Bottle Bombs?

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brewdude25

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I opened one of my beers early to test it out after one week in bottling. When i opened it, it foamed out the top. I only used a little over 3/4 cup of bottling sugar for a 5 gallon batch. Is there any other reason that this could happen?
 
Simply put, you over carbonated your beer. 3/4 of a cup is a decent rough measurement but there are a few other variables when priming your beer such as temperature when bottling and the style.

The warmer the temperature the more priming sugar you should use.

Before you bottle your next batch I would buy a kitchen scale, they are very cheap at Target or Wal-Mart or you can go High Class and get a digital scale.
 
There's a couple other variables here the OP needs to consider... temp of beer when opened, was it handled a bit rough, etc.

The other thing that may be in play - how well did you mix in your priming sugar in the bottling bucket? I've had more than a few inconsistent bottles within a batch. Those bottled early in the session could have a bit more sugar than the ones at the end.
 
Beware the bottle bombs. With things warming up in Cali, you have to be careful if you used too much priming sugar or bottled too early. I had three bottles explode about month ago during those freak hot weeks. My suggestion is to condition them at cooler temperatures and they should be ok.

Of course, I'm assuming it doesn't taste sour, which would probably be indicative of an infection.
 
Well, infected or not, I still suggest you give it some time. My last batch was fine for the first 4wks. For the next 5wks, it had a horrible sour/acidic taste and foamed up like crazy with every bottle opened. I almost dumped it all. After 3 months in the bottle, it still foams a little, but the sour/acidic taste has gone away and I'm left with a great beer with an ABV that gives you a good kick in the nuts.

I suggest passing time by brewing up another batch. =D
 
ah, well i opened another and it was a gyser. Definitely tasted sour. I dumped em. So frustrating! Oh well. When using Iodophor, is the dillution supposed to be one cap full for every 5 gallons?
 
Oh damn, makes sense. Well now i know. However, the way that the beer shot to the ceiling in some of the bottles, i could have had grenades on my hands had i waited 3+ weeks.
 
Next time put those things in a bomb shelter (like a big Rubbermaid tub with a lid) and let them ride it out in there.
 
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