First bottle bomb

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jroot

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I got a Coopers beer kit and equipment from my brother who no longer wanted to brew. Their Real Ale kit had been sitting in his closet for over two years but I figured what the hey its free to me so I went ahead and brewed it anyway. Having never brewed with their procedure before I followed the instructions and fermented out at 68F then used the included priming tablets at bottling time using 12oz glass brown bottles paying particular attention to sanitation.
After two weeks I heard a terrific pop and discovered a bottle had blown its bottom out (the cap held). The yeast took 48 hrs to get going but took off after that and equal refractometer readings after ten days led me to believe its racking time. Luckily I store my bottles in a little used bathtub so there was no mess to speak of and easy cleanup.

Question: Do those priming tablets carbonate too much or more likely had the ferment not finished?

As an added note, the beer was undrinkable as the taste was like an unripe nectarine.
 
What was your original gravity and your finished gravity? Did you leave 1-2 inches of head space in the bottles during filling? Sure you only added 1 drop per bottle?

I would think the priming tabs would not be your issue. Probably a stuck ferment that got going again after bottling. Maybe warmer temps kick started it? If you took a FG reading you should know.

I wouldn't throw it out yet, give it some time. Maybe cellar age them for a couple of months and then put 6 in the fridge for a few weeks. Definitely keep them somewhere where safety and mess is not a concern.
 
Yeah, the most likely cause was incompleted fermentation. OG 1.054 FG 1.018 (adj. refractometer reading)....Opened some more bottles and they REALLY foamed up.....lots of pressure in those bottles.
 
I had the same thing happen recently. Tried one bottle after 8 days for the heck of it and no problem. After 16 days, a bottle blew. After 17 days I opened 2 or 3 and they all gushed. So I put 6 in the fridge for 3 or 4 days and that helped a lot. Still foamed up, but no gushers. Now after 21 days, they are very carbed, but they dont foam out of the bottle.
 

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