2 bottle bombs in 1/2 hour...no one hurt! What to do??

[megamanisrad]

Hello everyone! So this is my 5th batch ever...doing a Mexican Cerveza Brewhouse Kit. My last 4 batches went well, but this one...is scaring me like a little schoolboy!
I'll admit, I didn't take a gravity reading before I bottled. I cleaned and sanitized my bottles well and I am not too worried about infection. I think the problem lays in the fact that I tried to ferment in the fridge for 3 weeks. I left for a trip and came back and had to move it out of the fridge, so I just decided to bottle it. I have a little closet where I put all my bottled beer.
It's been about 10 days since I bottled. My wife and I woke up to a shattering noise at 6am this morning. She suggested I check my beer in the closet and sure enough, one had exploded. Another had popped the cap off and was fizzing uncontrollably. As I began cleaning up, BOOM another one went. 2 bottles beside each other were completely destroyed. I began to immediately move the bottles outside (it was about -4 degrees Celsius) and left them out there all day. My wife asked if I had safety glasses on while I moved them!
I now transported all the bottles into tupperware containers and have them inside. I opened one up and when it pours, it just turns into fizz. It's nuts. This sucks but is a good learning experience. Anyways any ideas as what I should do next? Are more going to explode? Should I give up on this batch?
Please take FG readings before you bottle!

 

[Suited_Up]

I'm pretty new at this, but I don't think you can really ferment in the fridge, so it seems like they weren't ready yet. Definitely use the hydrometer.

 

[Yooper]

Put them back somewhere cold to stop the yeast activity. Then you can carefully (use safety googles) pour them out.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Equip yourself with the best protection you can find and pour them out before one decides to blow up in your hand. You can't ferment beer at fridge temperatures. Overcarbonated batches are salvageable. Bottling unfermented wort with priming sugar is not.

Also, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a good homebrewing book like John Palmer's How to Brew that lays out the proper processes to get started with the hobby.

 

[donjr721]

can he pour back into a fermenter and let it finish, that's what i would try. get them cold first and hope for the best.

 

[megamanisrad]

Thanks guys. It's funny cause I have been reading Palmer's book quite regularly and I figured I was going to try to ferment in cool lager-type temperatures...it's pretty warm in my house and I don't have a cool cellar to put the brew in. So I tried...and failed!
We all learn differently I guess! I'm just glad no one got hurt. It's pretty lethal when those things blow!

 

[JonM]

Put them back somewhere cold to stop the yeast activity. Then you can carefully (use safety googles) pour them out.

A+ big 1 to the Safety goggles.
Gloves and maybe a leather jacket might be good too.

 

[JonM]

Put them back somewhere cold to stop the yeast activity. Then you can carefully (use safety googles) pour them out.

A big +1 to the safety goggles. Pressure and glass ... well, you know.
Gloves and a leather jacket would be good too.

 

[JonM]

Oops - double post.

 

[megamanisrad]

I've begun to dump them out...they are still pretty chilled from being outside all day, so opening them up hasn't been too bad. I am going to save a few bottles as an experiment and let them explode...I want to put some random items (i.e. ziplock bag full of water, plastic cup, styrofoam, etc) in the tupperware with the bottles and see how much force they pack! Might as well do something with this failed brew!! I'll take some photos of what happens.

 

[kanddr]

Haha, I like your curious side!

 

[northernlad]

I think the critical point here is that nowehere does it say to ferment at refrigeration temperatures. Ferment around 50 until it is almost to gravity, then warm up the fermentation until it reaches FG. Then LAGER at fridge temps.

 

[PhelanKA7]

Put them back somewhere cold to stop the yeast activity. Then you can carefully (use safety googles) pour them out.

Indeed. Safety "googles" are very important...

(sorry. i couldn't resist.)

 

[koerd85]

Hello everyone! So this is my 5th batch ever...doing a Mexican Cerveza Brewhouse Kit. My last 4 batches went well, but this one...is scaring me like a little schoolboy!
I'll admit, I didn't take a gravity reading before I bottled. I cleaned and sanitized my bottles well and I am not too worried about infection. I think the problem lays in the fact that I tried to ferment in the fridge for 3 weeks. I left for a trip and came back and had to move it out of the fridge, so I just decided to bottle it. I have a little closet where I put all my bottled beer.
It's been about 10 days since I bottled. My wife and I woke up to a shattering noise at 6am this morning. She suggested I check my beer in the closet and sure enough, one had exploded. Another had popped the cap off and was fizzing uncontrollably. As I began cleaning up, BOOM another one went. 2 bottles beside each other were completely destroyed. I began to immediately move the bottles outside (it was about -4 degrees Celsius) and left them out there all day. My wife asked if I had safety glasses on while I moved them!
I now transported all the bottles into tupperware containers and have them inside. I opened one up and when it pours, it just turns into fizz. It's nuts. This sucks but is a good learning experience. Anyways any ideas as what I should do next? Are more going to explode? Should I give up on this batch?
Please take FG readings before you bottle!

Lol that's a funny story thanks for that!!

 

[koerd85]

Taste the foam, if it taste like alcohol it's yeast fermentation, if it taste like sour it could be bacteria!