers have little if any carb so I guess it has just got itself all settled out and then I threw it in the back of a moving man and shook it like a cocktail. It doesn't reach maturity until next Tuesday so will crack a bottle then and see how she's doing with the yeast snow storm. It was a faithful replication of the Wheeler Porter and taste fantastic.