Question about bottle conditioning - potential bottle bombs

polkbar · 12-20-2009, 10:35 PM

So I brewed up a double IPA last month and it's been bottled for two weeks now. I tested one after a week in the bottle and there was very little carbonation and there was still a very strong sweetness. I know I should give it at least 2-3 weeks in bottles, but all my other batches have been during warmer months and they were pretty good (fully carbonated and not overly sweet) after a week. Since my house is hovering around 60 degrees, I stuck the beer in a small room with a space heater to keep them ~70. That was a couple days ago. I cooled one off and tried it this afternoon. It had more carbonation (foamed over - lost about 1/2 the beer), but still very sweet.

I wouldn't have posted, but I'm worried something went wrong since there's so much sweetness remaining and this bottle was a foamy mess. I don't have the full recipe in front of me, but it was 10 lbs LME, .5 lb carapils, .5 lbs. crystal 60, .5 lb corn sugar, along with a large hop bill. Primary fermentation was ~2 weeks and I dry hopped in primary for ~2 weeks. The gravity was ~ 1.011 for the whole dry hop period. 1.5 packets of rehydrated US-05. I used 5 oz. of corn sugar for bottling.

Should I wait it out? Should I de-gas and re-cap? Don't want a bunch of bottle bombs - especially since I'm leaving town for a week and won't be able to clean it up until I get back.

Thanks in advance for the help.

**Cheeto** · 12-20-2009, 10:41 PM

I think you should be safe letting it be while you are out of town.

You didn't go overboard with the priming sugar, but it almost sound like you might not have stirred the beer while bottling. that is why you are getting uneven carbonation

There is a mantra around here somewhere about bottle conditioning.

I think it is
21 day at 70 deg.

**ChshreCat** · 12-20-2009, 10:52 PM

If you're not chilling them for a couple days before opening them, then you're not getting a good look at what the carbonation is doing.

I go with Cheeto on them probably being safe to leave, but if you're really really worried then you can wrap thee boxes they're in in trash bags before you leave. That way if one of them does pop, it'll be contained.