Newbie needs advice

[PBJGang11]

Hello, my name is Ben and I am a newbie to brewing. Wife gave me a Brewdemon kit for Christmas and I made my first batch of American Ale and bottled it on January 1st. I decided to test a bottle I have had in fridge for the last two weeks today and not so good results. A whole lot of fizz in glass after pouring just a few ounces. Overflowed the glass after about 5 seconds. I tasted a little from bottle and it was rather bitter and all it did was fizz in my mouth. Poured a little more in a small glass and same result. I followed directions to a T and sterilized everything very well. Did I not let it sit long enough before testing or did I maybe make a mistake in bottling or brewing process? I am excited about doing this and don’t want to get frustrated on first batch, but it would be nice to get something close to drinkable after all that work. Thanks for any advice

[mashani]

How long did you leave it in the fermenter? If you followed the 7 day directions, it may have not been finished fermenting, especially if your temperatures are in the low 60s. We would always tell you to leave it in your fermenter for at least 14 days.

Also the instructions tell you to use a very high amount of sugar for carbonation in the first place - much more then is needed for most styles of beer. Google a "beer priming calculator" and use the level of sugar it tells you instead of what it says in the instructions.

In any case, very high levels of carbonation will make it seem more bitter.

You can try to let out the pressure from your bottles and then re-cap them and put them back in the fridge and then after they settle down try drinking again. It might taste fine with the carbonation reduced. You might need to do this twice to get it normal if it's as highly carbonated as you say.

[John Sand]

Welcome aboard!
Mashani is correct. And don't sweat it too much. We all make brewing mistakes, you'll figure it out.

[Beer-lord]

Welcome to the Borg and better luck going forward. Don't give up. You'll get this fixed for sure.

[PBJGang11]

Sorry for the delay. I have been looking for messages in my inbox and didn’t t see any. I finally clicked on my message and saw the replies. I am a newbie as I said earlier. Thank you for the feedback. I did follow instructions to the tee, 7 days fermenting at approximately 70 degrees in dark closet and 1 tbsp of sugar per 32 ounce bottle. When i opened bottle to drink and found the over carbonation situation, i let it overflow for 10 minutes and recapped bottle. A few days later I opened up bottle and had a glass. It was OK, but slightly hoppy. I will definitely check out the beer priming calculator and ferment for 14 days on next batch and report back with results. Cheers and thanks again for feedback

[John Sand]

Glad to hear it!