Interesting bottle bomb

So I made an APA and bottled it a couple of months ago. In hindsight, I realized that I was over 1 gallon short on my 5 g batch (clue #1), but I made no adjustment to the carbonation. I opened 1 or 2 bottles and they foamed for 10 minutes straight (clue #2), and even when I poured it gently into a glass, it was 90% foam (clue #3). Then I go downstairs to retrieve another bottle and noticed that it was as light as an empty bottle...




It would be kinda cool, if I hadn't lost a liter of beer! Lesson learned...

hanson95 said:

It would be kinda cool, if I hadn't lost a liter of beer! Lesson learned...

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And a nice bottle! lol. Crazy. Any pics of the mess?

No pics of the mess. Several weeks ago I smelled beer in the basement but couldn't find it. It apparently leaked into the bottom of my beer crate (where most of it was soaked up) and then onto the floor behind the crates. By the time I found the bottle, the beer had already dried up - crazy!

hanson95 said:

So I made an APA and bottled it a couple of months ago. In hindsight, I realized that I was over 1 gallon short on my 5 g batch (clue #1), but I made no adjustment to the carbonation. I opened 1 or 2 bottles and they foamed for 10 minutes straight (clue #2), and even when I poured it gently into a glass, it was 90% foam (clue #3). Then I go downstairs to retrieve another bottle and noticed that it was as light as an empty bottle...


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It would be kinda cool, if I hadn't lost a liter of beer! Lesson learned...

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Good place to hide cash from your wife. Just throw a few hundred in, pop the bottom back on and set it on a shelf. Instant safe!

That's pretty cool!my last bomb left glass and sticky all over the kitchen!

For some reason the bottoms seem to be the fail point of bottles. Haven't had any myself, but I have seen pictures of the bottoms falling out a fair bit. That bottle looks like it has some thin walls. I wonder what pressure they are rated to. Sucks to lose a beer, I would suggest making sure that they are in a container that if you get a spectacular failure that will not send schrapnel everywhere and that if possible you put them in the chill box and consume reasonably quickly. Though if it blew several weeks ago you probably will not have more failures, though I would be careful nonetheless.

hanson95 said:

So I made an APA and bottled it a couple of months ago. In hindsight, I realized that I was over 1 gallon short on my 5 g batch (clue #1), but I made no adjustment to the carbonation. I opened 1 or 2 bottles and they foamed for 10 minutes straight (clue #2), and even when I poured it gently into a glass, it was 90% foam (clue #3). Then I go downstairs to retrieve another bottle and noticed that it was as light as an empty bottle... It would be kinda cool, if I hadn't lost a liter of beer! Lesson learned...

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Oh- cool. Now you must make that bottle into a hanging light.

I had 2 bottle bombs (my first after 40+ batches, thankfully) lose their bottom like that this weekend too. The edge wasn't quite as neat as yours though. I wonder if they intentionally make the bottom a weak point, since it would be less dangerous if the bottom blew out, rather than the top. Both bottles lost their bottom, which didn't affect any other bottles they were right next to. Also, my mess wasn't interesting enough to take a picture of either. I had them in some cupboards, so there was just a thin layer of beer in a cupboard.

I think the bottoms are the weak point because they are the only angles on the bottle (aside from the cap) and as a result break out more along with the pry ring(I have lost a couple of those from commercial beers even. Not to mention the stresses of picking up and setting them down on the flat portion.

DrunkleJon said:

I think the bottoms are the weak point because they are the only angles on the bottle (aside from the cap) and as a result break out more along with the pry ring(I have lost a couple of those from commercial beers even. Not to mention the stresses of picking up and setting them down on the flat portion.

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What he said..........The sides transitioning to the bottom is where the tightest radius is, so that's where the stresses do their best magic!