breaking bottles?

Hey-O! What an awesome web community!

Well, my wife has been tolerant so far of this great new hobby (addiction?) but if the bottles break I may have a choice to make.

I just bottled my first batch, following a homebrew shop's recipe as best I could. But after reading How To Brew, I'm worried that I bottled too soon. Maybe the fermentation wasn't finished, maybe it was too cold. the FG reading was a little high - 1.020 for a British Pale Ale from extract. Should I prepare for an explosion? Or do I just need to relax?

Andy

I would test a bottle every few days. If it is fully carbed after 2-3 days, then it is safe to say that something is wrong.

If it seems to be taking the usual 10 days or so, then no worries.

great advice, thanks! And it gave me an excuse to try one. 4 days in and not much carbonation at all - so looks like I'm golden. Tasted OK, for a flat beer!!

thanks again

Final gravity has a lot to do with the original gravity and what yeast you're using.

For example, Nottingham tops out at %6-7 (in my experience) and finishes quite sweet if you started at 1.080-ish. It's a popular yeast for Local Homebrew Shops (LHBS) to include in kits so I give it as an example.

I'd say 1.020 seems a bit high for a pale ale but again, it depends on OG and yeast.

You can also give you LHBS a call and ask how the yeast usually behaves. A good establishment should be happy to talk with you for a few minutes to answer any questions about their recipes.


If your gravity readings leveled off for day or two prior to bottling, you didn't add more than 5 oz. of priming sugar per 5 gal and you left at least 1/2" of headspace, you've got nothing to worry about.

Cheers!

thanks for the helpful info and reassurance. My LHBS was closed that day, but you're right, so far they've been great.