It's raining glass in my kichen! What to do about exploding bottles?

[Pop goes the bottle]

It's raining glass in my kitchen! What to do about exploding bottles?

So it was our first time with homebrew... and now glass bottles are exploding willy-nilly in our kitchen cupboard! Later I'll ask what we did wrong, but for now, all I would like to know is WHAT we are supposed to do now?

On the 12th and 13th days after bottling, 4 of our bottles exploded. It's now the 15th day and nothing else has happened. We'd like to try the beer, but we're too scared to open the cupboard and put it in the fridge! We're considering getting geared up in gloves and sunnies and other protective stuff and opening them all, but is opening them really necessary? We put in so much effort to just waste it.

I think the reason for the explosions was overfilling some of the bottles. I know it could also have been incomplete primary fermentation -we didn't have a hydrometer - but we did leave it for 2-3 days after the airlock stopped bubbling, 7 days in total from when fermentation started. (I don't know about other possible causes? Probably many!)

So, what to do? Open them all? Just wait to see if more explode? Pick a not-so full bottle and put it in the fridge?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

 

[bradsul]

Crash cooling them (fridge is best) will stop the yeast activity so hopefully you won't get any more bombs going off. You can also carefully crack the caps on the bottles just enough to release some pressure and then let them close again.

Sounds like your primary fermentation was either not done or you primed with way too much priming sugar. I would definitely recommend a hydrometer for your next batch.

 

[the_bird]

Put them all in the fridge - all that you can. That'll slow down the yeast. Any that won't fit, put them in a Rubbermaid container with a lid. I'm going to channel my inner Norm Abrahm and suggest strongly that you wear gloves and safety goggles. You might consider opening them up (CAREFULLY) to relieve the pressure and re-capping them, although then you risk ending up with flat beer.

 

[c.n.budz]

you can open them all, let them sit for a few minutes and then recap them. You can also put them in a plastic bag inside a box and move them to the fridge, cooling them down will keep more of the co2 in suspension. Either way be very careful and definitely where gloves...

EDIT: man you guys type fast...

 

[gman]

errr.

Ok. If nothing else has exploded...very very carefully take the bottles out and refridgerate them. Cold liquid solubilizes CO2 better than warm, and, assuming your yeast may still be active, the low temperature will cause them to become dormant.

Once the beer is cold (like overnight cold) drink it.
However, when doing the initial move to the fridge, be careful not to agitate the bottles too much.

As for what you did wrong, it could be one or two things (that I know of).
#1) Fermentation was not complete when you bottled the beer.
#2) You added too much sugar for priming the carbonation.
#3) The temp at which you had the bottles could have gone up drastically on the days they exploded.

 

[Barley-Davidson]

Overfilling isn't the problem.
You either bottled too soon or used too much priming sugar (how much did you use?).

If you can get them to the fridge it should slow any fermentation activity to they don't burst, although they may still gush when opened.

Transfer them to the fridge at your own risk!!! Glass shrapnel is no joke. Definately go with some sort of armour if you try it.

 

[gman]

And dang, you guys are fast on the posts!

 

[DeathBrewer]

srsly...i thought i just read the same post like 4 times

 

[Bobby_M]

Bottling on the 7th day huh. Dang, someone is in a bit of a hurry.

The priming sugar may not have been well disolved and distributed which put a ton of extra sugar in those four or so bottles and less in the others. Hard to say as the OP hasn't posted the answers to the questions previously asked.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Sounds more like the fermentation wasn't done and someone wasn't patient....lesson learned.

I always push patience.

 

[Pop goes the bottle]

Oh... I thought we had been patient. Ooops! It was a Coopers mix, which said primary fermentation would be complete in 4-7 days. So after it stopped bubbling on day 4 we waited 3 more days, so we thought we were absolutely sure. Yes, I do solemnly swear to invest in a hydrometer.

And if our primary fermentation didn't do it, the priming sugar most certainly did. We added granulated white cane sugar directly to the bottles, then inverted them until the sugar looked like it was dissolved. The amount was a guess, because our kitchen scales only go in 5 gram increments. We measured 5g, then took away one third. So we thought we were putting about 3g of sugar in each 330mL bottle. We've got better scales now, really accurate ones for measuring 7g of coffee, so this won't happen again.

As for the temperature of the bottles on the days they exploded, I don't think so. Our kitchen is a pretty stable 21 degrees C, and if anything, the weather outside was colder on those days.

Thank you all for the advice. I'm going to get all dressed up in protective stuff, crack the caps a bit as Brad suggested, then put them in the fridge with as little agitation as possible.

 

[SeaMonster]

Don't forget the goggles...or glasses! Be safe.

 

[BobbieDigital]

With the hydrometer reading, what specific gravity readings would you read and how often would you read it to confirm that fermentation is complete?

say if after 7 days, you read 1.008, then on the night of the 8th day you read 1.011

would that be considered complete? or would that be considered not static a reading enough??

Cheers

Bobbie

 

[Yooper]

With the hydrometer reading, what specific gravity readings would you read and how often would you read it to confirm that fermentation is complete?

say if after 7 days, you read 1.008, then on the night of the 8th day you read 1.011

would that be considered complete? or would that be considered not static a reading enough??

Cheers

Bobbie

Well, that can't happen. Beer can't UNferment. Unless you've added more sugars, it will either stay the same or go DOWN. When it stays the same, (at the expected fg range), it's done.

 

[BobbieDigital]

Excellent!

im learning more and more everyday

thanks for the help

 

[the_bird]

Remember, you need to adjust the gravity reading for temperature.

 

[Orpheus]

And if our primary fermentation didn't do it, the priming sugar most certainly did. We added granulated white cane sugar directly to the bottles, then inverted them until the sugar looked like it was dissolved. The amount was a guess, because our kitchen scales only go in 5 gram increments. We measured 5g, then took away one third. So we thought we were putting about 3g of sugar in each 330mL bottle. We've got better scales now, really accurate ones for measuring 7g of coffee, so this won't happen again.

Also for next time, you might want to consider: using corn sugar (dextrose) instead of white cane sugar, and boil the sugar for 15 minutes before using. Sugar can contain nasty bugs that could infect your beer and cause bottle bombs.

Also invest in a bottling bucket. That way you can just siphon your beer into the sterilized bucket, add your boiled sugar solution, stir gently to dissolve the sugar water, and then fill the bottles from there. No worrying about how much sugar goes into each bottle!

 

[malkore]

I've never been real impressed with Cooper kits...particularly their instructions.
It might seem attractive "hey this kit is only $14, while that Brewer's Best kit is $30"...unfortunately going with Cooper's and the sugar they have you add gives you a fairly weak bodied beer (at least in my opinion).

Plus the instructions leave a LOT to be desired in terms of good brewing practices.

Chalk this up to learning. Many of us (myself included) have followed instructions on 'cheap' kits, and had exploding bottles.

and definitely get the hydrometer..its the only real way to know if your beer's done fermenting or not. the only reason gravity goes back up is because your last measurement was incorrect, or the current one is.
CO2 bubbles will stick to the hydrometer and lift it to a higher gravity...not to mention that hydrometers are calibrated at 60F, so you have to adjust for that (usually only .001~.004 difference, but that still matters).