Potential bombs? Hope not!

[Superhappyfuntime]

Hey everyone,

This is my 3rd batch and this one came out a little different. I was making a brew house Honey Blonde ale. Due to computer failure, I lost my log for this batch mid way through, but I'm pretty sure my og was 1.045. When took a reading before bottling, it gave me a reading of 1.004-1.005.

I never saw any bubbles on the top of the secondary carboy even after racking. When I racked it off into the bottling primary, I noticed carbonation right away. After bottling and not securing the caps down, the bottles were 'bubbling' once and a while. I carbonated it using 121g of Dextrose for 22.5L (approx 2.3-2.4 carbonation level). I samples the beer before bottling and it was a little bit 'fizzy' on my tounge, just the 'entry level' of carbonation but almost not too noticable.

My worry is, are these potential bottle bombs? My other 2 batches (oatmeal stout and red ale) never had this 'pre-carbonation' before!

Help!

 

[C-Rider]

Hey everyone,

This is my 3rd batch and this one came out a little different. I was making a brew house Honey Blonde ale. Due to computer failure, I lost my log for this batch mid way through, but I'm pretty sure my og was 1.045. When took a reading before bottling, it gave me a reading of 1.004-1.005.

I never saw any bubbles on the top of the secondary carboy even after racking. When I racked it off into the bottling primary, I noticed carbonation right away. After bottling and not securing the caps down, the bottles were 'bubbling' once and a while. I carbonated it using 121g of Dextrose for 22.5L (approx 2.3-2.4 carbonation level). I samples the beer before bottling and it was a little bit 'fizzy' on my tounge, just the 'entry level' of carbonation but almost not too noticable.

My worry is, are these potential bottle bombs? My other 2 batches (oatmeal stout and red ale) never had this 'pre-carbonation' before!

Help!

How long in the primary? Were your FG readings consistent over a few days?

 

[Superhappyfuntime]

The primary was about 2.5 weeks, and the secondary was about the same. And umm... yeah.. I definitely uber busy with work and did not take FG readings on a timeline like I should have, and then bottled today. I went on the ol' "look at the bubbler" and didn't see it move for like a day. I never saw almost any bubbler action on it ever, TBH :\

 

[C-Rider]

The primary was about 2.5 weeks, and the secondary was about the same. And umm... yeah.. I definitely uber busy with work and did not take FG readings on a timeline like I should have, and then bottled today. I went on the ol' "look at the bubbler" and didn't see it move for like a day. I never saw almost any bubbler action on it ever, TBH :\

That's probably the problem. Bubbles in the air lock mean little.

YOu have to go by FG readings that are steady for a few days so you know fermentation is done, but 2.5 weeks sounds like it should have been finished, but you know what they say: "the numbers never lie". Well almost never.

 

[cervezarara]

Depending on the fermentation temperature, there may still be some CO2 dissolved in your beer from the fermentation process. At lower temps, more CO2 will dissolve into liquids, so this may account for the fizzy sensation. Racking and bottling will release some of this dissolved CO2, hence the bubbles.

!.004/1.005 is pretty low for most beers, so your beer was probably done fermenting. That being said, about .025 points in gravity is all it takes to carbonate beer to about 2.5 volumes. What I mean is that if your beer still had a point or two to drop, that will increase CO2 level.

To be safe, you might wish to condition your bottles in a lidded plastic container or some other enclosed box, in case of bombs. I have bottled to 3.25 volumes in plain amber bottles with no bombers, but your results may vary, depending on bottle age and overall integrity. After a few weeks of conditioning, wear a glove and protective eyewear when you carefuly open one to see how overall carbonation has progressed. These may be perfectly okay, but caution never hurts.