Lesson Learned: Don't open if squeamish

DON'T OPEN WARM BEER BOTTLES!

Don't tell me, I should know better. I had just under a case of brown ale that was over-carbonated and two sweet. A few of the bottles had burst already, so I decided to cut my losses and dump the rest.

I was "carefully" removing the tops from the bottles over the kitchen sink, trying let the pressure bleed out slowly. On about the fifth bottle, the top rim broke off and shot into my hand. I spent a couple of hours on Labor day in the clinic. Luckily, no damage other than a deep cut.

My hand is healing well, and I am now chilling the remainder of the bottles before I open them. It wasn't very smart on my behalf, but if this post prevents somebody else from making the same mistake with potentially worse consequences, then it's well worth it.

Another lesson learned: I am now aerating my worts before adding the yeast, using an aquarium pump and diffusion stone. This provides a much better fermentation. No more stuck ferments at 1.02 SG (or higher). I will also be adding yeast nutrient as well. starting this weekend.

OUCH!!!! Glad you're ok

Man am I glad I keg....

Sorry to hear about your hand and your lost batch...

Glad to hear it was just a superficial cut, it could have hit a lot worse spots on your hand/forearm.

Don't bother with the ED next time if you are sure you only cut skin. Just get iodophor dump it on full strength rinse with cold water and superglue the cut, thats basically what the doc did when I cut my finger last time. The glue that they are now using is the exact same thing as superglue, except it has dye in it.

Glad to hear you're OK.

In reference to knarf's comments...my advice is don't take medical tips from members of a homebrew forum...!

http://www.exn.ca/Stories/2004/04/19/51.asp?t=dp

8. Superglue
Superglue, or Krazy Glue, is actually a substance called 'cyanoacrylate'. Dr. Harry Coover accidentally discovered it twice, the first time in 1942, when he was trying to develop an optically clear plastic for gun sights and the second time nine years later, when he was trying to develop a heat-resistant polymer for jet canopies. On both occasions his new product proved to be too sticky for the job, in fact he got into trouble when he stuck together and ruined a very expensive pair of glass lenses. Finally he realized his super sticking glue might have a use and in 1958 it was marketed as Superglue.

In fact Superglue turned out to be more than just useful. It saved the lives of countless soldiers in Vietnam when it was used in to seal battlefield wounds before the injured could be transported to a hospital.

knarfks said:

The glue that they are now using is the exact same thing as superglue, except it has dye in it.

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True, other then the fact that superglue HURTS much much more then dermabond. Other then that its the same thing...

You may want to get some welding gloves or or at least some leather work gloves before opening anymore.

I'm scared now!

chase said:

You may want to get some welding gloves or or at least some leather work gloves before opening anymore.

I'm scared now!

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Don't be scared..just make sure the bottles are well chilled before opening. I cracked a few of the same batch open last night straight from the fridge with no problems.

Like I said before, I should have known better. Probably a good and safe practice not to open any homebrews warm, whether they are suspect of being over-pressurized or not.

I just hope people reading this thread don't make the same mistake. I was actually very lucky it wasn't worse.

Actually this thread is very timely. I had 2 bottles of my Belgian Ale blow up this weekend. I'm currently chilling the remaining bottles so I can uncap and then recap the remainder. I'll be making sure I wear gloves while doing it.

Well, I'm glad I read this. Not knowing any better, I would have done the same thing . Thanks for todays lesson Glad to hear that your brewing hand is still intact.

In reference to knarf's comments...my advice is don't take medical tips from members of a homebrew forum...!

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I'm a registered nurse, the ED physician literally told me to use superglue and not to bother to come in for superficial cuts so I wouldn't have to spend $600.

But on the other hand if there is a chance that you cut tendons or anything like that by all means go to the ED, a functioning hand is worth way more than $600.

Eeuw! That's an impressive looking wound. Hope you're on the mend.

Thanks for the heads-up about warm bottles of homebrew. This would never have occurred to me as being a potential problem, but now I'll keep an eye out for it.

knarfks said:

I'm a registered nurse, the ED physician literally told me to use superglue and not to bother to come in for superficial cuts so I wouldn't have to spend $600.

But on the other hand if there is a chance that you cut tendons or anything like that by all means go to the ED, a functioning hand is worth way more than $600.

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I have to agree with knarfks. I'm also a registered nurse, with years of experience working in the ED/ER. For superficial cuts that do not cross a joint, you are better off dealing with it at home....clean it, hold pressure till bleeding is stopped or minimal, apply crazy glue in successive layers on the surface to seal the wound. This is what we would do if you showed up. With deeper cuts, cuts across a joint, with loss of sensation/movements, if you suspect there is glass in the wound, or if the cut is spurting blood, go to the ED/ER. And make sure your Tetanus is up to date. Then relax, and have a homebrew.

I'm not trying to cause any trouble, and please understand I didn't mean any disrespect. I'm just saying...I'm not a nurse, and if my hand looked like that I'd probably take full advantage of the health insurance that I'm already paying too much for!

CplHunter said:

I'm not trying to cause any trouble, and please understand I didn't mean any disrespect. I'm just saying...I'm not a nurse, and if my hand looked like that I'd probably take full advantage of the health insurance that I'm already paying too much for!

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Exactly. I'd prefer to be one of those people who went to the hospital but really didn't need to rather than one who stayed home but really should have gone to the hospital.