Exploding bottles

I read a lot about exploding bottles. What does that really mean? Are we talking flying glass across the room? Glass stuck into drywall? Or just a rupture and beer spews all over the place. Just in case I have my batch in a crate. The lid is partially on with so it doesn't get too warm in there.

meatman

it will answer your questions.
they don't call them bottle bombs for nothing.

I swear that guy Must of put like 5 cups of primer in that batch. Its funny when he comes out with the motorcycle helmet and welding gloves on though!but ya they are like shrapnel bombs if they blow so be careful.3/4 cup corn sugar is all you need.

This is a good reason to use PET bottles!!!!

Here's what happened to my overcarbonated bottles.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lDlPUr-gJE"]Watch the caps go flying by![/ame]

I was beginning to realize that they were a little overcarbonated when I poured one for my mom, and it was 3/4 head and 1/4 liquid. Then a couple days later, I was watching TV when I heard what sound like something very heavy falling very hard on my hardwood floor in the closet. I opened the closet door and beer and glass were everywhere. I carefully put all my bottles in a plastic box and carried them down stairs to the garage (see above video). I cleaned up. Checked my brew notes; I made a 1/2 batch but used enough priming sugar for a whole batch.

Lesson learned. Be Careful!

In my earlier days of homebrewing I bottled too early. A cider in particular, which turned out very good. I bottled in PET and all that happened was they swelled out like a puffer fish.

I was able to unscrew the caps slightly to slowly dissapate the CO2. The funny thing is that mine didn't foam up real bad. In fact I didn't loose any cider to speak of but I think that because it was cider and not beer.

PET is a lot safer. Its not the most professional but its really conveinent. Easy to clean and bottle. I go with 1 ltr bottles and on a 5gal batch I usually have 17 bottles. You can bottle fast.

RICLARK said:

I swear that guy Must of put like 5 cups of primer in that batch. Its funny when he comes out with the motorcycle helmet and welding gloves on though!but ya they are like shrapnel bombs if they blow so be careful.3/4 cup corn sugar is all you need.

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He just didn't let fermentation complete before he bottled.

My cousin made bottle bombs once and they blew the necks off 3 bottles and shot them (caps and all) into the ceiling.

I had one batch of bombs. bottled a stuck fermentation that un-stuck in the bottle.
dumping them out wearing a paintball mask, leather jacket, and oven mitts.

PET bottles will explode too, and that plastic will slice you open or put out an eye just as readily as glass would.

I dumped a few old bottles from a contest last week. Some of them were 100% foam. I'm amazed they didn't explode.

For those of you old enough to remember them, 128 Fizzies and a liter of water in a 2L bottle will make for a loud noise and a very big purple spot. We're talking SWAT loud.

I've had 1 bottle bomb, a 22oz bottle of porter exploded in my kitchen cabinet. Made a huge mess and ruined a bunch of food.

Whoa...now I see why they are called bottle bombs. I guess if you open a bottle and don't have foam come out of the top you are most likely okay. I just popped open one of my Paulaner Oktoberfest after being bottled for 5 days just to check and I have some decent carbonation so far. Slight head on the beer in the glass. I'm impressed though ... this stuff turned out great. I used an ale yeast and I think it is better than the original after only 5 days in the bottles.

meatman

I just bottled 5 gal. of Apple Cider today. I used 8 oz. of apple concentrate for the priming sugar, which should be 116 grams of sugar. I used some online calculator that said I should use 102.05 grams of corn sugar.

I think I'm close enough, but after seeing that trash can in the youtube, I thought I better run it by you all.

Am I good to go, or am I bottling bombs?

Is it safe to assume that if your sg is 1.015 or less you won't have bottle bombs? Has anyone bottled with 1.015 or less and had a blow-up?

Thanks.

I just bottled my first batch yesterday. While finishing I had only enough left to fill half a bottle. I capped it and put it with the rest of them with no expectations for that particular bottle. Is the half-full one more prone to be a bomb, or just more likely to be an under-carbonated oxidized beer?

meatman said:

Is it safe to assume that if your sg is 1.015 or less you won't have bottle bombs? Has anyone bottled with 1.015 or less and had a blow-up?

Thanks.

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Your final gravity is only part of the equation, it also depends on how much priming sugar you use when you bottle. You can be completely attenuated, and if you put too much priming sugar in, you will have bombs. You can put in the right amount of priming sugar, but if you are not fully attenuated, you will have bombs. It is simply a matter of how much sugar is still fermentable inside those bottles, regardless of how it got there.

rabidgerbil said:

Your final gravity is only part of the equation, it also depends on how much priming sugar you use when you bottle. You can be completely attenuated, and if you put too much priming sugar in, you will have bombs. You can put in the right amount of priming sugar, but if you are not fully attenuated, you will have bombs. It is simply a matter of how much sugar is still fermentable inside those bottles, regardless of how it got there.

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My FG was 0.998 before I racked to secondary, so I'm sure I was completly attenuated, I was questioning using 116 g. sugar of frozen Apple Juice concentrate, rather than the 102.05 g. of corn sugar that the online calculator recomended.

Did I over carb? Or is it close enough?

Jesse17 said:

My FG was 0.998 before I racked to secondary, so I'm sure I was completly attenuated, I was questioning using 116 g. sugar of frozen Apple Juice concentrate, rather than the 102.05 g. of corn sugar that the online calculator recomended.

Did I over carb? Or is it close enough?

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That I can not tell you...
I know what will cause a bottle bomb, but I have never had one.
I force carbonate in a keg, and then bottle with a counter-pressure bottle filler.
No bottle bombs ever, and no yeast in the bottom of my bottles.
Slightly more work, but it is worth it to me.

Though I will admit, the 25 gallons that I have to bottle for a wedding reception in January is making me wish that I did not add the extra steps into the equation.