All of my bottles are cracking.

jump_xiii · Feb 10, 2012

The batch I bottled last Sunday seems to be carbed. It doesn't taste it's best yet, it needs time to condition, but it is carbed.

I noticed a crack in the bottle I tested and in some of the others- a circular crack most of the way round about half an inch down from the lip of the bottle... I'm worried that they'll all break... And now I need more bottles!

E-Mursed · Feb 10, 2012

Could be from your capper.

What kind of capper do you use?

unionrdr · Feb 10, 2012

Not to mention,how much priming sugar did you use?

rhamilton · Feb 10, 2012

Could be the capper, bottle brand, too much priming sugar, or heat if you heat sterilize. More info would help.

jump_xiii · Feb 10, 2012

Well I've just noticed the same thing on EVERY BOTTLE I'VE EVER USED from other batches too so I don't know if it's from the manufacture and I just noticed or it's me.

Priming waste same amount as with other batches. I have a wing capper which may be the root of the problem if I used too much force I guess...

Shooter · Feb 10, 2012

Are you sure it's a crack and not a krausen ring in the bottle?

jump_xiii · Feb 10, 2012

I'm not sure what it is. It might be a paranoia ring. I'm sure it's not krausen. I can't get a good picture of it.

ncbrewer · Feb 10, 2012

I use a wing capper, and I usually break one bottle, close to the top, with each batch. I had a different model of capper many years ago and didn't have that problem, but all of the wing cappers I see now seem to be the same type, with two steel members clamping around the neck. Backing off on the pressure helps, but I think I'll get a bench capper.

GASoline71 · Feb 10, 2012

You break a bottle every batch? Holy cats!

The wing cappers don't "grip" the bottle with the metal. The 2 metal pieces come together just below the lip and only hold the top of the bottle as the capper drives the cap home.

If you're breakin' bottles with a wing capper... you're applying too much force or you need a new capper.

Gary

Hammy71 · Feb 10, 2012

GASoline71 said:
You break a bottle every batch? Holy cats!

The wing cappers don't "grip" the bottle with the metal. The 2 metal pieces come together just below the lip and only hold the top of the bottle as the capper drives the cap home.

If you're breakin' bottles with a wing capper... you're applying too much force or you need a new capper.

Gary

This. You need a new/different capper. The first one I had would break one or two bottles a batch. I bought another brand (that was just a cheaply made) and I've had no problems for a couple of years. The first one scratched the hell out of the bottles, causing some to break.

Shooter · Feb 10, 2012

Just be sure it's an actual crack and not a bottle krausen ring or a ring caused by infection. Wet your finger and see if you can scrub it off from the inside of the bottle...or a sediment ring caused by something like Oxi.

mcarb · Feb 10, 2012

Could it just be from the manufacturing of the bottle?

jump_xiii · Feb 10, 2012

I can feel it on the outside of the bottle. It isn't any kind of sediment on the inside... I think it might be manufacture... I don't know. I'm away for a couple of days now but when I get back I'll get my macro filter on and try to get a picture

Jayhem · Feb 10, 2012

I'd have a hard time believing that if it's cracked completely around the bottle that the pressure of carbonation would not blow the top off the bottle...even if it's carbonating correctly. If it's cracked completely around then you should be able to pull on the top of the bottle lightly and it will break off. that would be how I would test (wearing gloves and safety goggles).

jump_xiii · Feb 10, 2012

Funny thing- I think this is a total false alarm.

I'm away for the weekend now at a buddy's house and we had a a couple of beers tonight- commercial beers, Corona I think- and I noticed the same feature on the bottles.

It must be something in the manufacture that I just hadn't noticed... I guess I just freaked out because this batch has been kept warmer than normal to carb, but I thought about the whole top coming off and the pressure building up and that isn't the case. I think my bottles are fine after all this!

ncbrewer · Feb 11, 2012

GASoline71 said:
You break a bottle every batch? Holy cats!

The wing cappers don't "grip" the bottle with the metal. The 2 metal pieces come together just below the lip and only hold the top of the bottle as the capper drives the cap home.

If you're breakin' bottles with a wing capper... you're applying too much force or you need a new capper.

Gary

Hammy71 said:
This. You need a new/different capper. The first one I had would break one or two bottles a batch. I bought another brand (that was just a cheaply made) and I've had no problems for a couple of years. The first one scratched the hell out of the bottles, causing some to break.

Thanks. As long as I need a capper, I think I'll get a bench capper.

Spunkmeyer · Feb 11, 2012

Many of my bottles have a wavy line across the top of the neck - it's a manufacturing issue. These are Dogfish Head bottles that have never been used for homebrew before.

A crack is generally easier to spot because it has more "thickness" to it... if you put a cracked one side-to-side with a glass seam, you'd notice the visual difference.

jump_xiii said:
Funny thing- I think this is a total false alarm.

I'm away for the weekend now at a buddy's house and we had a a couple of beers tonight- commercial beers, Corona I think- and I noticed the same feature on the bottles.

It must be something in the manufacture that I just hadn't noticed... I guess I just freaked out because this batch has been kept warmer than normal to carb, but I thought about the whole top coming off and the pressure building up and that isn't the case. I think my bottles are fine after all this!

cheezydemon3 · Feb 11, 2012

It is best to cap gently and "lift" as you cap to reduce pressure on the bottle.

CAPPER for sure. Some bottles are better than others. SA and dos equis have good bottles.

MuchoGusto · Feb 11, 2012

ncbrewer said:
Thanks. As long as I need a capper, I think I'll get a bench capper.

I used a wing capper capping a total of 3 or 4 test bottles and returned it. Without hesitation I cap with a bench capper. You couldn't give me a wing capper and a hundred dollar bill including all the tea in China.

CourtHouseBrewing · Feb 12, 2012

I use a wing capper, the red one with a return spring, and never had a problem with my first 100 bottles of beer. I'm new yet.

All of my bottles are cracking.

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