Any idea what could cause this?

[JimH]

I seem to remember a while back Inkleg and FedoraDave having problems with beers that had chocolate malt. I don't remember if that was the cause, but now I have a similar problem. The beer never really tasted all that great, and a while back I had my first bottle bomb with this batch. I finally decided to just dump them all. These ones were the last, and I refrigerated them before popping them open because a few nights ago I popped the top off a .5L flip top, and the resulting explosion even blew the flip top off the glass and there was beer as far as 15 feet away on the wall. What went wrong?

beersplosion.jpg (82.67 KiB) Viewed 648 times

[Beer-lord]

I've seen discussions about beers like this (not specifically dealing with chocolate malt) on many forums and most just scratch their heads in wonder. But, many feel it's some type of infection, though likely not one to ruin the taste of the beer.
Assuming the beer was finished fermenting and the correct amount of sugar was used to carb, it's a mystery to me as well.
Sorry you had to dump these, I've had a keg or two go way too foamy on me but the beer was fine. Just dind't get my full amount of beer that I made but I never could figure it out.

[Bluejaye]

I had a couple of batches like this, the beer tasted "funny" to me. Not horrid, just strange. Sour isn't exactly the word I'd use, but my palette isn't very sophisticated so I'm not sure what word I'd use. I now wear gloves and a painter's mask when I rack because I'm ultra-paranoid now and haven't had a problem.

[mashani]

If not because it was not quite done fermenting when bottled, and it's not due to particulate matter getting into the bottles (forming nucleation points of the CO2), then probably a low level wild yeast infection if it's not "sour". If I get a low level Brett infection and I prime it normally that's what will happen, especially as the beers age, because the Brett chews on stuff in the bottle slowly for many many months. So when I know I have an infection I prime the beer with less priming sugar. Low level Brett infections do not sour my beer much if any - they may make it taste funky or like hay and/or like pinapple. But you have to get Brett involved up front in good amounts and not outcompeted to get it really noticeably sour.

I actually know when I have an infection because I do not use an airlock, I leave my LBC's lids on loosely so they vent freely. This makes my fermenters "semi-open". Which means that around about day 10 typically some small amount of oxygen might touch the surface of the wort. As soon as that happens, any bugs will get pissed off and start to make a pellicle. Under an airlock you probably wont see a pellicle that soon as the CO2 doesn't vent/get displaced as easily/quickly, so you don't know, you have to rack it to a secondary and wait a while. Because of my bretty house, *I need to know* to avoid stuff like that. So I'm always perving my beer between day 10-14 to see if any signs of re-krausening or pellicle are occurring, if so I know to prime lightly.

[FedoraDave]

I'm convinced that, in my cases, it was improperly cleaned bottles that still had some particulate matter in them. I've become much more diligent in my bottle washing since then, and haven't had any problems, even with recipes that used chocolate malt (although there was the ONE bottle I sent to a competition that was a gusher. How embarrassing!).

[Inkleg]

Sorry for your loss Jim. I pretty sure I picked up an infection with my batch also. I just think we had made beers with chocolate malt and wondered if that was the cause. Not being sure where my problem was exactly, I got rid of the fermenter, tubing, all the bottles and bleached bombed my auto-siphon. I was kegging by then so my bottling bucket is for my "purposely infected beer" and haven't had a problem since.

[jimjohson]

I'm with the Hat the only one I had seemed to be associated with improperly cleaned bottles.

[MadBrewer]

That sucks and sorry for your loss. Nothing else to add, infection from wild yeast comes to mind. Again, that's if they weren't just simply overprimed or the beer wasn't done fermenting. Wild yeast eat the sugars that beer yeast can't and just keep having a feast with the food source in the beer and creating more Co2 until you are left with fizzy colored water.

[Ibasterd]

Clearly you've angered the beer gods. Your sacrifice of pouring the gushers down the drain should appease them. Seriously, sorry for your loss. I had a few gushers in the recent past. I am being more diligent about cleaning out the spent bottles now, and I have yet to see if that improves the situation. I used to just soak the bottles in oxyclean after emptying and then star-san on the day of bottling. I've added a bottle brush to the routine to make sure I get any film or particulates out of the bottle now.

[JimH]

Thanks for the input fellas. I guess I will be more diligent in my washing of bottles. I wonder if there might not also be a Brett infection somewhere. I am going to brew up a batch this week so I might use some bleach water through my equipment.

[ScrewyBrewer]

Once I used a bottle brush dipped in StarSan to scrub the insides, especially the bottle neck, not a gusher since.

[Chuck N]

That looks like some kind of beer bottle frat party where everyone had too much to drink and are now paying the consequences.

Actually I just got done doing the same thing with 24 bottles of my own. Before I popped any of them I looked in the neck of each bottle and everyone of them had the "Ring of Death" in them right at the beer line.

I'm pretty sure I was in the same boat as Dave with un-clean bottles. I now have to go to my LHBS and replace the bottle brush I just wore out.