Help!! my brew floweth over

andbrew · Post by **andbrew** » Monday Oct 29, 2007 10:10 pm

OK, I am new to this, pls be patient.

I brewed an Asahi Super Dry using westbrew's recipe:-
Brewmakers Lager, included the dry enzyme
Brew blend 10
500 mls Japanese Blonde Malt Extract
12g Hallertau infusion bag
12g Saaz i.b.
s-23 saflager yeast
followed recipe; bottled after 6 days as the recipe said at 1012; added finings at 1014. Fermenter thermo said about 24 c throughout.

2 bottles exploded within first 10 days of bottling but luckily just blew the bottoms off (the bottles' bottom that is....); no more likely to blow right..............?
tried 2 bottles tonight 18 days after bottling (one primed with dex, the other with LDME)
after only an hour of chilling (too short?) I tried to pour them into chilled glasses and they fizzed out the bottle so quickly that I ended up with about 200mls total of beer and about 500ml froth. My wife was amused and my 17 month old son got excited but that it is not really why I want to homebrew!!

My questions:-

Will it get better (ie less fizzy) with time?
with more chilling?
is it salvagable?

I don't really want to explore recapping unless it is the most viable option; the speed with which it bolted out the bottle was very daunting and I doubt i could recap quicky enough...........

Thanks[/b]

collapoo · Post by **collapoo** » Monday Oct 29, 2007 10:44 pm

i think you are in danger of more bottles exploding mate, I have never used dry enzyme but I have read here that you need to give a lot more time in the fermentation phase, and 1012 seems to high for a beer with dry enzyme, so.... i think you should handle bottle with caution, maybe stick them in ice to cool them, and recap, other wise you could end up with a whole lots off mess.

KEG · Post by **KEG** » Monday Oct 29, 2007 11:01 pm

holy crap. only 6 days of fermenting with dry enzyme.

mate, be careful. those bottles are a real danger. the beer would definitely not have finished fermenting. i have an ale with 2.5 kg light dry malt, 1 kg dextrose and 200g crystal malt (no kit can).

after about 2 weeks it was still not done (kept at 16-18c for the most part). checked it a few days ago (about the 2.5 week mark), and it was down to SG 1000 - possibly still fermenting, albeit not much left.

now, regarding your bottled beer.. with thick gloves, thick clothes and face/eye protection, see if you can get them chilled in your freezer almost to the point of freezing. then try to recap them (don't lean over the bottle as you do, there's a fair chance the caps might fly off). if you can't, it might just be bad luck

just be very careful though. i've seen exploded bottle glass embed itself in plasterboard, it's sharp and powerful.

another tip tho - 24c is FAAAR too warm for a lager yeast, particularly S-23, which is fairly fruity even at lager temps. it's borderline too warm even for ale yeasts. i don't mean to offend, but it wouldn't be a huge loss to just throw that beer (and it pains me to say that

)

andbrew · Post by **andbrew** » Monday Oct 29, 2007 11:38 pm

thanks for the replies.The annoying thing is that the 'recipe' says FG should be 1012-1014 (because of the 'brewblend' instead of sugar) and the Beermakers Lager label , which says to chuck in the dry enzyme, and keep the temp between 18-28C, says fermentation should take 4-7 days, so I thought I had done good!

Q. Whatdya reckon if I bought some Coopers PET bottles (less dangerous than glass) and funnelled the contents of 2 stubbies a time into these new PET bottles? Would let some gas escape and any future exploding bottles would be less deadly, no?

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 6:46 am

What do I keep saying about dry enzyme...?

Anyway, you could rebottle into PET, but (a) you get to sanitise 30 new bottles- well 28 now

and (b) you run a high risk of oxidising the beer during the transfer.

1012 with dry enzyme!

DarkFaerytale · Post by **DarkFaerytale** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 6:56 am

mate your asking for trouble, especially with a little one around, exploding bottles are very very dangerous, i'v seen dents on the outside of peoples fridges from blown bottles that where in the fridge.

Do what keg said and get them as cold as you can as quickly as you can to slow down fermentation and carbonation, then uncap and recap very quickly and do please remember the safety glasses, i'd even think it might be a good idea to repeat the process 2 weeks down the track or drink the beers very quickly.

if you decide to go the coopers plastic bottles and funnel your beer your deffinatly going to introduce oxygen, once again drink them quickly befor they start to tast like cardboard or sherry from oxydation

-Phill

Canbrew · Post by **Canbrew** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 7:11 am

I did a Mexican with dry enzyme for my first and last time about 6 months ago. The FG was 0998 using a kilo of Dex and left in fermentor for 18 days.

I had about 10 bottles explode, refrigerated the rest and drank them. They were quite frothy and took a while to pour but I drank them none the less. Much too dry and tasteless IMO.

I have done about 40 brews prior to this and never had one explode before. I'm not sure what I could have done differently to avoid it and won't try again. Next time I'm after a tasteless, light easy summer quaffer I'll just stick with a kilo of dex.

andbrew · Post by **andbrew** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 1:29 pm

OK, it would seem i stuffed up bigtime

so i've dedicated my lunchtime to trips to big W (bought 15 coopers pet bottles) and bunnings (bought safety mask/visor and glass gloves)

so tomorrow afternoon the missus is taking the bub out and I plan to:-
risk oxydisation by putting contents of 50% of my brew into pets
and recap the other 50% of the bottles

Any comments gratefully accepted; I know to chill them first .

Two questions:-
when I recap how long before I cap them again (are we talking seconds here)
any suggestions on how to cut down risk of oxydisation when transferring to the PETS (I'm guessing they'll be so much froth that it could take a few minutes to get2 stubbies' worth into one PET)

If it all goes wrong, I'll consider a safer hobby such as sword swallowing, swimming with sharks etc...........................

warra48 · Post by **warra48** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 4:06 pm

andbrew wrote:
Two questions:-
when I recap how long before I cap them again (are we talking seconds here)
any suggestions on how to cut down risk of oxydisation when transferring to the PETS (I'm guessing they'll be so much froth that it could take a few minutes to get2 stubbies' worth into one PET)

1. I'd leave them for about 5 minutes or so after transfer of your beer before recapping. That will allow some of the COÂ² in your beer to expel any air above the beer, and help reduce your risk of oxidation.

2. Don't just use the funnel as is. Get a piece of clear plastic hose (at Bunnings etc in various sizes, to fit onto the bottom of your funnel, just long enough to reach the bottom of your new bottles. This will minimise splashing as you transfer, and again, reduce your risk of oxidation.

3. Don't use dry enzyme in future, you don't need it.

4. Good luck, and enjoy the beer anyway.

regan · Post by **regan** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 4:30 pm

or you could use your fermnter instead of the funnel and bottle in the normal style.. hell you could even crack them all into the fermenter let it sit a couple of days sealed up to release most of the co2 then do an underweight bulk prime

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 4:35 pm

My advice is get out now why you still can

RUN

andbrew · Post by **andbrew** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 5:05 pm

warra48

3. Don't use dry enzyme in future, you don't need it.

4. Good luck, and enjoy the beer anyway.

3. Don't worry, I never will!!

4. Thanks. Even if I end up drinking it, I don't think I'll enjoy it as I'll be wondering ,in the back of my mind, if I am going to explode!!

Regan:-

or you could use your fermnter instead of the funnel and bottle in the normal style.. hell you could even crack them all into the fermenter let it sit a couple of days sealed up to release most of the co2 then do an underweight bulk prime

Is this a better option in regard to ending up with a beer that might be less infected/oxidised than rebottling straight away? It would be easier, and safer, but would it be better?

Thanks

scanman · Post by **scanman** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 6:58 pm

I have used Dry Enzime without issues, and I wont get into the debate on that.

Personally I think next time let it ferment out longer. 1012 in my opinion is a bit early to be botling a beer. Maybe another week in the fermenter would have prevented this totally. Get it down to well under 1.010 before you bottle.

Also bulk prime as well. Bulk priming is certainly a better way to prime.
None of these bottle lollies or tea spoons of sugar.

KEG · Post by **KEG** » Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 7:50 pm

scanman wrote:I have used Dry Enzime without issues, and I wont get into the debate on that.

Personally I think next time let it ferment out longer. 1012 in my opinion is a bit early to be botling a beer. Maybe another week in the fermenter would have prevented this totally. Get it down to well under 1.010 before you bottle.

dangerous advice... don't just get it below 1010, but get it stable for several days if you're using dry enzyme.

regan · Post by **regan** » Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 5:30 pm

andbrew you dont have much chance of infection unless you are really grubby, and by now most of your sugars should be alcohol.

i would not worry about oxidization. keep in mind that co2 is heavier then the air you breathe. so by the time you have half a fermenter of foamy beer spewing co2 you should also have co2 spilling over the edge of your fermenter.

your choice if you think it is 'better' then a funnel and hose or not.

scanman · Post by **scanman** » Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 8:04 pm

KEG wrote:
scanman wrote:I have used Dry Enzime without issues, and I wont get into the debate on that.

Personally I think next time let it ferment out longer. 1012 in my opinion is a bit early to be botling a beer. Maybe another week in the fermenter would have prevented this totally. Get it down to well under 1.010 before you bottle.
dangerous advice... don't just get it below 1010, but get it stable for several days if you're using dry enzyme.

I think a week extra is better then a fewdays to get it stable. Longer the better.

KEG · Post by **KEG** » Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 8:51 pm

sorry, i was referring to the bit where you said "well below 1010", not the time frame.

andbrew · Post by **andbrew** » Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 9:35 pm

thanks Regan

I just finished filling 15 PET bottles (via funnel and hose) with the contents of 44 stubbies; lots of bubbles (about 14 stubbies' worth, I guess) ended up down the sink but no bottles exploded.

I have no idea what the brew will end up tasting like (!) but I am sure it will be something you couldn't buy at any bottle shop..............!

andbrew · Post by **andbrew** » Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 9:38 pm

and thanks to everyone here for their suggestions. I brewed a Redback clone and Coopers Lager also this month and they have produced no problems to date

Maybe leave the Super Drys to the Japanese; it is all a bit too 'kamikaze' for me.................

DarkFaerytale · Post by **DarkFaerytale** » Thursday Nov 01, 2007 6:42 am

andbrew wrote: I have no idea what the brew will end up tasting like (!) but I am sure it will be something you couldn't buy at any bottle shop..............!

and will probably taste better than most the beers available there too

andbrew wrote: Maybe leave the Super Drys to the Japanese; it is all a bit too 'kamikaze' for me.................

if ya like those beers it never hurts to give it another crack, get rid of the dry enzyme stuff tho, try rice extract and some more pure sugers like sucrose that yeasts love to eat to get your SG down low
*can't beleive i just wrote that, deffinatly not my sorta beer, yuk*

-Phill