How to Fix an Overcarbonated Beer

brewbeeranddrinkit.com/youtube/ - how to fix an overcarbonated beer
In this video I show you how to fix an over carbonated beer for both a kegged and a bottled beer...
The basic concept of carbonation is that beer has a certain amount of CO2, and part of that is in the liquid, while the rest is in the headspace...
The gas in the headspace essentially pushes or puts pressure on to the CO2 in the liquid, which is what keeps the beer carbonated...
The goal here is to reduce the amount of the CO2 in the liquid...
To do that, we release CO2 from the headspace, which gets replaced by some of the CO2 in the liquid... that means that CO2 from the liquid exits the liquid and fills up the headspace until enough pressure builds up to keep gas from exiting the liquid, essentially reducing the amount of gas in the liquid...
This process needs to be done a few times depending on how over carbonated your beer is and how much carbonation you actually want...
I ended up doing this 4 to 5 times and that seemed to get me the right amount of carbonation and was still highly carbonated...

[@tribeverage7268]

Dude, it was going good until I noticed that your shirt is inside/out! So, I turned my shirt inside/out and my carbonation levels went down tremendously, Thanks pal!

[@genecrawley5423]

+Tri Beverage bully lol

Tri Beverage lol ;)

[@tirmikj5]

AAHAHAHAAHAH O)))) ahahahahaah ))))

[@EngybingyVideos]

Super helpful man! Thanks. This was my first time with over crabonation, and also the first time I was worried about my equipment possibly getting old. So, I really wasn't sure if it was infected or not. This was a perfect description of what mine looks like too.

[@dgriffin9638]

Thanks, buddy. You helped me save an entire bottled batch of my second homebrew, which is delicious dark yumminess, which I over-carbed due to youthful impetuosity. The first one I opened, shot right out down the drain, leaving about an inch of delicious beer in the bottle. Not ideal. Now, after using your expertise, I have the rest of a case of beer ready for my party next Friday. Slainte!

[@Mertioub]

I already use this technique to my bottles when I make some mistake in carb. calculation, but I want to thank you for sharing this and also give a very good advice on how to distinguish overcarbonation and gusher (in addition to taste alteration). Thanks :)

[@tomasvanschaik5749]

Great advice, I did what you advised and it worked like a charm. Very glad I saw this video.

[@5ynthesizerpatel]

Great vid - I'm just getting back into home brewing and my first batch came out just a little too fizzy and brings the sediment up from the bottom of the bottle - I'll try this tip and allow them to re-settle

[@kymmcgee5436]

You saved my entire batch that I almost dumped because of severe over carbonation. As air is released, it prevents contamination from entering. Thank you.

[@o0SkiPz0o]

You seriously give one of the most legit in depth "Tutorial" for Home brewers. I personally haven't had this problem thus far, but great stuff nonetheless. Love the "I need a break" part haha. What brew was in the bottle anyways, a stout?

[@peterhuisman8292]

Very good information. Thank you. Cheers

[@xptodundee]

Cheers for video; had a bottled batch which was way over carbonated and you did address some of my worries.

[@patrickhanlon3404]

Thank you for the information! This will help tremendously

[@TonyYates]

Very useful tip, thanks a lot for this contribution!

[@brewingdistillingathomefor4922]

Great explanation...I enjoyed this....

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

I went through the same until I got this idea, tried it and it worked... so I shared... Cheers!

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

That is awesome to hear! Thanks much... cheers!

[@Viewsk8]

Great video! I'm afraid I overcalculated how much priming sugar I needed in my IPA yesterday but its good to know I'll have a (clean) solution to the problem if that's the case. I also (like many of the comments below) enjoyed how you went to take a break. I don't blame ya.

[@marklubeski]

GREAT STUFF on the bottles! I have a case of over-carbonated beer bottles and I am definitely going to try this tomorrow! Never thought of this fix.

[@hmeide]

Thanks for the tip about the bottles. Had one explode earlier so hopefully this is going to save them

[@Alan8895]

Thanks, just the info I needed.

[@TheShotgunscotty]

good video. thank you for the great advice.

[@KrazieCherry]

Super helpful thank you

[@LongDogBrew]

Good tip Jorge...Cheers!

[@zombieturd7]

Good advice thanks homie

[@robh5416]

Great video, and informative!

[@DanABA]

Very cool stuff! Thanks!

[@grahambate3384]

gr8 video mate, cheers Graham.

[@Sonadob]

Amazing video and well explained :)

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Glad it helped... Cheers!

[@jszczur42]

This video saved my last batch of beer. thanks!!!

[@serratoanthony]

Great info

[@tamurphy71]

Thank you!!!

[@nukeyourhouse]

Excellent video mate. Thanks for the upload. Do you do work with some for of presentations? You kind of have that vibe with your voice tones and hand gestures.

[@scruffnut3675]

5:40 i need a break lol. Thx for the vid mate helped me out

[@frankshomebrew7759]

Just seen this as my last ris is over carbed in the bottle. Great video.

[@PS-sj2uw]

These videos are awesome, even for an experienced brewbean. I couldn't help notice that your shirt is inside out, amd your beer is frikkin green..

[@betaljuice]

Cheers ! you have saved my centennial smash from foaminess! pours well and a good level of carbonation

[@IvanFicano]

Hi. thank you for the tutorial on how to fix over carbonated beer, very well done! I need an advice from you: I've just homebrewed my firtst batch of beer and it turned out pretty godd, but too carbonated. A lot of foam went out at the opening. WRT your tutorial, my problem is that I used self-sealing bottles, therefore it's difficult to slightly pry the cap. Any advice for me?

[@jonte1977]

Thanks for the video. Hilarius that you have your shirt inside out. I can relate, doing stuff like that daily. Thank you again👍

[@jlatessa]

Good video. I was looking for a way to fix some over carbed bottles and didn't quite understand how to leak off CO2 without them gushing all over. Thanks!

[@davidmcqueen7797]

Big help - and clearly explained. Is there a danger of oxygen nipping in and spoiling a batch if you recrimp and leave for several weeks?

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Glad it was useful...

[@ianmul4]

That's a fine looking kegerator, what brand/model is it? Also, thanks for the video!

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

You are welcome... cheers!

[@jamminjimi333]

Great video and explanation. 11 minutes is fine with the detail. You mention a head that goes away like soda... what does it mean when that happens?

[@amenotepia]

You are the boss.

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Thanks... I get thirsty talking about beer, ha! It was a Schwarzbier... one of my favorite brews of all time...

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

thanks!

[@neilpasternak578]

This is what I needed to see to be able to serve my over carbonated bottled conditioned IPA. I was going to risk dumping it back into a bucket to off gas and rebottel risking infection and oxygen. Thanks

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Welcome... cheers!

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Not sure if I'm too late to reply... definitely go to Four Peaks, San Tan brewery, AZ wilderness brewing... there's a few others... you may also want to look into Angel's Trumpet ale (not a brewery, but a cool place to go enjoy some drinks)... There's O.H.S.O brewery, Huss brewing, Phoenix Ale, and Sun Up brewery... when are you in town??

[@pokerinvite]

great tip on lifting the caps a touch

[@Balcap007]

@brewbeeranddrinkit about to visit Phoenix next week. I am a homebrewer in KC. What are some must visit breweries to visit in Phoenix? And do you want to be a tour guide?

[@Balcap007]

Which breweries are best to visit? @brewbeeranddrinkit

[@deatingergmail]

I notice at one point in the video you have your box of bottles out and the capper, and after releasing pressure in one bottle, you place it on the capper and re-cap the bottle. Do you re-cap every bottle each of the 4-5 times you release pressure?

[@PipeAdams]

How about if you release pressure then put the beers into the fridge? Will this effectively slow down the carbonation process enough to where you don't have to keep letting out CO2 by prying the caps, or at least reduce the number of times you have to release pressure?

[@patrickspapens5497]

is it still drankable even when it's carbonated too much? I primed my beer a bit too much yesterday and i don't want to pour them all back into my fermented to Prime them all once again

[@JohnSmithTheDude]

I found the title a little misleading, but it's an excellent video. You should make one on how to PREVENT overcarbonated beers.

[@beirney82]

I've massively over carbed a batch. Opened a bottle and its contents hit the ceiling. How do I know how much co2 to release to get the right level of carbonation?

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Thanks

[@davidwess9763]

Tried degassing bottles, can you please clarify how often you need to let gas out, then reseal, before trying it again. The video mentions 4-5 times, once an hour? Can you please describe the timing of the process?

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

thanks

[@ajnunya5518]

Amazing. Thanks I'll be doing this to my batch that I thought would be down the drain! Thanks

[@richardxs1]

+Andrew James (FXRLOVER) It does work, however another fix you can do if you have less time is pour the beer into a large jug wait for it to settle then pour into your glass, this will also help degas it , if you find teh fizz affects the mouthfeel.

[@guitar81sb]

The technical term for slowly releasing pressure without uncapping is "venting".

[@antben]

Phenomenal solution. This said, if you have to do it 4-5 times on 60 bottles, you'd better start all over again. Or just make sure you refrigerate your beers very well before serving them. Thanks anyway.

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Yes, ideally you want to turn it off, or if you have a setup with multiple kegs you can also turn the pressure down and release pressure over time...

[@yeahhottie]

So I bartend and a corona bottle exploded when I had my hands down in the fridge I got two cuts from it. Why would it explode while in the fridge?

[@MisterFizz]

Ever use a FiZZ GiZ to force carb beer to the optimal level of carbonation in the bottle as opposed to bottle priming?

[@ben89717]

mine has a taste of cider is it infected to toss away?

[@benjaminmorgan6208]

How high is your serving pressure??? Looks like it was like at 10 PSI? Damn I serve at 4, maybe 6 depending how long it's been in the keg.

[@crypt0_og]

Thanks mate I wasn't keen on throwing my beery away

[@Kukamungakraker]

Thanks for the help I had 6 bottles explode and send glass and beer all over my carpet, I was actually very cautious moving them because I was afraid they would blow up in my hand...

[@scruffnut3675]

Lol. I did the same thing a few years back. I put on my full face helmet and kevlar motor bike jack and gloves and delivered them slowly to the recycle bin. Yes i was scared lol

[@JLyons2823]

One question: when you release carbonation from the keg, do you also turn off the CO2 tank? If the CO2 remains on when pulling the release valve, won't it simply continue to overpressure the beer?

[@tacohousepattaya3456]

Yes. You must also dial back the pressure shown on either the primary valve, or the secondary valve. Otherwise, releasing the C02 is meaningless.

[@LTFANL69]

My son brews and he had one batch get over carbonated. I found the most simple thing to do was to put the bottles in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Problem solved. Since there was foaming, the sediment did not get stirred up and the brew stayed nice and clear.

[@Bitterbeertaste]

LTFANL69 This trick works good, however, 45°-55° beer tastes much better then 32° beer.

[@jamespetty8434]

Can you describe how an overcarbonated beer could affect the flavor of it? I breweed a helles that tasted fantastic with a nice malty smothness. Now a week later the maltiness is reduced by prob 75% and it has an almost sour/acidic taste to it that seems to be masking all the flavors that used to be there. I'm wondering if overcarbing it for some bottles for friends could have caused it.

[@JoeyDoingThings]

I don't know if you got an answer from anyone yet, but I thought I would respond to your comment. Your beer was contaminated with something, and now the wild yeast or bacteria is souring your beer. Wild yeast and bacteria will start eating the left over sugar your original yeast couldn't. That is why your beer is now less malty. The wild yeast and bacteria's byproduct is acidic, so now you taste the sour/acid flavors. And because the wild yeast and bacterias also produce co2, that is why you have access carbonation. So somehow your beer got infected. Over-carbonation can also happen by force carbonating your beer with a co2 tank for kegging, or using too much priming sugar if you are bottle conditioning. In those two incidents the beer isn't ruined, and can be resolved by letting the beer sit in the glass a little while. The beer will still taste like beer when some of the carbonation is released. But because you described what you described, you have infected beer.

[@Viewsk8]

+JosephandElissa Flores While I do agree and think that infection is most likely, If a beer was REALLY overcarbonated it could also taste acidic, as CO2 is typically in equilibrium with carbonic acid (H2CO3) in water.

[@dirtyblond2332]

Excellent, but I would suggest removing the gas line from the keg, and purging. No sense purging and having the gas build back up on top. Essentially, exactly the same as the bottles in that you dont add more gas.

[@LouSaydus]

6:40, saved you ALL FUCKING DAY JESUS CHRIST, thank me later.

[@namrur2]

06:52 Man, if you are planning to behave like that in a date, I'm pretty sure that no foam will come up in your evening.

[@Balcap007]

@brewbeeranddrinkit we are here until tomorrow. We went to four peaks. Huss. OSHO. Papago. And fate.

[@guitarstella1]

reminding me why swing cap bottles are best

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Yup... one of those days... (and I was sober too...)

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Definitely something to do when you are not drinking... that part comes later...

[@piratehomebrewandgamingfor3800]

so you dont have to put a new cap on this way either????

[@danred99]

Great video but it seems that 11 minutes could have been summed up in 2 seconds: Overcarbonated beer? Release some pressure. Period.

[@neuroticnectar6232]

I like the explanation of the science. Also, it's better than the 11 minutes I spent watching the first part of an episode of Person of Interest.

[@crypt0_og]

😂 still an interesting view

[@mmmmdaly]

I made home brew and I have waited the two weeks for it to carbonate with priming sugar. I opened my bottle and it literally exploded all the contents put of the bottle :-(

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

I have not... I don't see why it wouldn't work... the only concern would be having to use plastic bottles for the bottle cap attachment... not a problem if you plan on drinking the beer soon, but not really something I would do since I'm starting to age my beers more and more...

[@kevincornish2591]

Never saw an answer to the question, do you recap the beer after each release? I am trying to save a pumpkin beer that is overcarbonated in the bottle.

[@phucarr]

after you gently release the pressure, let it sit for a minute or two. Because you didn't damage the cap, you can simply re-crimp the cap back down onto the bottle.

[@tirmikj5]

Logic! )))

[@jamessteven711]

Going to spend a few days de-catbonating 48 bottles of veer bow......

[@oscardaniel1976]

Just save my letf batch buddy! 10 exploted bottles. Very dangerous situation

[@johnnykurplutzo6789]

No Budweiser here

[@sierramandtx]

those arent kegs. soda canisters

[@davidgradert1002]

why did this take over 11 min..

[@brewbeeranddrinkit]

Thanks... Not really

[@cesarsanchez7720]

You need to know how to pour a beer in a glass to don't make too much foam.

[@artbykeenan]

Couldn’t you just poor them back in a fermenter and rebottle them

[@licsamael8235]

Maybe 4 or 6 times?!?!?! Come on ill just pour the bottle in a glass and drink it!

[@murme2]

No other kind of people are able to say so little in so much time: Americans..."impressive"...

[@mvigor]

Did you know that you can click the settings/gear icon on the video and select 1.5 or 2x speed playback? It's great for a video like this one.

[@BenReeves88]

is your shirt inside out? lol