Heading for bottle bombs?

[imp81318]

2 weekends ago I bottled a small batch of pumpkin ale. I targeted around 2.6 volts of carbonation expecting to get close to 2 gallons yield. Based on the number of bottles I filled, I actually only had around 1.7 gallons. When I was figuring my bottling sugar, I had tried a range of yields for the amount of sugar I used to make sure I avoided over carbing the bottles. I ended up with a 1/2 full bottle at the end, so I capped it and used it as my tester today. When I opened it, it hissed quite a bit and foamed out the top of the bottle. This is after 2 weeks of bottle conditioning and about 24 hours in the fridge.

I moved the rest of the bottles into a cooler with a weight holding the lid to contain a potential mess if they turn into bottle bombs.

At this point, what should I expect from the rest of the bottles? Could having only half full cause it to foam up like that? Is there anything I can do to save the rest of the bottles?

 

[ncbrewer]

I checked the Northern Brewer calculator and assumed 70F. It showed 2.92 volumes after correcting for 1.7 gallons. That's higher than I would want, but not outrageous. You'll have to make the call. I'd say be careful with them at least - wear protective equipment, etc. And keep them cold. Others would probably say I'm being overly cautious.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

I've never tried half filling a bottle because I've read that the large volume of air tends to make it foam up and let out a blast of gas when opened.

 

[55x11]

2 weekends ago I bottled a small batch of pumpkin ale. I targeted around 2.6 volts of carbonation expecting to get close to 2 gallons yield. Based on the number of bottles I filled, I actually only had around 1.7 gallons. When I was figuring my bottling sugar, I had tried a range of yields for the amount of sugar I used to make sure I avoided over carbing the bottles. I ended up with a 1/2 full bottle at the end, so I capped it and used it as my tester today. When I opened it, it hissed quite a bit and foamed out the top of the bottle. This is after 2 weeks of bottle conditioning and about 24 hours in the fridge.

I moved the rest of the bottles into a cooler with a weight holding the lid to contain a potential mess if they turn into bottle bombs.

At this point, what should I expect from the rest of the bottles? Could having only half full cause it to foam up like that? Is there anything I can do to save the rest of the bottles?

2.6-2.9 volumes should be ok for most bottles, as that's typical for many styles.

Most belgian styles go up to 3.5 volumes and german wheat beers, like Hefeweizen, Dunkles Weisse and Berlinner Weisse go over 4 volumes. They may often use different bottles/corking systems but sometimes they (or home brewers) use regular ones and it works out just fine.

I am hoping your last bottle was overcarbed because of extra residual sugar left at the bottom of bottling bucket. Open another one and see what happens.

 

[imp81318]

I checked the Northern Brewer calculator and assumed 70F. It showed 2.92 volumes after correcting for 1.7 gallons. That's higher than I would want, but not outrageous. You'll have to make the call. I'd say be careful with them at least - wear protective equipment, etc. And keep them cold. Others would probably say I'm being overly cautious.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

I've never tried half filling a bottle because I've read that the large volume of air tends to make it foam up and let out a blast of gas when opened.

Thanks. Like I said, I played around with my expected volume to avoid over carbing the bottles in case my yield was lower than expected, which is exactly what happened.

The behavior you describe - big burst of air and foaming up badly - is exactly what happened. The beer wasn't really over-carbed in the glass once the foam settled down.

2.6-2.9 volumes should be ok for most bottles, as that's typical for many styles.

Most belgian styles go up to 3.5 volumes and german wheat beers, like Hefeweizen, Dunkles Weisse and Berlinner Weisse go over 4 volumes. They may often use different bottles/corking systems but sometimes they (or home brewers) use regular ones and it works out just fine.

I am hoping your last bottle was overcarbed because of extra residual sugar left at the bottom of bottling bucket. Open another one and see what happens.

As I said above, the beer didn't really seem over carbed, it just foamed up a lot when I opened it. I was more so concerned about over-carbing because it had only been 2 weeks since I bottled and it usually takes 3 weeks to fully carb.

 

[porterpounder]

Half-full bottles tend to gush much more readily than full ones. Try a full bottle and see what happens.

 

[55x11]

Thanks. Like I said, I played around with my expected volume to avoid over carbing the bottles in case my yield was lower than expected, which is exactly what happened.

The behavior you describe - big burst of air and foaming up badly - is exactly what happened. The beer wasn't really over-carbed in the glass once the foam settled down.


As I said above, the beer didn't really seem over carbed, it just foamed up a lot when I opened it. I was more so concerned about over-carbing because it had only been 2 weeks since I bottled and it usually takes 3 weeks to fully carb.

The foaming / gushing you observe is exactly the symptom of beer being "overcarbed". Everything will go "flat" eventually, given enough time.

 

[imp81318]

The foaming / gushing you observe is exactly the symptom of beer being "overcarbed". Everything will go "flat" eventually, given enough time.

I get what you're saying, but after a few minutes when the foam had settled down, the beer did not seem overcarbed based on mouth feel. I have since opened several more bottles and they've all been fine. I suspect the foaming was due to the extra head space on the first bottle and not a sign of the beer being over carbed.

Thanks for the feedback all.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

i get what you're saying, but after a few minutes when the foam had settled down, the beer did not seem overcarbed based on mouth feel. I have since opened several more bottles and they've all been fine. I suspect the foaming was due to the extra head space on the first bottle and not a sign of the beer being over carbed.

Thanks for the feedback all.

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