Bottle bombs

[BrewinHooligan]

So I bottled up my fifth brew last Friday which was my first all grain and first 5 gallon batch. Everything seemed to be going well, but I come home to two bottles that exploded which trashed the bottle box. I moved them all to the fridge, tried one that was way overcarbed and the second was almost flat. Moved the rest of the bottles back to the closet in a rubbermaid tub in case anymore blow. I'm guessing either the priming sugar didn't get mixed well, or I picked up a bug in a few bottles despite a thorough Star San sanitization... Oh well, at least I got to drink 2 bottles of my best homebrew to date tonight!

 

[discooby]

I don’t bottle but think if the 2 you tasted were good then there’s no infection. My guess is your priming sugar didn’t mix well.

 

[BradleyBrew]

If you added the priming sugar to your botting bucket and then racked the beer it should be mixed throughout the beer. I give mine a few stirs during bottling but I doubt that is even necessary. How did you go about bottling? and how much sugar did you use? did you check the hydrometer?

 

[duboman]

In addition, how long did it ferment and did you check FG to be sure it was done?

 

[Supurb]

A flat beer and bottle gernades, that is unusual. Well if the flat one gains some carbonation over time you'll know it wasn't mixed well, if it doesn't maybe the cap didn't seal fully.

 

[Jayhem]

I always prime by boiling the sugar in 1.5 cups of water and then racking on top of it into my bottling bucket, being sure that the beer is swirling as I rack, seems to mix just fine this way.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

FG was stable for a week. I boiled 5oz of sugar in 2 cups water, cooled, then placed in the bottom of the bottling bucket and racked on top making sure it swirled and then gently stirred a little with the hose from the auto siphon. All the bottles are now in a "bomb shelter" and I hope I don't lose any more becuase it's really good!

 

[Jayhem]

FG was stable for a week. I boiled 5oz of sugar in 2 cups water, cooled, then placed in the bottom of the bottling bucket and racked on top making sure it swirled and then gently stirred a little with the hose from the auto siphon. All the bottles are now in a "bomb shelter" and I hope I don't lose any more becuase it's really good!

Wow, now you have me worried because your process is exactly how I prime and bottle, although if that is table sugar that is a LOT of priming sugar. I have found that 3.5-4 oz of table sugar more than adequately primes 5 gallons. I've never had a bomb yet (fingers-crossed)!

I have a huge marine cooler that my bottles go into for the first 2 weeks of carbonating, just in case.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I used the corn sugar from the LHBS, not table sugar. Next time I will do what Revvy does and add half of the sugar solution to the bottom and the 2nd half when the bottling bucket is half full. I can't wait to get a keg setup!!