Uh, oh. Bottle bomb.

Hi guys,

I bottled my first ever brew 2 weeks ago and figured I would go grab one and try it, though a week early. I took out a bottle from my dark closet to put in the fridge to get a chill on it before tasting. Well the outside of the bottle was a little wet. My first thought was perhaps it leaked but I felt around the cap and it was try and seemed full still. And then it hit me. Oh ^&#%$!!. Looked in the closet with a flashlight and yep, there it was. One of the bottles blew up in the case throwing up a spray of beer and glass shrapnel on some of the other bottles. So far it's just one. So far.

So my question is, how common is this? Can I expect the possibility of more in the coming weeks?

Did you make sure your fermentation was complete before bottling? I check the gravity for 2-3 days before I move to my bottling bucket, to make sure it's not going anywhere. Airlock activity is not a sure sign. It may be the whole batch if fermentation wasn't complete.

Also, how was the one you drank? Did it fizz like crazy, or did it have normal carbonation? Poor sanitation of the bottles could leave a bug in there which might have the ability to eat the sugars that cannot normally ferment. No way to tell how many of them are like this if it was sanitation. You could have missed one bottle, or most of them.

Just keep them well away from anyone/anything that may be hurt/damaged by an explosion until you can get them into a fridge. If you chill them in a fridge, any new activity should stop.

DarkUncle said:

Hi guys,

I bottled my first ever brew 2 weeks ago and figured I would go grab one and try it, though a week early. I took out a bottle from my dark closet to put in the fridge to get a chill on it before tasting. Well the outside of the bottle was a little wet. My first thought was perhaps it leaked but I felt around the cap and it was try and seemed full still. And then it hit me. Oh ^&#%$!!. Looked in the closet with a flashlight and yep, there it was. One of the bottles blew up in the case throwing up a spray of beer and glass shrapnel on some of the other bottles. So far it's just one. So far.

So my question is, how common is this? Can I expect the possibility of more in the coming weeks?

Click to expand...

How much priming sugar did you use? Did you take hydrometer readings before you bottled? Looks like you bottled after 1 week, that is a little bit early. (Especially for a high gravity beer or lager). What style of beer was it? Chances are if you never took hydrometer readings and waited to make sure that the beer was done fermenting, it is quite possible that more bottles can explode. 1 week in the bottle isn't long enough for proper carbonation/conditioning. If it were me, I'd carefully (gloves + glasses) uncap the bottles to vent out the pressure and recap.

Haven't tried the one I took out yet. It's still in the fridge. These were brand new clean bottles and I sanitized every one of them, I'm sure of it. The beer was in the primary fermentor for a month and the FG was right where it should be. So far it's only one bottle so perhaps maybe a slight imperfection in the glass caused that one to explode. Looking forward to popping the top off the one I took out but I'm a bit worried I may hear some fireworks yet.

This was a dark brown porter kit and I used the packet of sugar included in the kit.

Could be a flaw in the bottle for all you really know. If these were bottles from the lhbs, I've noticed they are often thinner than commercial bottles we often re-use. If you've done everything right, I wouldn't stress too much about it.

How much priming sugar did you use and were you sure to mix it in well?

Yep, these bottles are from the lhbs. I thought they seemed a bit thin compared to my Sam's bottles.

I used the Brewer's Best robust porter kit. I'm not sure how much sugar they give you but I boiled the packet in 2 cups of water, let it cool to room temp and poured it into the bottling bucket. I then siphoned the beer on top of it being careful not to agitate and creating a swirling motion of beer around the bucket until all the beer was in. If memory serves me right I then took a sanitized spoon and moved the beer around, again not agitating it at all. Bottled with the wand and left about 2 inches of head space in the bottle.

I think I pretty much did everything according to the book as they say. Hopefully it was just a bum bottle.

DarkUncle said:

Yep, these bottles are from the lhbs. I thought they seemed a bit thin compared to my Sam's bottles.

I used the Brewer's Best robust porter kit. I'm not sure how much sugar they give you but I boiled the packet in 2 cups of water, let it cool to room temp and poured it into the bottling bucket. I then siphoned the beer on top of it being careful not to agitate and creating a swirling motion of beer around the bucket until all the beer was in. If memory serves me right I then took a sanitized spoon and moved the beer around, again not agitating it at all. Bottled with the wand and left about 2 inches of head space in the bottle.

I think I pretty much did everything according to the book as they say. Hopefully it was just a bum bottle.

Click to expand...

Yeah sounds to me like you did everything right. I guess just keep an eye on it. Your right, very well could be a bum bottle. I wouldn't worry too much and make sure to enjoy brew

I've only had one bottle brew in my years of brewing but it was evident that the bottle had a week spot. It could be seen at the point of the bottle break. It sounds like you did everything right so I would chalk it up to a bad bottle. Oh yeah, the bottle that broke for me was a new purchased one.

I have had a bottle explode that was stacked on another and with different sizes, perhaps the taller bottle blew up because of pressure from above. That or a defective bottle. It happens. Open that thing up and see what happens. If you get a hiss and not a BAM!, it is a good sign.

If you are moving on after fermentation in only one week, it is even more essential to have FG readings that indicate that attenuation is complete. I ferment for three weeks. Then I use the hydrometer, and if it gives an acceptable reading, I bottle.

Well, good news is I get a soft hiss when I open the bottle. I drank two to be sure I had consistant results. And even more good news, they taste awesome!!! Oh man, this is great! Perfect carbonation and they taste so good. First brew is a complete success. Even my wife who is not a beer drinker loved it and said she was very impressed.

I hoping to see pics if the destruction.



E

I bottle condition in a rubbermaid tote with the lid on in case of bottle bombage...

I have had 3 batches over the last 2 years that I have had 1 bad bottle that has exploded. The first time I thought I had an infection or overcarbonated (all was fine, it was my 2nd batch). The second one I know was a bad bottle because of the way the bottle broke (the bottom split out from the rest of the bottle). The last one was a year after and it was also a bad bottle. 2 were from the LHBS, one was a recycle bottle...

I usually let the bottles condition in the guest bathroom (aka brew room) for a month and then move them to the brew storage. I have caught ALL of my bad bottles in the conditioning phase... If you taste fermented goodness with no funny flavors, feel pretty safe that it was just a bad bottle...

Is there a recommended number of "cycles" you do not want to exceed with bottles? Like, should you not use bottles more than 10, 100, 1000 (!) times due to fatigue?

I always stressed about bottle bombs so I would put the bottles in a cardboard box with a towel over it and sitting in a large cookie pan just incase something happened.

My girlfriend once made soda where she used yeast to carbonate it then stuck it in the fridge to stop the yeast. While moving they were accidentally left out and the yeast reactivate. Well, needless to say a month later we are STILL finding glass...

same thing happened to me a week ago, the helpfull folks here help me narrow it down to a single bottle infection. yes, I'm a dirty birdie but that particular batch is the best brew I've ever made to date

Luckily I've never had a beer bottle explode. I have, however, had a few soda's left out by mistake. I had glass stuck in the drywall 10 feet away! Thankfully nobody was in the room!

I leave all my beers in a storage room in our garage. The furnace is in there, which keeps it about 68-72 degrees at all times of the year.

snevey said:

I bottle condition in a rubbermaid tote with the lid on in case of bottle bombage...

Click to expand...

An excellent suggestion! Not one I use but I leave my beer in the carboys for probably an excessive amount of time!