Bottle bombs are a urban legend.

[Ryanh1801]

At least with the bottles I have. I finally got rid of the infected batch I had from about 9 months ago. These things where so over carbonated the where shooting foam fountains 15 feet into the air, along with a champagne pop when opened. Although on of the last ones, blew the top of the glass off when I un capped it. Then getting hot beer all over me.

 

[Arneba28]

What were you doing drinking hot beer

 

[Ryanh1801]

What were you doing drinking hot beer

It was an infected batch, I was dumping them out.

 

[Philip1993]

>> Bottle bombs are an urban legend

I beg to disagree. My buddy prematurely bottled a mead. The first clue of a problem was when it cleared off a co-workers coffee table. I didn't see it personally, but I sat next to the victim for 3 years so it's not 4th hand info.

 

[EdWort]

>> Bottle bombs are an urban legend

Only for folks who keg.

 

[Philip1993]

Only for folks who keg.

That was the OP's title. I haven't bottled in a decade (excepting BMBF fills occasionally)

 

[fat x nub]

My dad woke up one night to bottles bursting....u got lucky i guess

 

[EvilTOJ]

bottle bombs are an urban legend eh?

 

[Kaiser]

I know a guy who tests bottled and bottle caps for various brewers. And he said that bottle caps are designed to function as a safety valve and blow off CO2 if the pressure gets to high. Supposedly all bottle caps are like this. But he acknowledged that already existing weakpoints in the bottles can lead to bottle bombs before the blow-off pressure is reached.

Kai

 

[lustreking]

Bottle bombs are a urban legend.

Although on of the last ones, blew the top of the glass off when I un capped it. Then getting hot beer all over me.

I can't get these two statements to work together.

 

[Piotr]

Belive me, bottle grenades can be dangerous - I had pieces of glass in even my ceiling...

 

[Philip1993]

I know a guy who tests bottled and bottle caps for various brewers. And he said that bottle caps are designed to function as a safety valve and blow off CO2 if the pressure gets to high. Supposedly all bottle caps are like this. But he acknowledged that already existing weakpoints in the bottles can lead to bottle bombs before the blow-off pressure is reached.

Not only that, but commercial bottles are machine capped to a specific tolerance. Home capped bottles (particularly with a win capper) vary quite a bit.

 

[david_42]

Infected beer also has many more nucleation sites than normal. Bacteria do not settle out the way yeast does. The gusher is caused by the CO2 coming out of solution quickly, more than the absolute pressure.

 

[Evan!]

Tell that to the guy who I gave a sixer of my high-FG stout to. He opened his cupboard one day (even though I told him to keep them cold), and it was covered in thick imperial stout. He took the rest of the sixer, maybe 4 bottles left, and put them out by the curb. A few hours later they all kasploded.

Urban legend, they ain't.

 

[iamjonsharp]

I had to spend a couple hours cleaning sticky glass shards from a braggot out of my basement once.

Damn Bigfoot.

 

[MrFebtober]

Tell that to the guy who I gave a sixer of my high-FG stout to. He opened his cupboard one day (even though I told him to keep them cold), and it was covered in thick imperial stout. He took the rest of the sixer, maybe 4 bottles left, and put them out by the curb. A few hours later they all kasploded.

Urban legend, they ain't.

As he carried the remaining brew to the curb, perhaps shielding himself with garbage can lid, I imagine he was mumbling something along the lines of "With friends like these..."

 

[bob1852]

I smell a mythbusters episode!

 

[Homercidal]

I used small, thick Coke bottles to bottle my Birch Beer Soda. Not knowing that you are supposed to chill them after a day or two...

The caps did NOT act as a safety valve! I had a 2" section of the top of the bottle behind the toilet (pop was stored in back bathroom) with the cap still on it. Luckily the bottle pieces were mostly contained inside the box the bottles were in. I got a blanket and covered them all up while I moved them into a plastic tote for safe burping. I lost a few more between the first exploshun and actually having a chance to burp them.

 

[jgln]

I can't get these two statements to work together.

I think he meant as he was in the process of uncapping one of them the top came off (glass broke) and the pressure blew it off the rest of the way.
Many years ago I had some malt left over but not enough to do a 5 gal batch so I had an idea to use table sugar to get the rest. My bottles didn't break but every bottle I opened emptied itself out like a bottle of warm champaine shook up. Took them into the yard to uncap the rest. A couple bottles broke as I tried to uncap. Fastest I ever emptied bottles. I will never do that again, should have made a 1 gal batch instead. At the time I was quiting brewing so I just wanted to get rid of the last can.

 

[Warped04]

I smell a mythbusters episode!

No need. They exist!

 

[jpsloan]

Once I woke up in my bathtub with ice up to my hips, a bottle shattered across the floor from overcarbonation, and a message written in lipstick that said "Call 911". I sat in the waiting room for a half hour, complaining about it to the guy who got stuck by a hypodermic needle taped to a gas pump nozzle.

 

[camiller]

Once I woke up in my bathtub with ice up to my hips, a bottle shattered across the floor from overcarbonation, and a message written in lipstick that said "Call 911". I sat in the waiting room for a half hour, complaining about it to the guy who got stuck by a hypodermic needle taped to a gas pump nozzle.

Must be true, I saw it in the internet! :cross:

 

[homemadebeer]

I have had a couple of bottles blow up, but it was my own damn fault for bottling too early. A few from the same batch blew their caps off too.

 

[g_rath]

I smell a troll.
Lets end this thread.

 

[Choguy03]

With over 2,000 posts, I doubt that.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I had a bottle bomb in my first batch. I bumped a few bottles on the countertop when cleaning them, didn't think anything of it. After that, any bumped bottles go into the recycle bin. When I'm not kegging the batch. :cross:

 

[Philip1993]

I had a bottle bomb in my first batch. I bumped a few bottles on the countertop when cleaning them, didn't think anything of it. After that, any bumped bottles go into the recycle bin. When I'm not kegging the batch. :cross:

Bumping a bottle should not cause it to explode. If that were the case, every beer truck in the country would be a rolling bomb.

I think it was coincidental and you're probably trashing perfectly good beer.

 

[Choguy03]

Yeah, if anything, just pop the top and then recap if you are that concerned. Don't throw away good beer.....shame on you!!!!! :cross:

 

[McKBrew]

If you read what the OP said beyond the header, he said that he has never had a bottle bomb. I'm confident that he doesn't actually think bombs are a myth like Bigfoot or the Chupacabra.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Bumping a bottle should not cause it to explode. If that were the case, every beer truck in the country would be a rolling bomb.

I think it was coincidental and you're probably trashing perfectly good beer.

Empty bottles. I would never waste beer. I'm not talking about a gentle bump, it was a THUNK on the granite, must have cracked it.

 

[Saccharomyces]

If you read what the OP said beyond the header, he said that he has never had a bottle bomb. I'm confident that he doesn't actually think bombs are a myth like Bigfoot or the Chupacabra.

You forgot autolysis and HSA.

 

[bull8042]

If you read what the OP said beyond the header, he said that he has never had a bottle bomb. I'm confident that he doesn't actually think bombs are a myth like Bigfoot or the Chupacabra.

WHOA there! Chupacabra is not a myth. I read one of his posts here yesterday.... Just keep him away from your goats!

 

[Terry08]

I have had two blow in a garden shed, luckily. I put it down to infection or weakness in the bottle as the rest of the batch was ok. I would not like to be around when they go as the glass was in small shards and spread around the shed. There were some happy snails cleaning it up.

Definatly no urban legend. People do not realise just how lethal it could be when they blow

I always open a bottle after a week to judge the carbonation

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

At least with the bottles I have.

No, they are real if you bottle before fermentation is done, or you over dose the bottling sugar, or you do not get a good mix in bottling and overdose a few. Oh, and you have to cap very well, or your get gushers like you have instead of explosions.
If you want to do a myth busters thing, bottle one with 3 teaspoons of sugar after one day of active fermentation, place in bomb shelter and enjoy picking up the glass pieces afterwards. Do not even come close to it before hand, glass shrapnel is not a funny thing. (IE DON'T DO IT, trained professional or not! ).
If you do things right, it is not a problem. If you make NOOB mistakes they are a problem and dangerous, so don't mess up.

 

[jgln]

Running low on bottles (from giving away beer) I decided to save some bottles from beer I brought that had the tops you need an opener for. Last night I was bottleing and broke the tops off 3 bottles, all the same size and shape, and on the other 3 I heard a strange sound but the tops didn't break off (I think they will later). Anyway, it could be the type of bottle used the problem here. Checking the holder they came in they were Sierra Nevada bottles. I know now not to bother saving their bottles for reuse. Has there ever been a discussion here on what bottles can be reused and what should go in the recycling? I would love to see a list of beers the bottles are good to reuse. I know Heiniken are no good to reuse, break too often when I tried to bottle.

 

[Choguy03]

If you do things right, it is not a problem. If you make NOOB mistakes they are a problem and dangerous, so don't mess up.

You just scared about half the noobs away...haha.

As for bottles, Sam Adams seem to work well. They have the SA imprint, but are nice. Good beer too.

 

[Terry08]

Any Aussie Stubbie is excelent just drink the good stuff first before refilling. They also make for a smaller explosion if overprimed.

In all seriouseness leaving two weeks in a secondary after at least one in the primary will negate most dangers. I have thought about priming each bottle to using a bottleing bucket but will stick to priming each bottle a method that works for me.

Consider this. Yes using a sugar measure has inconsistances but how do you know just how much beer is in the brew.

I bet after evaporation as gas escapes and inacuracies in the original wort amount, the error could also be quite considerable. Added to that is the accuracy of the measured priming sugar. Just assuming that larger quantities are taken into account does not mean that the error is automatically small. Accuracy and consistancy is the best approach.

Actually I measured 10 measured amounts on a fairly accurate herb scale and the difference was within 2% so in my case a quoted 5% inacuracy is not proven. 2% I can live with.

 

[MattMann]

I use sierra nevada bottles all the time. No problem. What kind of capper are you using?

 

[Kevin Dean]

SNPA bottles break at the neck far too often for me to even bother with them anymore. I use Anchor Steam bottles. I like them a lot more.

 

[homebrewer_99]

BBs are NOT a legend.

I lost about a case of root beer way back in '95. They were Bud long neck bottles so no great loss except for the contents.