Can't drink my beer anymore

This is more of a rant than anything else. Sorry.

This is my third batch now with bottle bombs. The first one was due to unfinished fermentation, the second a weak bottle, and I have no idea on this one. Three bottles in my batch have blown so far and my house stinks of beer. Horribly. I can't even drink a beer it smells so bad. Every time I smell a beer I want to gag. I'll be shampooing the carpet in my beer closet this week, hopefully that helps, but I'm really discouraged and a little nauseous.

I think I just need a break from beer and brewing for a while. And a lot of air freshener.

Send whats left up the corridor. Plus, who has carpet in their beer closet?

What are you using to prime and how are you measuring it? Since it happened three batches in a row, your process probably needs a tweak. Don't be discouraged, maybe its an easy fix.

I don't think I'd blame the bottles... SOMETHING is wrong with your process. You are either bottling way too early, or using way too much sugar to prime.

Are you using a hydrometer to check if fermentation is finished? That is, are your gravity readings staying constant for several days before bottling?

ROTFLOL. I know it's not funny when all that happens, but I remember glass shards stuck in the basement ceiling, beer (or something like it) running over the floor. Brings back memory of days gone bye. Keep at it. You'll get it together

weirdboy said:

I don't think I'd blame the bottles... SOMETHING is wrong with your process. You are either bottling way too early, or using way too much sugar to prime.

Are you using a hydrometer to check if fermentation is finished? That is, are your gravity readings staying constant for several days before bottling?

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I agree. Make sure fermentation is finished before you bottle. You can do this the low tech way and just let your brew sit for at least a week after the airlock stopped bubbling. Or (highly recommended) take a gravity reading prior to racking to the bottling bucket and make sure your FG is where it should be.

Also, careful about measuring out your priming sugar. For example, you shouldn't really need more than 5oz of corn sugar for 5 gals. Try using this calculator: http://www.brewheads.com/priming.php

Good luck with the mess. I feel for you... total bummer.

No no....beer is good, and you can make great beer. Beer that will amaze you and your fiends...I meant friends.

I am no expert and have found this website to be a godsend with people willing to help. But I have made some GREAT brew. A tweak here, change eqip. there...and you are good. Post EVERTHING you do and people will help. This is a great hobby. The look of friends when they say "seriously?". You're good. Let us help.

~Diz

I just thought of one more thing: be sure you boil and cool your priming sugar prior to adding to the beer. My point here is you want to be certain you kill any bugs and continue to use sterile technique throughout the bottling process. E.g., sterilize all of your equipment and bottles.

Also, make certain you mix the sugar into the beer to get it evenly dispersed/mixed. If you just pour the sugar in and then bottle, some bottles can get more/less sugar than others.

One more thought: Careful about the mixing - you want to be gentle and not get oxygen in there (e.g., no rigorous mixing). I like to put the cooled priming sugar in the bucket first, then rack into the bucket. The swirling of the beer as it fills the bucket will mix the sugar nicely.

And, I agree - DON'T GIVE UP!

Don't give up, man. Just do some reading (How to Brew or Complete Joy of Homebrewing.), and check your technique. Make a list of everything you need to do on the brewing and bottling days and double-check it as you go. An old edition of How to brew is free online here: http://www.howtobrew.com/
Also, keep records of how you're doing things and your measurements, as well as what day you brewed on, bottled on etc.

I just brewed a batch of bottle bombs, but I know where I went wrong. I had stuck fermentation and repitched. Waited a while, checked my SG and there was no change. Repitched again(because the previous package was the bad batch of Notty), checked the SG again two days later and there was no change, so I bottled. My problem was that I didn't give the yeast 72 hours to get going. I thought I had, but didn't check my notes and was impatient. Now I've got a batch to dump down the toilet.
I'm sure that every brewer here had some problems on their first few batches. Learn from them, figure out where you went wrong and keep trying. Figure out 2 or 3 ways that you know you can improve your technique for the next batch. Read through ALL the stickies in the Beginner Brewing Section (especially the FAQs), the Sanitation Section and any sections you think pertain to what you're doing. It'll get better.
I know that for my next batch I'll be adjusting my OG during the boil thanks to techniques from "Designing Great Beers" plus controlling my fermentation temps via the tub of water and frozen water bottles method as well as cooling my wort faster by recirculating ice water through my immersion chiller with a pond pump.
Keep trying, man. It's worth it.

a bad batch is all the reason more to start planning your next batch. figure out what your doing wrong and redeem yourself. beer is Gods gift to man

One other tip. Buy one of those plastic storage bins from a dollar store or Walmart to store your conditioning bottles in. That way, if you do have one break, it is contained. They are only $4 or $5, and that is way cheaper than a carpet cleaning.

Starderup said:

One other tip. Buy one of those plastic storage bins from a dollar store or Walmart to store your conditioning bottles in. That way, if you do have one break, it is contained. They are only $4 or $5, and that is way cheaper than a carpet cleaning.

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That's what I do.

Starderup said:

One other tip. Buy one of those plastic storage bins from a dollar store or Walmart to store your conditioning bottles in. That way, if you do have one break, it is contained. They are only $4 or $5, and that is way cheaper than a carpet cleaning.

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At the very least, put them in a yard waste bag until you have gotten this issue worked out.

I think some of you misread. This is not the third batch in a row, it's the third batch over the course of about thirty batches now. The first two I understood and figured out and this one even seems pretty simple. Not mixing priming sugar enough. Three bombs so far and in the same batch I've sampled three that were terribly undercarbed.

What I'm discouraged about is that I cannot drink a beer right now without wanting to vomit due to the smell.

Here's a link to a carbonation calculator. I use it on every batch, and I really like the results. That is, assuming that priming is your problem.

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?11812056#tag

time for some kegging equipment!

No need to keg just yet. Use your hydrometer wisely. Don't bottle until the FG is correct!!!

Follow up with 3/4 cup of Dextrose per 5 gallons.

CrapulencePants said:

I think some of you misread. This is not the third batch in a row, it's the third batch over the course of about thirty batches now. The first two I understood and figured out and this one even seems pretty simple. Not mixing priming sugar enough. Three bombs so far and in the same batch I've sampled three that were terribly undercarbed.

What I'm discouraged about is that I cannot drink a beer right now without wanting to vomit due to the smell.

Click to expand...

Hair of the dog, man. Make sure you are drinking a beer as you shampoo that carpet!!!! :rockin:

The smell of beer in the carpet makes me feel like I'm 19 again. Good times. I made an apple cider once that was way over carbonated. I just opened them outside, in the dead of Winter.

Do yourself a huge favor and get a scale if you don't already have one. Then refer to one of the priming calculators if you don't already. I've done like 18 batches this year and have not had one bottle bomb using a scale, corn sugar, and then racking onto the sugar at the bottom of the bottling bucket. I even go one step further usually and gently swirl the beer with a spoon right before I start bottling to ensure equal distribution of sugar.

I'm with smoking hole on this one. Rack onto the cooled priming sugar solution then give it a VERY gentle swirl to ensure even distribution before bottling.