Did I add too much priming sugar?

[Tpost704]

I just bottled 5 gallons of hefeweizen yesterday. Fermented for 15 days at around 68 degrees. I used an online priming sugar calculator to calculate how much I needed. I ended up going with 6.3 oz of corn sugar to bring 5 gallons to a co2 volume of 3.3. Looking back, I'm thinking this may have been too much. The batch is currently bottle conditioning at 69 degrees. Should I be worried about over carbonation/bottle bombs? Any insight would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[myndflyte]

According the Brewer's Friend, 5 gallons at 68F would need 7.2 oz of corn sugar to get 3.3 volumes. Northern Brewer says 6.8 oz. Another site says 6.6 oz. I think you'll be good.

 

[Oldskewl]

Are the bottles you are using standard bottles? Standard bottles are said to be good to 3.0 volumes. Anything over that and you may have bottle bombs on your hands.

 

[The_Bishop]

3.3 vols of CO2 in a standard beer bottle is asking for trouble. Keep them stored inside something fragment-proof and get the whole batch cold sooner than later.

 

[kh54s10]

I've heard the cut off at 3.0 volumes for standard beer bottles. I would imagine that 3.3 (only an extra .3 volume) would not be a problem.

But, to be on the safe side I would condition in a plastic storage box. And shake after conditioning, rattling the bottles. I would expect that if they were going to explode, that would do it.

 

[parrothead64]

I think shaking the bottles is a bad idea. If they do explode your going to have a huge mess and maybe a trip to the hospital. My deductible is way to high for that. As others have said, get them cold. Next time use Belgian bottles. They shouldn’t explode while cold but I would put them inside something fragment proof in your fridge, just in case. The good part is,this one of the few times a problem actually can be solved by drinking.

 

[kh54s10]

I think shaking the bottles is a bad idea. If they do explode your going to have a huge mess and maybe a trip to the hospital.

I suggested the shaking (while still inside the storage box) as a way to make them explode if they are going to. The mess would be inside the box. I have never had a bottle bomb so I don't know how much force they explode with. My thinking is that it would not be enough to penetrate the walls of the box.

Maybe it would be a good idea to put a bomb net over the box first.

 

[MaxStout]

Once those bottles are conditioned, put them all in the fridge, if you have room. The cold will drive some of the CO2 into solution and reduce the pressure.

 

[Kee]

3.3 volumes is unlikely to explode the bottles, but that's assuming no miscalculations, equal distribution of priming sugar, no defects in bottles, etc.

 

[Tpost704]

Thanks for all the insight. I checked the bottles on day 7 of conditioning and two had burst. I have them in plastic containers on top of my refrigerator. It's now day 11 of conditioning and no more have burst. For some reason I think the priming solution settled to the bottom of my bottling bucket. I poured my solution in the bottom of the bucket and racked the beer on top in a gentle whirlpool motion. I'm not sure why it wouldn't mix properly. I tasted the very last few ounces left in the bucket after bottling was complete and it was incredibly sweet. The good news is that I popped a bottle in the fridge after a week of conditioning and it tasted very good. Decent carbonation and didn't taste crazy sweet like I thought it might. Looks like everything is going to work out fingers crossed.

 

[kh54s10]

Be careful with the rest of them. There may be more bottles on the brink of exploding.

 

[The_Bishop]

If you racked into the priming solution, then it did mix in. I'd guarantee that you have more bottles on the verge of exploding.

When you say 'on top of your refrigerator' do you mean outside the refrigerator, on top of it? That's going to be pretty damned warm and will contribute to bottle bombs.

 

[Tpost704]

If you racked into the priming solution, then it did mix in. I'd guarantee that you have more bottles on the verge of exploding.

When you say 'on top of your refrigerator' do you mean outside the refrigerator, on top of it? That's going to be pretty damned warm and will contribute to bottle bombs.

Yes, they are sitting on top of my refrigerator in plastic Rubbermaid containers. I have a digital thermometer sitting there and its reading 68-69 degrees consistently.

 

[Smellyglove]

I don't know of which quality the bottles the ones above here use, but I carb my hefes to 7g/l co2, and also done 7.5g/l, which is 3.57 vols and 3.75 vols and never been worried or had an issue. 0.5L bottles of the type which are pretty standard bottles in EU at least.