Bottle Bombs
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petey_c
Senior Member
That amount of sugar is usually used for 5 gals of brew. You might have some issues. I'm sure more experienced brewers will chime in. Good luck. Pete
You used more than twice what was needed. I would put these in a closed tupperware storage box and hope for the best. After a while you might be able to pry up the tops and release some pressure then recap them.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Get plastic bins/totes to contain the bottles (with strong, well fitting lids). As mentioned, you double dosed the batch for carbonation. Depending on what you used for bottles, as well as the brew style, you could have seriously over-carbonated beer, and bombs to boot. At this point, you have as much chance of things going wrong if you pour it all into a fermenter than leaving them in the bottles.
Of course, it would help to know what you bottled, and what kind of bottles used. Belgian bottles (corked and caged) will handle much higher CO2 volumes than a standard long neck will.
Next time, use this site to figure out how much sugar to prime with. Blindly following instructions can often lead to either less than optimal results, or disaster. It also would have been better if you had searched the threads before you bottled the batch. Or even posted, although this has been gone over untold umpteen times already.
Cue Revvy...
Of course, it would help to know what you bottled, and what kind of bottles used. Belgian bottles (corked and caged) will handle much higher CO2 volumes than a standard long neck will.
Next time, use this site to figure out how much sugar to prime with. Blindly following instructions can often lead to either less than optimal results, or disaster. It also would have been better if you had searched the threads before you bottled the batch. Or even posted, although this has been gone over untold umpteen times already.
Cue Revvy...
beerman0001
Well-Known Member
All is not good. if the kit came with 5oz of sugar I am going to assume it was for 5gal where did the rest of your beer go??
madcow_number_6
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As I thought as well. But by using the linked calculator above I found that my English Amber Ale that I'm bottling tomorrow only needs 3.6oz of Dextrose and noth the 4.5oz that came in my kit. Glad I checked
madcow_number_6 said:
Well, yes...kits don't seem to recommend carbing to style. The just throw in a packet of corn sugar for bottling. It seems like 5oz in a 2.5 gallon kit is a little much though. I would be wary of those bottles.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I'd wear protection while moving them around once carbonation starts. Bomb disposal gear comes to mind.
I have to wonder if the OP reduced the volume of the batch to increase the strength of it, or if it really was a 2.5 gallon batch that they just tossed in the sugar for a 5 gallon batch. Of course, I never used the included sugar when I used kits (after the second kit, I had it pulled before I bought any more of them). Since going with my own recipes, I've used different sugars to carbonate, so an accurate calculation site is/was important. I've used honey and cane sugar with good results in bottles. Of course, since I'm now kegging my batches, I don't need to worry about such things. :rockin:
Thanks. I had only 4 gallons of wort becaue I wanted a higher SG 1.062 ...so I used less water and more sugar while brewing.. I had an ending SG of 1.02...after 10 days of fermenting. Then I only ended up with 26 bottles....I guess I will put them in an airtight Tupper ware container. Thanks Everyone.
OK...Have them all except one for a test bottle in a locked down plastic case... If I bottled yesterday , Sat, Feb 11th...how many days should I wait before I check them out ?
Can I open them all up then recap? Will that mess up the beer ?
Can I open them all up then recap? Will that mess up the beer ?
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Typically, we go 3 weeks at 70F to bottle carbonate batches. You could check the one after a week, or two, to see where it's at.
As for opening and recapping them, that's a tricky item. For one thing, you could end up with under-carbonated beer that way. For another, you could get something else to fall in while you're doing that, giving you infected/contaminated bottles (which then blow up)...
I would opt to simply test a bottle after a week, or two, (and then every day, or two after) and then decide if/when the carbonation is finished. IF it is finished, and not over-carbonated, get them into a fridge (all of them). That's probably their best chance for survival at this point.
Next time, use a calculation tool/site for how much sugar to add. I wouldn't even use all that's included in a kit since they simply toss in pre-measured sugar packs with the kits. Same amount for an IPA or stout/porter. Which means if the IPA is carbonated to style, the stout/porter will be over carbonated and not taste as great as it could.
BTW, next time you want to brew a batch stronger, instead of concentrating the sugars more via a longer boil, or using less water, use more sugars in the batch. Use more grain, or extract, to get your OG goal. It's a much smarter method, especially if you don't modify any of the other aspects of the brew. In either case, if you didn't alter your hop additions, you're not going to get the same contribution there (the IBU's will be lower due to the increased OG).
beergolf
Well-Known Member
If you added additional sugar which should ferment out fully you have double the problem.
Beer probably was not done fermenting if it was at 1.020 when you bottled, ( not sure without seeing the recipe but a good guess)plus you added twice the amount of sugar for bottling. Both can make bottle bombs.
petey_c
Senior Member
If you can fit it. This way if one does explode, it's already contained.
Just did another batch of Irish Red Ale. I had a OG of 1.50 and when I transfered from the brew pot to Car Boy I noticed a lot of sediment already settled in the bottom of the carboy. Although I used a filtered funnel is that normal ? Thanks
Probably just normal suspended sediment, proteins, yeast settling, small particles etc.
Many people never filter the wort when transferring to the carboy. I don't, but if there is a lot of junk in the bottom of the brew pot I will not dump all of it into the carboy. It will settle to the bottom, then when you transfer to your secondary or bottling bucket just be careful not to suck up much of it.
Many people never filter the wort when transferring to the carboy. I don't, but if there is a lot of junk in the bottom of the brew pot I will not dump all of it into the carboy. It will settle to the bottom, then when you transfer to your secondary or bottling bucket just be careful not to suck up much of it.
delaying the inevitable.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Fit it with a blow-off tube... Basically, get the tubing you also use for racking (or bottling, should be the same ID/OD), remove the airlock, sanitize the end of the tubing, and slide it in through the bung hole. Put the other end into a bottle/jar/bucket, half filled with StarSan solution (or sanitizer solution) and submerge the other end of the hose. Place that on the floor before you put the tube end into it (to make sure it's lower than the other end). Once it's done making bubbles in the bucket/jar/bottle, and has calmed down, you can remove the tube and reinstall the cleaned, sanitized airlock. Usually, that's in a week, or less.
I always have a 1/2 filled juice bottle (1/2 gallon size) of StarSan solution near the fermenters, along with tubing to use to connect the fermenter to it. Makes it much easier when it's all right there. That way, you don't need to scramble to get it all together. Once you've used that bottle for blow-off, you can either toss it or clean it and save it for next time.
Guys and Gals I am very happy to tell inofrm you that on this thread of expoloding bottle bombs, I stuck them all in the fridge in a tupperware container and put them in the fridge. Well, I tried one tonight, openned it and it was fine and very delicious. No over carbonation, no over pour, just a great tasting Full Bodied Red Ale.....So thank you all for the advice.
As for my third batch, I put a blow off tube and all is fine. Wow, cool stuff. Cheers and Thank you
As for my third batch, I put a blow off tube and all is fine. Wow, cool stuff. Cheers and Thank you
Nice,thanks for sharing your experience. Keep in mind although they are in the fridge they can very slowly still carbonate.They pretty much go dormant, but there is still a small chance that they very very slowly get those sugars but i doubt it.Let us know, but sounds like you will drink these up well. congrats on it turning out so good.
As a follow up to this thread, You are not going to believe this but this brew, that almost caused my house to explode, just won 1st place in a local home brew competition. It was my first one I ever entered. I might replicate this. Isn't that just funny how things happen. Cheers
