Bottle Bombs

[wingnutbrew]

Less than 30 days brewing experience here.

I am not overly paranoid but at the same time, because of some stories I have heard, I feel the need to be cautious in the bottle conditioning phase. The first batch that I brewed was bottled 4 days ago and I am curious if there would be any carbonation at this point. I used 4 tbsp (2oz) of corn sugar for a little less than 2 gal of beer. It was a high OG 1.095 by mistake and ended at 1.018. I am not overly worried about wasting a few bottles during the conditioning process but the last thing I want is a bottle blowing up in my house!

Primary:Oatmeal Stout
Secondary: IPA
Bottle Con: A Simple Stout

 

[aiptasia]

That's a little on the high side. My priming calculator has it worked out to about 1.5 ounces for 2.4 volumes of CO2 at 70 degrees for a two gallon batch. I'm not definitely saying you'll have bottle bombs but you're likely to have gushers. Gushers are merely overcarbonated beers that gush out like a fountain of foam when opened.

At this stage in the game at four days, you are likely to have some CO2 production from the yeast but none of it will be absorbed into the beer. If you do crack one open right now, it's likely to hiss and spit out foam and the rest of the beer will be flat. You'll need to wait the full three weeks to see what sort of an issue you have. When you do finally crack one open, cool it down very cold in the fridge overnight and then open it over your kitchen sink. If it gushes, at least you'll keep it contained.

There's not much you can do for overcarbonated beers, except maybe let them gush into a pitcher and attempt to drink them once the foam dies down.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I'm gonna take the other angle on this one. After another 2 days put one in the fridge for a day and pop it open to see where your carb level is at. If its already carbed as much as you'd like then pasteurize the rest of the batch following the directions in the stove top pasteurization thread in the bottling section. No sense waiting 3 weeks to discover your beer is over carbed when you can pasteurize the beer some point in between at a good carb level.
I do this all the time when I make cider and the carb level is always perfect.

 

[wingnutbrew]

I was contemplating putting them all in the fridge when the carb level seemed right to make the yeast go dormant. I will be doing the pasteurization when it's time.

I wonder would the beer still mellow out over time even if the little yeasties were all laid to rest?

 

[masskrug]

My guideline is 1 oz of sugar per one gallon of beer, more or less.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I was contemplating putting them all in the fridge when the carb level seemed right to make the yeast go dormant. I will be doing the pasteurization when it's time.

I wonder would the beer still mellow out over time even if the little yeasties were all laid to rest?

Not sure what you mean by mellow.

 

[C-Rider]

My batches at bottling time are about 1.75 gallons and at that size i use about 1.35 oz of table sugar at the most. I have an over carbed batch that I open over the sink and pour into a 4 cup measuring cup till the "head" settles into drinkable beer then move to a glass.

 

[wingnutbrew]

Not sure what you mean by mellow.

Sorry still extremely green here and maybe not using the correct terminology. From what I understand the beer goes through a conditioning process during the bottling phase, my program says this batch 30 days, which helps improve the overall quality of the beer. I was curious if the pasteurization technique would interrupt this process.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Sorry still extremely green here and maybe not using the correct terminology. From what I understand the beer goes through a conditioning process during the bottling phase, my program says this batch 30 days, which helps improve the overall quality of the beer. I was curious if the pasteurization technique would interrupt this process.

It shouldn't and honestly some beers need a little time in the bottle but many are fine as soon as carbed. Darker maltier beers usually do better from some conditioning in my experience. Aging seems to help smooth and round out the flavor profile from the strong flavors of the darker malts.

 

[CoTron]

If your gravity numbers are correct, then your beer is over 10% abv. A beer that strong usually needs quite a long time to sit before its ready to drink. Most people making beer that strong age it for months, not weeks. But pasteurizing the yeast shouldn't inhibit that process.