Glass vs Plastic

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tfrost12

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Anyone use glass bottles for their soda. I plan on making some cream soda whenever the extract arrives. I dont have plastic bottles, but have 300+ clean and empty glass ones. Is it really that dangerous to use glass bottles, or as long as I get em in the fridge when they are properly carbonated should i be fine.
 
I wouldn't use glass bottles. If they are carbonated enough and you chill them right away, and never take them out of the fridge, they may not blow up. But that's a big "if". Bottle bombs are no joke, and if I'm making soda for family and kids, I want to be 100% safe.
 
how much damage could one of these bottle bombs do? Im not doing it for kids, but I dont want a mess if I come home late. is it possible to use less yeast and let it take longer for the carbonation to build up?
 
how much damage could one of these bottle bombs do? Im not doing it for kids, but I dont want a mess if I come home late. is it possible to use less yeast and let it take longer for the carbonation to build up?

How much damage could it do? I dunno- you could lose an eye or cut a limb if you try to open one and it explodes. It probably would just make an enormous mess, but I have heard of people being injured.

The problem isn't the amount of yeast- it's the sugar. The yeast eat sugars, and release co2 and ethanol. Since the soda has sugar in it for taste as well as carbonation, the yeast don't know to "turn off" fermentation before the sugar is gone. Sticking them in the fridge usually causes the yeast to go dormant, but not always. I use plastic soda bottles, and when they feel hard, they go into the fridge. With a glass bottle, I don't know how you'd tell for sure if they were carbed up enough or too much.

I know that others have done it, but it doesn't seem at all safe.
 
the one bottle bomb i had was with a beer and blew the bottom out of the bottle. admittedly if your holding the bottle this is just messy. but really a bottle can shatter along any weak point including the seam down the sides. if your holding that when it pops you could lose a finger.

now with that PSA out of the way it depends on the bottle. some can hold more pressure than others. i have seen coke in glass bottles. even though i have never made homemade soda i cant imagine it would have more carbonation than coke. personally i would be willing to try a couple of those and see if they explode. if they don't then i would use them.
 
the one bottle bomb i had was with a beer and blew the bottom out of the bottle. admittedly if your holding the bottle this is just messy. but really a bottle can shatter along any weak point including the seam down the sides. if your holding that when it pops you could lose a finger.

now with that PSA out of the way it depends on the bottle. some can hold more pressure than others. i have seen coke in glass bottles. even though i have never made homemade soda i cant imagine it would have more carbonation than coke. personally i would be willing to try a couple of those and see if they explode. if they don't then i would use them.

I think the coke in glass bottles was force carbonated than bottled.
 
Some folks say that Ale yeasts such as Coopers does a better job of going dormant in the fridge. I've heard freezing them after they have carbonated for an hour or two before putting them in the fridge also helps them go dormant. I put in glass and have not had a problem but have only done a few batches.
 
I only use glass for soda. Generally it isn't a problem.
Do they explode? YES. But generally it takes a few weeks to get it up to that amount of pressure. I get away with glass because I make small batches, check it often while it's carbing up and use it up within a week or so.
I also have switched from the bottles with metal caps, to EZ cap bottles, I can let the pressure off easily and recap it without breaking out the capper. Much like you would with plastic.
I've only ever had a few explode, and that was because they got left out of the fridge for a couple weeks or in the fridge without pressure release for a couple months.
 
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