Do I have bottle bombs waiting for me?

[merlin306]

Made the Austin Homebrew Supply IPA Anniversary kit.

I added 8 extra ounces during the dry hop phase (2 additions of 2 oz in primary, 2 additions of 2 oz in secondary) just because I had a couple lbs of hops in the freezer. All additions were dumped right into the carboy - no bag.

Racked into bottling bucket, bottled, and waited impatiently for 3 days - I cracked one open just because I like to see how things progress in the bottle. I was surprised to hear some gas escaping from the bottle - carbed in three days??

Well, I don't think that's the case. A couple seconds after opening, it started to foam out the top - it ended up foaming out about 2 oz of liquid. I tried another bottle the next night and the same thing.

So, it seems like I've accumulated a decent amount of hop material in the bottles. I used my grain bag around my racking cane when transferring to the bottling bucket - should I have used my dry-hopping bag instead? I recall hearing or reading about someone putting a hop pellet into each of his bottles, and it caused a ton of fizzing upon opening.

All right - to the point now - I'm afraid of these things exploding. Should I be? I can deal with drinking fizzed out beer, but I can't stand to have them explode in my basement. If they're bottle bombs, is there a cure? Should I drink them all tonight?

 

[TyTanium]

8oz extra hops won't cause bottle bombs. Hop material in the bottles provides extra nucleation points (= fizz), but won't cause bombs.

Bombs are caused by too much sugar and/or infection. What's your beer volume and priming sugar weight/volume?

EDIT: And positive pressure / fizz after 3 days is normal, but still not properly conditioned...probably fizzy & harsh. Give it more time and the conditioning will be better.

 

[merlin306]

Bombs are caused by too much sugar and/or infection. What's your beer volume and priming sugar weight/volume?

QUOTE]

Priming sugar was normal amount for 5 gallons, but ended up with only about 4 gallons in the bucket due to hops-soaked beer clogging my siphon. So, it's a bit on the high end, but I hope not high enough to be a big problem.

While it certainly doesn't taste great yet, I don't think I've got an infection.

THANKS!

 

[bchurch]

I would use a priming calculator next time to figure out the right amount for 4 gallons. Just sayin'

 

[TyTanium]

You should be fine.

20% less volume than expected = 25% more priming sugar than planned. Assuming that translates linearly to vols CO2, and you targeted 2.5 vols, 25% more = 3.125 vols. High, but not dangerously so. At least for "healthy" bottles. I've done 3+ vols before without issue. Still, I always cover mine with a towel just in case.

 

[HawksBrewer]

This happened to me earlier this year. Whole hops took more of beer than expected. Already had the priming sugar in the bottling bucket and the beer racked on top before I was aware that I was only going to get 4 gallons of beer. NONE OF THESE BOTTLES EXPLODED. This was a few months ago and they were all stored at 70*F so, as stated by TyTanium, you should be fine if the bottles were OK. I did degas some of the beers after a week by popping the cap and recapping. Amazingly, I still had good beer to drink!

 

[merlin306]

I would use a priming calculator next time to figure out the right amount for 4 gallons. Just sayin'

In my defense, I was expecting to be bottling 5 gallons, but those hops liked the beer too much!


It sounds like the fizzing due to hops material does not build pressure in the bottle. Is it something that would go away in time - meaning, will they still fizz out a couple/few ounces of beer every time I pop one open? Will opening and recapping release the nasties, or would they still fizz over the second time?

THANKS

 

[TyTanium]

It should...the hop particles should settle first, then the yeast, so you should have all the junk packed tightly at the bottom of the bottles. Pour gently (as you do with any homebrew) and it'll be fine. Oh, and keep it cold, colder = less fizz. Don't open & recap unless it's grossly overcarbed, IMO.