Are my bottles going to bomb?

I just bottled my first 5 gallon batch of beer (read: esters and fusels). Any way, I primed with 3/4 cups of corn sugar like you're supposed to, but while bottling I ran out of 'beer' with 4 bottles left. I assume this is due to some spills and whatever has been left in primary and secondary.

So according to my calculations I primed 4.125 gallons of beer with enough sugar for 5 gallons. Am I looking at bottle bombs?

Depends. What was your FG? If you don't know then I would say you are probably a prime candidate for them.

It's a genuine noob mistake.

Most people will just take 4 oz of corn sugar and boil it to be all "prepared" only to find out they have 4 gals instead of 5 gals as planned.

I know. I used to do the same thing. Not anymore.

Now I rack to the bottling bucket first to see how much brew I will be bottling as measured from the lines on the bucket.

Most people use 4 oz for 5 gals. That's .8 oz per gal and .4 oz per 1/2 gal.

After that it's simple math. Example: 4.5 gals is 4 x .8 = 3.2 oz + .4 = 4.6 oz of CS.

My FG is ~1.013

Sounds like you'll be fine. I always leaned a little towards less sugar when I bottled because the styles I was doing (english ales...) called for a little less carbonation.

Worst case? Let them condition like normal and when you open one, if it's over carb'd (to the point it's not poorable or drinkable), then get the whole batch out, pop the tops, let em sit for 15-20 minutes and recap.

Other ways to minimize slightly overcarb'd beers:
Chill to extreme cold and serve.
Pour into a pitcher and repoor into a glass.
Pop the cap and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.


Again, I'd say you'll be fine. Maybe let them condition at 67-68 degrees instead of +70.

I'm not really worried about them being over-carbed, this first one didn't come out too well, I more just don't want beer all over my closet.

(btw the belgian wit is about to go into secondary and smells awesome)

I wouldn't worry about it at all!

With an FG of 1.013 it looks like you're fully attenuated so it's just the sugar which at 4oz in 4.125 gal should give you 3.2 volumes of CO2. I don't think there are any beer styles that highly carbonated but there are a few at 3.0 so no worries.

I agree, with the low FG you shouldn't have anything to worry about...Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew!!

homebrewer_99 said:

I agree, with the low FG you shouldn't have anything to worry about...Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew!!

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In 1-2 weeks I will! Although by the smells of things, this one is gonna need to age.... for awhile.

What's wrong with the smell?