Picture of my stupidity

[Trokair]

I had my first infected batch. Didn't find out until after they were bottled and I started to see the bulged caps. 3 cases of bottles sat in my basement for about 6 months. One by one I brought them upstairs to get rid of them. The last one I brought up on Thursday but got distracted several times. Given the age of the beer and the central air in my house I figured I would be fine. Woke up this morning (Monday) to the attached picture. 23 out of 24 and 2 of 6 all went off at the same time spraying my entire ground floor with shards of glass ranging from giant chunks that flew 30 feet to a shower of the smallest slivers of glass. The couch is ruined. The TV has several spots that now show through white because the damage from the glass hitting it.

This was a really terrible way to learn a very basic lesson. If you suspect it is infected, get rid of it quickly. And don't store beer on your couch. Now I get to go continue to clean this up. Had to take the day from work as well to handle this god awful mess.

 

[Homercidal]

The first one went off and started a chain reaction.

I gotta say. This ranks right up there as one of the stupidest things I've seen on here.

No offense...

 

[BrewerinBR]

No one got injured? Right?
Just a mess to clean up?
things to replace?
all is good!

Replacing a person can't be done, and you cannot un-injure a SWMBO or a child or a friend.

 

[Komocabo]

Just be glad no one got hurt. I had a few bombs a year or so ago and it drenched my fermentation closet. Scary situation.

I used this safety concern to convince my wife, and myself to move to kegging. So, it kinda worked out for me.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

 

[Sheldon]

sorry to hear about your adventure. Lesson learned. I have had a couple pop on me, but they were in a box so no spraying of stuff. OTOH, check out our local home brewer's group:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/nova-homebrewers-gather-421897/

Love to have you at the next meeting.


Sheldon

 

[Darth_Trader]

sorry bud be careful cleaning it all up

 

[passedpawn]

Wow, crazy. Thanks for posting, especially the picture. Takes cahones to do that and know you're gonna take some flak.

 

[TNGabe]

Wow. As someone who has come to terms with my own idiocy, I can certainly relate. Still, pretty epic.

 

[Ridire]

Were you married prior to this incident?

 

[Xpertskir]

"picture of my stupidity" as a thread title built a lot of expectations to live up to....and I can definitely say that pic delivered.

 

[The10mmKid]

Thank You for sharing Trokair!

You may have just saved a newbie like me from making the same grave mistake.

Kudos to you,
;da Kid

 

[Trokair]

Luckily there are no children or pets to be harmed. Really lucky that I wasn't sitting on the other end of the couch as there was obviously a lot of force behind the glass flying through the air. I'm going to see if I can get my insurance involved. Been at it all day and glass is still coming up from the carpet so that may need to go with the couch and tv.

 

[GotPushrods]

It's always nice to see when someone has the sense to take a picture! Cleanup can wait 5 more seconds!

 

[Homercidal]

"picture of my stupidity" as a thread title built a lot of expectations to live up to....and I can definitely say that pic delivered.

This. You don't know how many times I've clicked on a thread with a similar title, only to be disappointed.

Not so this time! This beats krausen-covered closet carpet Hands Down!

I bottled some root beer once and kept wondering how the yeast are going to know when to stop making CO2! I should have been smart enough to realize that they AREN'T!

Nope. Had to throw a blanket over top of the tote of soda bottles in the middle of the night (thankfully I kept the batch in a plastic tote!) and carry to the bathtub to start easing the caps off!

Sorry about your couch and tv. If you get the couch soaking in some cleaning solution right away, and dry it quickly, you might be able to salvage it.

 

[Trokair]

The sheer volume of beer in the couch makes it pretty unsalvageable. There is also a large amount of powdered glass in the microfiber as well. And lucky me my insurance will only cover the carpet which will probably be less than my deductible. Still, I didn't get hurt so that is a huge win because that could have been really really bad had I been close to it during detonation.

 

[unionrdr]

Your situation is about right up there with the time I was charging ladles of molten iron in the Ford foundry when a cublo (furnace) down from me exploded like Vesuvious. Molten iron exploding everywhere @ some 2800F,nothing but A-holes & elbows! I felt sorry for the guys with the overhead ladel trucks on that big rail. They were lined up for refills,& that molten iron was splashing on them big time. Good thing they were enclosed.
And it's a good thing you & your family weren't in the room for virtually the same reasons.

 

[Trokair]

Well here is an update from the disaster area. #1- Microfiber cleans really easily. I'm shocked how quick I was able to get everything out of the couch so it might not be toast after all. All I really need to do is figure some way to get the beer out of the one really soaked cushion. I'll be taking to the hose later. #2 - In some strange twist nearly all of the glass somehow shattered in a way that it is mostly blunt. There haven't really been any sharp edges to deal with which is a blessing I suppose. #3 - Still missing some bottle caps, I'm sure I'll find them in the next 5 or so years. #4 - I wonder how many gallons of Febreze it will take to get the beer smell out of my house. Not that I mind it so much but it does smell like the day after a massive party in here and when the pizza guy came to the door he gave me a very odd look. He had to have been able to smell it.

 

[unionrdr]

You'll def need to replace the carpet padding as well. & clean the floor underneith before laying the new stuff down. That'll help quite a bit. The sofa will be a problem though. Any beer that got down into the padding will be tough to get out from more than an inch or so deep. Not sure what to tell you on that one. You might be able to use that to get the insurance to pay for hidden dammages.

 

[Teacher]

Wow! What a mess. Sorry to hear about all this.

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

If this is the worse thing you do, you are doing pretty well

 

[Mozart]

For the soaked cushion, perhaps a carpet cleaner with an upholstery attachment?

If it were me, and that didn't work, I might read the label, see what materials it's made of, and perhaps even give it a go in a large washing machine.

If it's ruined if it doesn't work, there isn't much to lose at that point.

Like everyone else, I am especially glad nobody was hurt!

 

[LAHammer]

Takes a real man to record an epic fail for others to enjoy/learn by.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[Spicemon1972]

Brother, that is an epic mess! Thank goodness no one was hurt. Thank you for being a big enough person to put it out there for all of us to see and hopefully learn from. It takes big brass cohones to take credit for your errors - hats off to you. This minor disaster may just save someone else on here from a major disaster. I would be happy to pay it forward and donate a couple of bucks to your cleanup cause.

 

[shawnstr71]

Dude... as soon as I get home my cases are going in a plastic tote with a tarp over them! That's way crazy! What a headache. My wife would NOT be happy! Cheers for a better tomorrow

 

[TBaGZ]

Ho lee ****! My wife would kill me! And if she didn't she sure wouldn't have me brewing anymore! Glad nobody got hurt!

 

[Trokair]

As long as somebody (besides me) learns from this I'm fine with people pointing and laughing. I shouldn't have put it off or at least put them outside on my deck or something, not in the living room. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement as well. Cleanup is still ongoing and I'm sure I'll be finding little bits of glass forever.

As for totes shawnstr71, I had thought that the heavy cardboard box would have contained any bombs but obviously not. I'd go for a locking top if you are that concerned, not sure a tarp would even survive that.

 

[unionrdr]

Indeed. That tarp would be like a plane getting hit by a flak explosive. The beerwars version...

 

[shawnstr71]

Lololol dr. ! This would be true...however I figure I could atleast slow it down and contain the glass shards. I'm just 1 man! Lol. I have to work with what I have.

 

[shawnstr71]

Lolololol union! This could be true. But I figure between the cardboard and tarp I couls slow down the shards! I'm just 1 man! Lol and I have to work with what I have. Trokair...ty for sharing ur pain so we can all learn somin and like I said cheers for a better tomorrow

 

[unionrdr]

I was just picturing the moment when it happened. reminded me of flak shot out of large cannons on ther ground when bombers come in in those old WWII films. Combat! the beer version...