Bottles are exploding

[jimmywit]

So it is 430 am here and Iwas just woken up by exploding bottles, They have bottled for a month so I put them all in the frindge. Do I need to do anything else?

 

[Priemus]

Fridge or bathtub with a rug over them, eitherway not much else you can do, personally I'd go for the bathtub, makes for easy cleanup.

 

[throwbookatface]

Don't know how much space you have but you can try setting them up in garbage bags, maybe double- or triple- layer them just to be sure. I'd just stand them all up inside of some then tie the top loosely - should catch most, if not all, of the collateral damage. Good luck!

 

[lostmind]

Sorry to hear that! I would have thought after a month you would be safe...

I'm a newb at this too though. Out of curiousity, glass or plastic bottles?

 

[jimmywit]

Sorry to hear that! I would have thought after a month you would be safe...

I'm a newb at this too though. Out of curiousity, glass or plastic bottles?

GLASS! of course

 

[lostmind]

Would you be able to post pics of a destroyed glass bottle? I'm just dying to see what it looks like. I'd think the cap would just come off...

I want to get my next batch into some swing tops, wonder how they would blow...

 

[jimmywit]

Would you be able to post pics of a destroyed glass bottle? I'm just dying to see what it looks like. I'd think the cap would just come off...

I want to get my next batch into some swing tops, wonder how they would blow...

I already dumped them, But the whole neck of the bottle blew off, Shards of glass were stuck in the sheet rock, It was a total mess.

 

[Alehouserock]

Start drinking!

They'll be foamy.

 

[Olddog]

That happened with one of my batches once. I was new to brewing at the time and way over-primed. I ended up putting the bottles in the snow outside. Luckily nobody was hurt but man was it a mess!

 

[Alehouserock]

Would you be able to post pics of a destroyed glass bottle? I'm just dying to see what it looks like. I'd think the cap would just come off...

I want to get my next batch into some swing tops, wonder how they would blow...

When it happened to me there was nothing to photograph. It was just shards.

When it happened to me luckily it was in a box and there was another under it. Shards were everywhere in that box. They were slivers shapes like small snakes maybe 1.5 mm thick and 3-4 mm long.

 

[Yooper]

Do you know what caused the bomb? I've never had a bottle bomb and sometimes I wonder if I will at some point. I'm pretty careful to bottle only when the beer is done, to use the correct amount of priming sugar, and to watch my sanitation. I assume that an infection (especially aceterobacter) would be a possible cause, since it'll ferment even if the yeast is finished up.

 

[jimmywit]

This brew was a strawberry blonde, The last few bottles got some strawberry in them. I think that may of been what added the extra sugar to make them explode, So far since I put them in the fridge no more explosions, Keeping my fingers crossed on the rest.

 

[jimmywit]

Also they do taste fantastic, so I ruled out an infection

 

[lostmind]

I already dumped them, But the whole neck of the bottle blew off, Shards of glass were stuck in the sheet rock, It was a total mess.

Wow! Sounds like it would have cut right through a garbage bag!

 

[f1oored]

Wow! Sounds like it would have cut right through a garbage bag!

I had a few bottles in a 12 pack box blow after 5 months. I found glass up to 12 feet away that had shot through the cardboard box.

 

[eddie]

GLASS! of course

That wasn't such a far fetched question. Lots of people bottle in plastic bottles similar to soda bottles. Just because they taste okay doesn't necessarily rule out infection either. Chilling them down should slow fermentation way down but you're going to want to keep them in the crisper or put them in a plastic box just in case any of them burst in the fridge. That's unlikely but it happens. What most likely happened was there were unfermented sugars in the beer left over from the fruit and when you added the bottling sugar it the brew, it sort of put it over the top. Next time you open a bottle, take a look through the side of the bottle at the top of the beer. give the bottle a little tip and see if there is a line on the neck where the beer was. That line is often an indication of an infected bottle. It would also be a good idea to open them over the sink just in case there are gushers.

 

[jimmywit]

I didn't mean to be rude.I just ment "glass of course" Becuase it was the worst case.Plastic would have to hurt as much to clean....sorry if I was sounding rude

 

[eddie]

I didn't mean to be rude.I just ment "glass of course" Becuase it was the worst case.Plastic would have to hurt as much to clean....sorry if I was sounding rude

No big deal. The internet doesn't relay emphasis very well sometimes.:cross:

Anyway, how much fruit did you add to the beer, how long did the beer sit on it and how much bottling sugar did you use? Was the fruit fresh, frozen or canned? If fresh, did you wash it before putting it in the beer?

 

[jimmywit]

No big deal. The internet doesn't relay emphasis very well sometimes.:cross:

Anyway, how much fruit did you add to the beer, how long did the beer sit on it and how much bottling sugar did you use? Was the fruit fresh, frozen or canned? If fresh, did you wash it before putting it in the beer?

I used 5 lbs of frozen strawberries, I let it sit for 2 weeks on the fruit, I used 5oz of corn sugar

 

[brewmonk]

you need to put them in the freezer right away, that way they'll blow up.

(seriously, what about putting on goggles, and trying to recap them? - that's if they aren't gushers)

 

[eddie]

I know some people have had success doing that but there really isn't any way to know just how much unfermented sugars are left in the bottle. It would most likely result in uneven carbonation from bottle to bottle but it also could prevent bombs. I think it's worth a shot, anyway. Just make sure gloves are worn in case a bottle explodes while being held or opened.

 

[eddie]

I used 5 lbs of frozen strawberries, I let it sit for 2 weeks on the fruit, I used 5oz of corn sugar

I'm pretty sure the problem is from unfermented sugars from the fruit fermenting in the bottle, then. When I use fruit, I let it sit for a month just for this reason. The amount of berries and sugar sound right to me, though.

 

[Pommy]

Ive only had one explode myself but thats enough to know how much of a mess it would make. It sucks but be glad that it didnt go of in your face or whilst you were holding a bottle because that really would be a mess.

 

[Franzi]

5oz corn sugar + 5lb frozen strawberries = bombs.

That's a lot of sugar for 5gallons.

 

[Ouroboros]

I already dumped them, But the whole neck of the bottle blew off, Shards of glass were stuck in the sheet rock, It was a total mess.

Holy ****. I gotta wonder what is the kill radius on a 22 oz beer grenade.

 

[Justibone]

Holy ****. I gotta wonder what is the kill radius on a 22 oz beer grenade.

I believe the "kill" radius would be effectively zero. The shards are sharp, but very small, and thus they don't have the kind of kinetic energy necessary to mortally wound a human. The "blind" or "wound" radius would depend on several factors, but I'd say no one (human or pet) in the same room would necessarily be safe.

If you were holding it when it exploded -- in your hand -- it could theoretically damage your radial artery sufficiently for you to bleed out slowly, if the wound was not tended. It would not be pretty in any case.

 

[brewmonk]

enh, my ernest and jullio gallo instant beer growlers, just popped in half. the top half moved 1/4 inch sideways, and the beer dripped down every shelf till it hit the floor.

 

[Justibone]

enh, my ernest and jullio gallo instant beer growlers, just popped in half. the top half moved 1/4 inch sideways, and the beer dripped down every shelf till it hit the floor.

Wine bottles and growlers aren't rated for pressure.

That was probably good b/c there was a lot less pressure when the bottle burst than there would have been if it were, say, a champagne bottle.

 

[bovineblitz]

Wine bottles and growlers aren't rated for pressure.

That was probably good b/c there was a lot less pressure when the bottle burst than there would have been if it were, say, a champagne bottle.

Man, that'd be like a shrapnel grenade.

 

[iron_city_ap]

I used 5 lbs of frozen strawberries, I let it sit for 2 weeks on the fruit, I used 5oz of corn sugar

Was that 2 weeks from the day you brewed to the day you bottled, or did you primary for a week or two before putting it on the fruit, or what...? I would guess that is where the problem is/was.

What was your OG/FG and what type of yeast did you use?

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I've had one bottle explode, ever. It was my first batch...

I bottled, put them in 6 pack containers and then put them in cardboard beer cases, and then put them in my closet. What I didn't think about was that it was the middle of a Texas summer and without air circulation my closet would easily get into the mid to upper 80s during the day. I came home from work one evening and found the broken bottle. It blew up in the container; fortunately I didn't get glass anywhere. It looked like it blew and collapsed in on itself. When it blew, it definitely blew out the neck. The cap was still on. I was lucky I only lost one bottle. After that, I moved the cases into my living room under an AC vent.

 

[Sleeper]

I always wrap my cases in a garbage bag just in case this happens, but as it hasn't yet I'm not sure how effective that would actually be. I figured that the cardboard would absorb most of the shock and as long as that happens the beer shouldn't be able to leak out of the bag. Anyone used this method and seen it in action?

 

[jimmywit]

Was that 2 weeks from the day you brewed to the day you bottled, or did you primary for a week or two before putting it on the fruit, or what...? I would guess that is where the problem is/was.

What was your OG/FG and what type of yeast did you use?

primary for 1week then racked on top of the strawberries and let it sit for 2 weeks then racked of and bottled....i will have to get back to you on the rest it is written down at home

 

[jimmywit]

Sg 1.056 Fg 1.014 safale 05

 

[iron_city_ap]

Just looking at those numbers and doing a couple quick searches, I'd say you bottled a little early.

It looks like the safale tends to attenuate a little more than what you got out of it. The calculator I used said you got 74% out of it and from doing searches on the yeast it seems like people tend to get a little higher of a rate out of it. More in the mid to upper 70s% range. I've never used the stuff, so I can't say from experience. I definately learned a little looking at your issue though.