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Refermentation in the bottle

Oxygen and microbesRecoverable if caught early

Unexpected fizz, cloudiness, and in the worst case bottles that leak or burst.

What causes it

Residual sugar plus surviving yeast, bottled without stabilisation.

Detection threshold

Obvious once it starts.

What you can do

Chill everything immediately and open carefully. Assume every bottle is affected, because they are.

How to prevent it

Ferment fully dry, or stabilise with sorbate plus sulphite. Sorbate alone without sulphite invites a geranium smell instead.