Bottles Breaking

[DCP]

I am a relatively new home brewer, and am currently enjoying my fourth batch. It is a wheat beer and it is by far my best so far.

Unfortunately, while opening two bottles, the tops have broken. My fiance won't even let me drink them because she is afraid that shards of glass might have fell into the bottle. Is this normal (the bottles breaking that is, not my fiance keeping me from drinking beer)?

The first time I sanitized them, I did it in the dishwasher with a heat cycle, but since then I have done it manually with a no-rinse sanitizer.

What is the "normal" lifetime of bottles? Am I capping them too hard or something?

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Arneba28]

its your capping...the bottles are fine with dishwasher heat. I had this problem when I let my friend cap them. depcapitated 3 and straight shattered a few more

 

[Yooper]

What kind of bottles are you using? Twist-off bottles tend to have thinner glass in the necks. I've brewed at least 100 batches of beer and have never had a broken bottle. I use many Sam Adams bottles and some Grolsch (with the swing cap) bottles. Are your beers overcarbonated, or are they ok?

 

[Liquidicem]

I was thinking the same thing. Are these twist offs? I've seen a few of these break after being reused.

 

[Beerthoven]

I've only had one bottle break on me after 17 batches. I was opening it and neck cracked. I'm not sure why. I've also read posts by brewers who break bottles when capping, which has never happened to me.

Maybe be more gentle when capping. The capper will only go so far, and it doesn't take a lot of effort to get a cap on with no fear of it coming loose. There is no need to be like Hercules when capping bottles.

 

[DCP]

The bottles are not-twist offs, and I bought them from a brewery shop. They do have slightly thinner top then Sam Adams bottles, if I had to guess. One of batches had a little too much carbonation but nothing too bad, just produced a little too much head.

I will try to cap a little more gently next time around.

 

[RICLARK]

The bottles are not-twist offs, and I bought them from a brewery shop. They do have slightly thinner top then Sam Adams bottles, if I had to guess. One of batches had a little too much carbonation but nothing too bad, just produced a little too much head.

I will try to cap a little more gently next time around.

Are you holding the bottles with your hand up around the neck close to the cap?I have seen a couple of my friends break the necks off of my bottles and we came to the conclusion that they were holding the bottles down around the bottom and snapping the necks off.

 

[DCP]

Are you holding the bottles with your hand up around the neck close to the cap?I have seen a couple of my friends break the necks off of my bottles and we came to the conclusion that they were holding the bottles down around the bottom and snapping the necks off.

I would have to say that yes I hold the bottle fairly low when opening. I will try to remember to hold it higher in the future.

Thanks to all who've given advice.

 

[stever]

I had a few bottles from a local brewery chip right where the cap grabs on. I ended up figuring out it was from the opener grabbing on to the glass lip instead of the cap. That combined with too much force and it they broke. I still drank the beer though.

 

[EddieWess]

... I still drank the beer though.

I want to but the wife keeps making me toss it.

 

[MajorTom]

I had a few bottles break just around the crown and figured out that I was capping them too hard. I had a couple break when I was opening them, didn't think anything about it. Then one day when capping, I noticed one had a crack around the top of the neck as I was putting it in the box. I let up some of the pressure on the bottle caper and I think that solved the problem. Also, I started using the oxygen barrier caps(the silver colored ones). They are made out of something much softer than the gold colored caps and they go onto the bottle with a lot less pressure. Much easier to use!

 

[PhlyanPan]

I want to but the wife keeps making me toss it.

Glass is heavier than beer isn't it? Just don't drink the last 1/4'' or so. :fro:

 

[broadbill]

Glass is heavier than beer isn't it? Just don't drink the last 1/4'' or so. :fro:

When I've broken bottles when capping/opening there tends to be glass flakes that I could imagine being just light enough to float on the beer head/foam.

I throw the beer away, cheaper than an emergency room visit for a shard of glass slicing the sh*t out of my digestive tract...just sayin'

 

[iamjonsharp]

Using a wing capper, I would break a bottle or a bottle would break when uncapping every now and again, maybe every one in a hundred bottles? When I switched to a bench capper, I haven't had a single bottle break since, so no brokens in about 1500 bottles.

So if your bottles are breakin, I recommend a bench capper.

 

[PhlyanPan]

When I've broken bottles when capping/opening there tends to be glass flakes that I could imagine being just light enough to float on the beer head/foam.

I throw the beer away, cheaper than an emergency room visit for a shard of glass slicing the sh*t out of my digestive tract...just sayin'

A very valid point.