Exploding Bottles!

I'm curious how many people have ever faced this disastrous incident. My oatmeal stout fermented for 15 days, and dropped from 1.046 OG to 1.021 in the first eleven days. In the last four days it only dropped down to 1.018 FG. I went ahead and bottled it, because it seemed to be stalled out, with only one bubble every 2-3 minutes.

I used White Labs WLP013 London Ale. It has an attenuation of 67-75%. I got about 61% attenuation. So my question is, have I done something really stupid? Do I have 50 bombs waiting to blow right now? I want to hear stories from others about what conditions caused them to have bombs, just to get a feel for whether or not I've put myself in danger.

I figure, in a week, I could conceivably open all the bottles to release some gas, and then recap them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My first attempt at homebrew resulted in two dozen glass lemonade bottles with gingerbeer hiden under the shed around the side of the house (I was only 14 at the time and was covertly making beer and wine). After a couple exploded sending glass shards every where we (my best mate and partner in crime) decided to call it a day and shot the rest with a rifle and a catapult! The shed stunk a bit after that - what a mess. We only made wine after that, much safer.

The only bacterial infection that I have ever had <knock on wood> resulted in 5 bottles blowing up in my closet. Luckily they were in boxes, so it didnt make a huge mess.

- magno

Interesting, I have a nearly identical situation. Same thing bottled an Oatmeal stout and it was OG around 1.047 and after two weeks it was 1.02 ish (I gotta get a better hydrometer setup got one of those plastic tubes and imo it was a mistake...too hard to read accurately...so I need a glass tube). Basically though, when I opened up the fermentor there was only once in a while a tiny 'bloop' would come from the trub (like a little yeasty bubble thing). The yeast I used was a medium attenuating (well Danstar says 'moderate' dunno what that equals percentage wise), so I am quite a bit up. I am getting cold feet now. I am going to keep a sharp eye on them by opening one every few days to test the carbonation level. I did mash at 154, so I am assuming this will affect the final gravity but I am still new at this so I have no idea to what degree. I had absolutely no airlock indication of fermentation so I am guessing it must have pretty much wound down, although I do know it is very far from being inactive. I would hate to lose any of the brew!

I'm very much the amateur and don't speak "attenuation," but an FG of 1.018 is pretty safe - although you'd generally want it down around 1.014.

BL: you shouldn't have any 'splosions, but I'd put 'em in a plastic container and cover them with a towel to be safe.

Let us know how it comes out.

Focus

I voted never, but I only counted my beer.

I've had bottle grenades when I brewed root beer.

I rarely bottle & have never had one blow; however, I seem to crack necks off far too often when I do bottle. I plan on putting the melomel into 12 oz. bottles, but not until it gets near 1.000 At the rate it is fermenting, I think that means next summer.

Never, Knock on wood.

So far, only 1 bottle bomb. Blew the bottom right off the bottle.

I bottled a Bitter. The SG, in secondary, was holding steady for several days so it was obviously finished fermenting (it had been 4 weeks in secondary) even though the SG was higher than I knew it should be.

I primed and bottled it. About a week later I noticed sticky stuff running from the closet towards my front door. When I opened the closet door, I heard a quiet explosion, and knew what had happened.

Of the two cases, only one survived . I gloved up and very quickly moved the surving bottles into an empty case and then into my chest freezer to cool them down and stop the explosions. I was wincing and praying the entire time another one wouldn't explode in my hands as I was moving them.

I guess that priming the beer kick-started fermentation again. The bottles certainly are carbed. It takes me a minute or so to pour without getting 3/4 of a glass of foam. It's not infected, and tasted fine although it's still a little sweet to my taste.

i came too close with my barleywine.
the indents from the capper were pushed out so i think i just averted " the bomb"
i have vented each bottle and recapped 4 times now and need to do it again as pouring a chilled standard 341 ml bottle still fills a 1 litre mug to the brim with foam
at least i know all the o2 is purged from the bottles

I've now switched to kegs, but did my fair share of bottling in my life with, thankfully, no explosions or gushers to speak of!

Have only bottled two batches as of yet, but so far so good. I think using the Grolsch bottles gives me a little extra protection. The first batch may have been bottled a little early, as I get quite a pop when opening a bottle, but nothing explosive.

One gusher, no bombs (yet).

Well, I'm glad to see that a large majority of people have never had an explosion, and I've got my fingers solidly crossed. But, my other question is still mostly unanswered: does anyone think I might be at risk of such a blow-up with my stout batch? OG 1.046 FG 1.018 fifteen days in single stage.

Opened up 3 from my first batch to brew brats with and all 3 were gushers. The rest of the batch went straight into the fridge at that point.

This was the only batch I used those carb tabs. I even used the recommend amount for light carbonation. Won't be using those again.

Torchiest said:

Well, I'm glad to see that a large majority of people have never had an explosion, and I've got my fingers solidly crossed. But, my other question is still mostly unanswered: does anyone think I might be at risk of such a blow-up with my stout batch? OG 1.046 FG 1.018 fifteen days in single stage.

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I just bottled my batch of stout. It's been in bottle for just a week now, so I still have to see what happens. The basement is cool, so carbonation has been a little slow coming. Started with an OG of 1.054, 1.020 when racking to secondary and finally down to 1.018 after a couple weeks in the secondary.

I know there are some other threads discussing the gas purge and recapping technique on here somewhere.

You mean I have to do some (virtual) legwork? Ooooookay...

Well, thus far the Stout is carbonating nicely (been a week and it has a fair head). I don't think I am going to have to worry...hopefully...

Same here. I tried my first Sunday afternoon and it was about where all my others have been after a week, so I'm not as concerned as I was. It was delicious, btw!

Torchiest said:

Same here. I tried my first Sunday afternoon and it was about where all my others have been after a week, so I'm not as concerned as I was. It was delicious, btw!

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Nice! Mine was too. Stout's are probably close to being my favorite style, and more specifically, Oatmeal Stouts. Just something about them, I dunno. Don't get me wrong, I love just about every style I have tried (as long as it's good right?) and each one has it's place in my love for brew and at the table. But, if I had to choose one style I think it would have to be Stout.

Yeah, I'm a pretty big fan of stouts and porters, and my supply of porter is running out. It's been my daily driver of home brews so far, and I was getting worried. However, after yesterday, I think I've got my new go to beer for the next month or so. I will be making another porter soon though.

Torchiest said:

You mean I have to do some (virtual) legwork? Ooooookay...

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If it has been in the bottle for longer than a few days, pop one and see how it has carbonated. If it really hisses at you when you open it, put them in a very cold fridge to put the little critters to sleep. If no hiss, give it more time and check again. It's also a good way to gauge how the taste improves from first bottling to nicely aged & conditioned.

I cracked two different ones of the course of the first week, and they seemed fine, just slight carbonation, so I capped them back up. The third one, which I actually drank, was also very calm in terms of carbonation, no foaming or major hissing. I think I might just have a ton of unfermentables in my beer, which is fine, because the flavor is really good.

Over priming root beer was a bad idea!~!!! The worst thing about that was I gave a lot of it away before mine exploded. Oh Man!!!

I've run into explosions with three different batches, no bacterial infection that I noticed and fermentation (always secondary) had stopped, or at least slowed. The first time I'm pretty sure was because I had to move my homebrew and the batch was over carbonated to begin with...but this time using the Wyeast Saison yeast, and about 1/3 cup corn sugar to carbonate a batch of my IPA, I just had one explode, I'm at wits end because all of my beers have turned up over carbonated, (with 1/3c corn sugar) and I don't know how much less I can add, without just ending up with flat beer (which at this point might be preferable to bottle rockets in my closet).

Torchiest said:

I went ahead and bottled it, because it seemed to be stalled out, with only one bubble every 2-3 minutes.

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Friend, that's not stalled, that's a visible sign of active fermentation. It is possible that its something else (an infection, CO2 escaping from the wort, etc.) but the most likely answer is that your yeast was still doing enough work to create more CO2. Patience is key - it would have done no harm and much good if you had let it be for another week or three.

If you are concerned about bottle grenades, you could (after they are carbonated) refrigerate the batch, which would effectively stop ale yeast.

Only bottled once, I made a GF beer for a friend of mine. I give him 2 cases at work he puts them in the back of his jeep at lunch time. Drives home on his hour plus commute. Comes to a section of road that is under construction (basically a dirt road) and bang he loses 2 bottles. Fortunately he had a plastic tray under the beer for when transports his very large bird to the vets.

Pappers said:

Friend, that's not stalled, that's a visible sign of active fermentation. It is possible that its something else (an infection, CO2 escaping from the wort, etc.) but the most likely answer is that your yeast was still doing enough work to create more CO2. Patience is key - it would have done no harm and much good if you had let it be for another week or three.

If you are concerned about bottle grenades, you could (after they are carbonated) refrigerate the batch, which would effectively stop ale yeast.

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Haha, thanks for the help, but that beer is long gone! It turned out fine, despite my concerns.

I did have another batch that was over-primed a couple years after that, and at least one bottle from that batch did explode. Haven't had any problems since though.

trinitone said:

Have only bottled two batches as of yet, but so far so good. I think using the Grolsch bottles gives me a little extra protection. The first batch may have been bottled a little early, as I get quite a pop when opening a bottle, but nothing explosive.

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It was indeed one Grolsch bottle that just exploded in the middle of the night, a few hours ago. That really gives me the creeps, I am not going further until I have found out what's gone wrong and how I can be entirely sure that ain't happening again.
The beer was a wheat ale, bottled already in 2 months ago. I suspect I overcarbonated (almost 4 volumes of CO2), and have not stirred the sugar solution well before bottling. Can it be?

Start checking the remaining bottles for high carbonation pressure. Slowly ease the bail open, and be ready to quickly reseal, to see how much carbonation pressure escapes. Some bottles may give you a light hiss. Some bottles may give you a sharp, long hiss. Mark the bottles with low pressure. Different pressure levels may be an indication the priming solution was not mixed evenly through out the bottling bucket.
Go back to the bottles, which had high pressure, in two days and do another release. Do this every two days until the pressure level seems right.

Start out wearing gloves, heavy jacket, and eye protection just in case pressure levels are extreme. You don't want one blowing with unprotected body parts close to the bottle.

The exploding bottle could also have been the result of infection in that bottle. Infected bottles may gush when you release pressure.

In April 2014, I had several bottles of Bourbon Barrel Porter explode in my cellar. Fortunately...or UNfortunately...the exploding bottles led me to discover that my sewer line from the house to the street had collapsed!

Following the bottle explosions, I carefully took the remaining bottles into the back yard, pointed the cap at the wood fence and quickly opened the bottles. Those caps shot a good 20-25 feet!

glenn514