Hand Grenade Protection

[Izzoard]

Hi all,

My first batch of sparkling I put all the bottles in a plastic container with lids, each one wrapped in a loop of towel to prevent mass explosions and the subsequent mess.

I've now 30+ L coming though, all to be made sparkling. Is there a better way to do this? I can't afford a big glass/cider mess in my house!

Cheers

Iz

 

[vespa2t]

I have a couple igloo containers that I do all carbing in. A bomb will make a mess, but contained in the igloo. One of My igloos holds a 5 gal batch all at once in 12oz bottles.

 

[homebrewer_99]

The first question is: Did the cider ferment out all the way?

What was your OG and FG? Did it reach the projected FG before bottling? This is usually 75% of the OG. If it did then you have a 99% chance that you will not get grenades.

Grenades most often happen when people bottle too soon.

Second, how much priming sugar did you add before bottling? Normal beer uses about 4 oz and a Hefe Weizen about 5 oz.

If your FG was only 25% of your OG and you did not overprime then you have nothing to worry about...IMO.

 

[Izzoard]

The first question is: Did the cider ferment out all the way?

What was your OG and FG? Did it reach the projected FG before bottling? This is usually 75% of the OG. If it did then you have a 99% chance that you will not get grenades.

Grenades most often happen when people bottle too soon.

Second, how much priming sugar did you add before bottling? Normal beer uses about 4 oz and a Hefe Weizen about 5 oz.

If your FG was only 25% of your OG and you did not overprime then you have nothing to worry about...IMO.

I'm making different batches (so differing sg each time) but I always let it ferm out to 1000.

 

[smokinghole]

Another way that's cheap and easy is if you're reusing regular brown beer bottles and the boxes they came with just stick them in a nice heavy duty trash bag. The box should contain most of the explosion and the liquid can be caught by the trash bag. The cheapest way I know of doing it.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I use those plastic rubbermaid tubs with lids. I cut a piece of cardboard to fit on top of a layer of 12oz bottles so I can add another layer if I need to. I've never had a bottle bomb, but everything I carb gets stored in the tubs just in case. Any liquid is contained & so are any glass shards. Regards, GF.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I'm making different batches (so differing sg each time) but I always let it ferm out to 1000.

Since your FG is so low then you should not have any worries about grenades. Even slightly overpriming should not result in grenades.