Bottle bomb: options? + safety question

[brewpood]

I found the shards of a bottle bomb this a.m. among my Petite Saison bottles. I had bottled them 5 1/2 weeks ago. I am pretty sure the problem is that the sugar/honey priming mixture I made stayed at the bottom of the bottling bucket I didn't stir it, and instead depended on the swirling motion of the racking tube to mix it up. I tasted some of the beer in the bottom of the bucket, and it was sweet.

I also "riddled" the bottles when it seemed they weren't carbing after about 2 weeks. I didn't just turn them upside down: I turned them upside down and left them upside down overnight. So I have some yeast residue in the neck of the bottle. (This *is* the beginners' forum, right?)

Given the bottle bomb situation, would you suggest that I pour them into a sanitized bottling bucket and re-bottle? Or just pop the tops off and recap? Recapping is appealing because it involves less work, but re-bottling would mean I wouldn't have the unsightly yeast residue in the neck of each bottle.

A final question: I gave four bottles to a friend, who has them in her fridge. Should I take them back to avoid her having a bottle explode, or will refrigeration prevent bottle bomb?

Thanks!

 

[brewpood]

P.S. To anticipate a question: Yes, I had reached FG before bottling and even left the beer in secondary for a week or so after that.

 

[jeremy0209]

I'd refrigerate them (get them as cold as possible) and drink them ASAP. Open them over a sink and wear safety glasses. If you have the room in your refrigerator, keep them isolated in a container so, if some explode, the mess is contained. I would not try to re-bottle....that would only introduce oxygen.

 

[Pratzie]

Refrigeration should prevent the bottle bombs depending on how long she's had it there.

Not quite sure why u would have a yeast ring on the bottle neck. Also for a saison, a little cloudy is fit for the style.

I'd refrigerate all and try and save them. The problem i see is that if the bottom of the bucket was sweet, then some got alot of sugar, some got little to none meaning that some prob won't be carbed at all. I'd say chill the entire batch, pop the caps (but highly recommned wearing gloves that cover up past ur wrist as well as eye protection). For the ones that are more likely to explode, u'll get gushers. For the ones that aren't, if they are totally flat u might wanna add a carb drop or two and then recap all of them and let them sit another 2 weeks or so and see what happens.

Either way u wanna drink this batch as soon as u can to prevent any spoilage if u do pop the caps and also to prevent an increased chance of bottle bombs happening down the road.

 

[JonM]

+1 to the above. Store them in a Rubbermaid tote if they don't fit in the fridge (contains glass and liquid), wear heavy gloves and eye protection when handling them, and keep the kids and the dog away from them in the meantime.

 

[BigFloyd]

Hmmmmm. Good reason to not prime with honey or any other thick syrupy stuff. It's harder to measure accurately and doesn't dissolve as readily as cane/corn sugar.

What you use to prime isn't going to help the flavor. It's just additional food for the yeast to eat and poop CO2.

 

[ajlee]

+1 to the rubbermaid container. I've only had bottles explode once and I was glad I had them in one. All of my bottles go into the "blast chamber" until they are refrigerated.

 

[NorthRiverS]

I had a similar situation in the past. The beer foamed up after opening. I then gently raised the caps enough to vent the carbonation. Then I let them vent for 20-30 minutes. Then I re-capped them. problem solved.

NRS