IvyMike

When Beer Attacks

I've had the first big problem with my homebrew: some of my beers are undergoing late fermentation in the bottle. The yeast did not ferment enough sugar out of the beer before I bottled, and are now slowly working through the remaining sugar, churning out more carbon dioxide.

My friend tipped me off that Batch 7 was having problems, and since I hadn't had one in a while, I tried one tonight. This one is a gusher. In the worst case, the carbonation will continue to build, and the beers will explode with disastrous results.

In theory, this shouldn't be a problem for my latest beers; starting with Batch 9, I've started making a "beer starter" and oxygenating the beer, both of which should encourage healthy yeast that will finish fermentation quickly.

Update: I just noticed that my friend was talking about Batch 8, not Batch 7! If you have any of these beers, be careful, and know that the clock is ticking. KABOOM!

posted by IvyMike @ 4/21/2005 11:01:00 PM