First bottle bomb

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

LadyGwen

Member
Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Location
Providence RI
*sigh.. I lost what it looks to be a 6 pack of brown ale.. I have glass and beer all over the pantry.. This was our second kit (second brew ever)

:drunk: oh well...
 
*sigh.. I lost what it looks to be a 6 pack of brown ale.. I have glass and beer all over the pantry.. This was our second kit (second brew ever)

:drunk: oh well...

Pictures please! :D

On a serious note, as I am sure you already know you either over carbed or had an infection. Did you use a bottling bucket and measure out the correct amount of sugar for the CO2 level you were going for? And did you make sure to use a hydrometer and check multiple times at the end of primary to see if the yeasties were done?
 
Pictures please! :D

On a serious note, as I am sure you already know you either over carbed or had an infection. Did you use a bottling bucket and measure out the correct amount of sugar for the CO2 level you were going for? And did you make sure to use a hydrometer and check multiple times at the end of primary to see if the yeasties were done?

I used a trubrew kit, a bottling bucket, and the sugar was prepackaged in the kit
The ending gravity was 1.018 for a whole week before we bottled.. the OG was 1.046.

I forgot to take pics but I haven't finished cleaning up the mess in the basement yet *sigh
 
Its also possible fermentation wasn't finished. 1.018 is a touch high IMO. I know you said it was stable for a week, but it can take longer than that for the brew to drop the last few point or two, and that's all it takes to make bottle bombs.

How long was it in primary and/or secondary before you bottled?
 
Its also possible fermentation wasn't finished. 1.018 is a touch high IMO. I know you said it was stable for a week, but it can take longer than that for the brew to drop the last few point or two, and that's all it takes to make bottle bombs.

How long was it in primary and/or secondary before you bottled?

I agree, 1.018 is out of my comfort range for bottling.
 
It might also be that you did not mix the priming sugar well enough into the batch. If you find that some of the bottles are bombs, but others are under-carbonated, that would be the case.
 
Its also possible fermentation wasn't finished. 1.018 is a touch high IMO. I know you said it was stable for a week, but it can take longer than that for the brew to drop the last few point or two, and that's all it takes to make bottle bombs.

How long was it in primary and/or secondary before you bottled?


Maybe we should have waited another week... hmmm.

We had it in the primary for about 3 weeks.The obvious fermenting only lasted about a week..
 
Maybe we should have waited another week... hmmm.

We had it in the primary for about 3 weeks.The obvious fermenting only lasted about a week..

This raises the hydrometer question, if they tested it 3 weeks in and the scale did not change across various readings one can only assume its done. But the FG does seem high, wonder if it just stalled out?
 
Well, maybe it was done. The bottle bomb could have been caused by the reasons others have mentioned. Be careful with the rest of those bottles.

Congratulations, BTW, on using your hydrometer and not rushing your beer out of primary too soon. It sounds to me like you are doing that part right. That's pretty good for your second batch. My starter kit came with a hydrometer but I didn't start using it until my 7th or 8th batch.
 
The ending gravity was 1.018 for a whole week before we bottled.. the OG was 1.046.

unfortunately that looks like a stalled fermentation. 1.018 is too high a FG for 1.046.

did you do a secondary? or did you primary and then bottle? You likely kicked up fermentation by racking for bottling, and then the added sugar didn't help matters.

get EVERY remaining bottle in the fridge NOW. get them cold, and then start opening bottles.
 
unfortunately that looks like a stalled fermentation. 1.018 is too high a FG for 1.046.

did you do a secondary? or did you primary and then bottle? You likely kicked up fermentation by racking for bottling, and then the added sugar didn't help matters.

get EVERY remaining bottle in the fridge NOW. get them cold, and then start opening bottles.

I didn't do a secondary, I just left it in the primary longer

I just put them in the fridge now...

After I open them do I put them back in the bucket, wait, and rebottle? Or what am I supposed to do?
 
You have to take the caps off to vent the pressure that's been building up in the bottles. Either crack em open a little, or just pop em straight off. Make sure they're in the sink, it gets nasty. Then take one and do another hydrometer reading. If it looks like it's lower, like into the 1.015 or lower range, re cap the bottles.
 
unfortunately that looks like a stalled fermentation. 1.018 is too high a FG for 1.046.

did you do a secondary? or did you primary and then bottle? You likely kicked up fermentation by racking for bottling, and then the added sugar didn't help matters.

get EVERY remaining bottle in the fridge NOW. get them cold, and then start opening bottles.

With Gloves on....
 
This raises the hydrometer question, if they tested it 3 weeks in and the scale did not change across various readings one can only assume its done. But the FG does seem high, wonder if it just stalled out?
This just happened to me with my first True Brew kit. After 2 weeks in the primary bucket, SG readings were stable at 1.017. I moved to the secondary and fermentation took off! It's been 3 days in the secondary and I still have bubbles every 6-7 seconds.

I believe my problem was not aerating the wort before pitching yeast. I had good primary fermentation the first day then no bubbles after that.

-Joe
 
damn, that is nuts! lol. one reason i keep my bottles in thick cardboard boxes taped up tight in an attempt to shield myself just in case....seeing how they're right next to my bed. wouldn't that be a nice wake up call, exploding beers in the middle of the night. hehe
 
Back
Top