Bottle bombs

[Byrdbrewer]

In regards to bottle bombs,

Can anyone tell me if there is typical time in which you can be certain your bottles are no longer at risk of exploding? If they are going to explode, is there typically a time frame in which you can expect it to happen. I just bottled a big ben pale ale, and while the fg reading was between 1.014 and 1.012 , thinking back , it tasted a bit sweet and I’m a little concerned. I bottle primed 22 oz bottles half with muntons carb tabs (10) and half with corn sugar. They are in cardboard boxes in my living room, and I’m considering moving them some where a little more safe, or transferring to plastic bins. Am I just being paranoid or do you think I have a legitimate concern – my hydro testing was consistent for 2 days - between 1.014 and 1.012

 

[TipsyDragon]

what was the OG? what yeast did you use? how much corn sugar did you use? did you taste before or after you added the corn sugar?

if your bottles are going to explode it can happen at any time really. all that needs to happen is for your beer to become unstuck (if fermentation was stuck to begin with) and the pressure to exceed the bottle's tolerance. some bottles can deal with more pressure than others. fermentation can become stuck and unstuck for any number of reasons at any time.

there are some warning signs to look out for. normally the bottle caps are flat on top. as pressure builds that will no longer be the case. the caps will start to bulge. if this happens stick the bottles in the fridge to stop fermentation. also they will not all got at once. if you do have one explode on you stick the rest in the fridge.

 

[Byrdbrewer]

I'm at work right now, but I think the OG was around 1.056, I remember the potential abv being abou 7.7% - I tasted it before the corn sugar was added - I added 1.5 tsp corn sugar to the 22 oz bottles, pretty standard to my knowledge. I dont think the fermentation was stuck, it did drop quite a bit, but I'm not too sure how low teh gravity can drop too, I'm fairly new to brewing - I used the dry yeast that came in the kit, I dont have the info on hand.

 

[TipsyDragon]

we need to know what kind of yeast you used. when you get home look and let us know.

well for next time. when you think your at your FG wait 3-4 days and take a second reading. if its exactly the same then your fermentation is over. if not wait another 3-4 days and check again. when the SG stops falling your fermentation is over and it is safe to bottle.

as for the corn sugar your approach is not standard. most people add 3/4 of a cup of corn sugar to about 2 cups water and boil for 10ish minutes. then cool and pour into a bottling bucket. then rack the beer onto the sugar water. try to keep the siphon hose on the bottom of the bucket and kind of wrapped around the edge. this will mix the sugar evenly. you will get much more consistent results this way.

 

[Byrdbrewer]

one thing I forgot to add is that the beer was considerably foamy during the bottleing process, I actually had to let the bottles sit for a second and finish filling them - also after 14 days fementing, and about 10 of those days with no airlock activity (I know thats not an indicator, but just saying) when I transfered teh bucket to my bottling table, I was getting airlock activity at about 1 buble per 12-13 seconds, but I just attributed that to moving the bucket and stirring up co2 that had beed trapped in the trub.

 

[Byrdbrewer]

we need to know what kind of yeast you used. when you get home look and let us know.

well for next time. when you think your at your FG wait 3-4 days and take a second reading. if its exactly the same then your fermentation is over. if not wait another 3-4 days and check again. when the SG stops falling your fermentation is over and it is safe to bottle.

as for the corn sugar your approach is not standard. most people add 3/4 of a cup of corn sugar to about 2 cups water and boil for 10ish minutes. then cool and pour into a bottling bucket. then rack the beer onto the sugar water. try to keep the siphon hose on the bottom of the bucket and kind of wrapped around the edge. this will mix the sugar evenly. you will get much more consistent results this way.

interesting, I would think you have much more controle over consistancy priming individual bottles. With out actually stirring the beer wouldnt you get pockets of more concentrated sugar in the bucket - I do know that batch priming is much more standard than bottle priming, but I thought it was just because it was easier and quicker.

 

[TipsyDragon]

it is easier and quicker. but really the liquid will diffuse and mix with the beer especially if you allow it to swirl like i suggest. if your worried about pockets just wait 20 minutes or so and give it a gentle stir trying not to aerate. by that point the sugar will be totally mixed and each bottle will get the exact same amount of sugar.

your way you cant really be 100% sure each bottle got the same amount of sugar. each tablet isn't going to be 100% the same size and each spoon full isn't going to be filled exactly the same amount. also there is the matter of spillage of the table sugar. i assume you used some sort of funnel to get the sugar into the bottles.

to be honest i think your bottles are safe and are not going to explode. but like i said next time make sure your FG is your actual FG and your bottles will not explode.

 

[Byrdbrewer]

it is easier and quicker. but really the liquid will diffuse and mix with the beer especially if you allow it to swirl like i suggest. if your worried about pockets just wait 20 minutes or so and give it a gentle stir trying not to aerate. by that point the sugar will be totally mixed and each bottle will get the exact same amount of sugar.

your way you cant really be 100% sure each bottle got the same amount of sugar. each tablet isn't going to be 100% the same size and each spoon full isn't going to be filled exactly the same amount. also there is the matter of spillage of the table sugar. i assume you used some sort of funnel to get the sugar into the bottles.

to be honest i think your bottles are safe and are not going to explode. but like i said next time make sure your FG is your actual FG and your bottles will not explode.

well that settles it - this next bucket will be batch primed - thanks for the advice, I think with the fg where its at the bottles are pretty safe as well, but there was just a lingering what if in my head - I think the foam when bottling was what peaked my concern, I have never seen that before.

 

[TipsyDragon]

believe me i know those what ifs well. all the foaming probably means is that there is some awesome head retention proteins in your brew. i had a similar thing with a stout i bottled. trying to take a hydrometer reading and the foam was blocking my view of the numbers. i had to try to read from under the water line. so far its been a month at 70+F and no signs of potential bottle bombs.