Oh Crap...bottle bombs! HELP!

[MFWINZLOW]

Just had the first one ever...only one so far. Scared the crap out of me!
It was very explosive - glass and beer all over garage.
I placed a set of folding doors in front of the shelf they are on.

It is only 70f in here....I cranked AC on to 60f...
There are 40 more of them there...what the hell do I do now?

 

[Jmarsh544]

I would wrap them in towels and transfer them to a fridge ASAP. Wear safety glasses, I've had one explode in my face and it's not fun. Be careful.

 

[JLeuck64]

You can carefully de-gas each bottle. It's simple really, but in my experience it didn't work well. Maybe you will have better luck. Anyway, just grab an opener and also grab your capper. Gently lift up on the bottle cap until you start to hear a little hiss, don't take the cap all the way off though. You will most likely notice some foam developing in the bottle too. Grab the capper and re-crimp the the bottle cap again.

I did this as an experiment with a batch that had some bombs in it. I would de-gas a bottle every day or two, and I did this for a long time! It took forever and eventually I got tired of messing with it and just drank the over carbonated batch...

Best of luck to you ( ;

 

[MFWINZLOW]

The one that went off is a small 8oz swing-top bottle I bought off of Amazon.
I do the small ones for sample purposes. I opened and tasted one about 4 hours ago. It did not gush - and was only mildly carbed (week in the bottle). 4.75 gal with 4.5 oz corn suger (weighed)

Also - none of the adjacent bottles were taken out by this one.

Would you suspect a weak bottle?

 

[RichBrewer]

At this point, safety is the main concern. I would try donning leather gloves, heavy clothing, and a face shield and very gently try to open an additional bottle slowly to see how it reacts. I'm thinking if they are all over carbonated, you could release the excess pressure and then recap.
It is also possible that the corn sugar wasn't evenly distributed in the beer causing some bottles to be over carbonated and other bottles to be flat.

The main thing is to figure out what caused the problem and eliminate it in future brews.

 

[RichBrewer]

The one that went off is a small 8oz swing-top bottle I bought off of Amazon.
I do the small ones for sample purposes. I opened and tasted one about 4 hours ago. It did not gush - and was only mildly carbed (week in the bottle). 4.75 gal with 4.5 oz corn suger (weighed)

Would you suspect a weak bottle?

Are the swing-top bottles rated for the pressure of carbonation?

 

[J-Drew]

At this point, safety is the main concern.

+1 to RichBrewer's advice, especially the emphasis on safety. Consider the risk versus the reward before doing anything you might seriously regret.

 

[MFWINZLOW]

Are the swing-top bottles rated for the pressure of carbonation?

This I do not know - but have been using them over last 6 months...probably 15 batches.

Not being defensive - but in 30 years of brewing - I have my prime process down....still scared shirtless!

 

[RichBrewer]

This I do not know - but have been using them over last 6 months...probably 15 batches.

Not being defensive - but in 30 years of brewing - I have my priime process down....still scared shirtless!

I don't blame you! Maybe that one bottle was flawed?

 

[MFWINZLOW]

Thanks to all of you. I have decided to leave them where they are - covered with the folding door and if they go off - I only have a mess and lost beer (my poor poor beer).
Still going to leave AC cranked down...not sure if it will help - but will not hurt.

If I come home tomorrow and all is ok...I will approach the evil beer - grab one - and flee. Then check the carb level....maybe I can just wish this all away...

 

[BigPerm]

What was your final gravity? Are you sure it was stable?

I would honestly just stick them all in the fridge (be careful as hell when you move them) and get them as cold as you can. They won't continue to produce carbonation when its cold, so you'll minimize the risk. Do be careful when you open them still.

Hope it works out. I had an entire case blow once bc I was dumb and bottled a batch way too early. Not a fun experience.

 

[MFWINZLOW]

FG = 1.012 - which is in the normal range for this IPA for me. This was at day 12 and day 14 then bottled on day 14...at least it smells nice in here (wife does not agree)...

 

[MFWINZLOW]

Here is the last update on this - and thanks again to all who helped me through my freak out over this incident last night.

There were zero additional bottle-bomb detonations last night - and none today (regular crown cap bottles - and a different 16oz variety of swing-tops). After work I opened several bottles (buuuurp) and there was no sign of overcarb and there were zero gushers. After a week after priming, the beer is lightly carbed. I did open and drink the remaining 8oz swing-tops and will not use these again for beer - lesson learned. After so many years and thousands of bottles - I did take it for granted..thinking that a bottle is a bottle and that all are OK for beer as long as they seal. WRONG! They are not. OK for a mead or similar - not beer though.

Some of the pieces of the offending bottle looked thin in places. Addtional examination of the remaining 8oz swing-tops revealed massive variations in the thickness of the glass. I have left feedback on the Amazon purchase to warn others.

Look ma...no more bottle-bombs!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I've got some small swingtops for Amazon too, I may not use them after reading this. I also bought an expensive 6 of corona ponies that I use for test samples. Just need a bench capper for them.
Glad all is good!

 

[MFWINZLOW]

I've got some small swingtops for Amazon too, I may not use them after reading this. I also bought an expensive 6 of corona ponies that I use for test samples. Just need a bench capper for them.
Glad all is good!

Square-ish in shape. Bottom marked ITALY 1b (or maybe 16).

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Yup those are the ones!

 

[MFWINZLOW]

Epilouge:

All went well after the apparently defective bottle (I am still finding pieces of glass behind the mower, behind the bikes, in the sea, on the land and in the air - we shall never be defeated). The IPA is tasty and all is good...well, not ALL...but the beer is good. I do have a minor gripe as this was my first use of Apollo for bittering - a full oz at 60 is a bit too bitter for me.
I will move to .5oz when using Apollo in this recipie (until it is used up) and then go back to 1oz Magnum bittering charges - which are perfect for my taste.

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks for closing the loop.

 

[Yesfan]

When I was bottling, I put all my bottles in a Rubbermaid or Sterilite container. I bought a big enough container to hold a case of brew (so two of them). I never had any bottle bombs, but if I did, I knew it would all be contained within. Now I use them for my grain storage.

 

[arnobg]

When I was bottling, I put all my bottles in a Rubbermaid or Sterilite container. I bought a big enough container to hold a case of brew (so two of them). I never had any bottle bombs, but if I did, I knew it would all be contained within. Now I use them for my grain storage.

I do something similar. I get empty cases from my local beer/liquor store and fill them with my bottled beer and place them in the spare bathroom shower so they can sit at room temperature...The closed boxes then get covered with a couple towels in the tub for 2 weeks in case they do go off.

 

[agrazela]

Is it possible that just the one bottle was infected?