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I brewed 5 gallons of a DME-based hefe. Simplest recipe I've ever found. Three pounds Bavarian wheat DME, three pounds light pilsen DME. Let it ferment for a week...no action in the bubbler for a couple days. Primed it with simple syrup made of 3/4 cup white sugar boiled into a cup of water and bottled. That was two weeks ago. Two DAYS ago, I opened one for a taste and it was delicious. Tonight I went to open one and foam shot a foot up from the bottle...tried three more with the same result. Is my batch ruined? I've never had this happen and of course it happens on one of the best tasting batches I've brewed. Only thing I can think is that I used too much sugar...but it's actually less than what several calculators called for.

Appreciate any thoughts as I will likely brew this recipe again...just want to prevent the excessive carbonation.

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  • Start with cooling a bottle in the fridge overnight, then open it. Like @Roman said, it could be underattenuated, but this is a Weizen, it should actually have a whole lot of carbonation.
    – chthon
    Jan 9, 2018 at 7:59
  • I highly recommend the use of a hydrometer when estimating attenuation of beer. "No bubbles in the airlock" is, IMHO, not a reliable indicator of completion of fermentation. If no hydrometer is used I would recommend leaving the brew to ferment for at least 10 or better 14 days. Gushing can be a sign of wild yeast infection. It does not necessarily ruin the brew but does make it difficult to open. As suggested try chilling it (even to near freezing) before opening. Gas dissolves better in cold beer,.
    – barking.pete
    Jan 9, 2018 at 14:53

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My bet is that your beer was underattenuated in the first place. Since you're brewing with extract-only, I guess you're a beginner and might have neglected on making a healthy yeast pitch (no offence meant, we've all been there).

"No action in the bubbler" is not a sign of completed fermentation - always measure the gravity and ensure you've reached the calculated FG. If you're not yet at that FG, at least ensure that gravity doesn't change over 2-3 days.

I had a couple overcarbonated batches, and the way to fix them was to slowly and slightly open a bottle to the point that excessive CO2 comes out, but quickly close the cap when beer foam start to get close to the cap. Depending on the degree of overcarbonation you may need to do it more than once. You'd rather do it on a cold bottle. It's a bit tedious, but works fine.

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