Random bottles over-fizzing

[wordswithtim]

Hello all,

Have recently taken up this noble past time and have a question, if you all might entertain a noob.To date I have three brews in bottle. All three are extract brews (I'm a novice after all), using carbonation drops (not priming sugar) and bottled in PET bottles. They're also stored in a cool, dark cupboard. From each batch I've had a situation where an individual bottles from each batch seem to have over-fizzed and leaked half their contents. The beer itself smells okay, and the first two have been in bottle long enough that I've been able to drink other bottles from each batch, and they're fine, which leads me to the think there's nothing wrong with the batches overall. And I'm using the recommended amount of drops per bottle. Any ideas why the odd individual bottle might do this? Is it that plastic lids are just not as robust as capped glass? Or is something else going on?

Many thanks.

 

[DocScott]

Only a few things can cause overly carbed bottles:

1. Bottling too early- all bottles would be over carbed.

2. Too much priming sugar - unlikely as you used carb drops and same amount in each.

3. Infection in bottle.

I think #3 is likely the culprit in your case. Make sure to clean and sanitize well.

 

[bobeer]

I agree it could be an issue with not cleaning the bottles well enough. Personally, I don't trust the drops. IDK why I just don't, heh. I always just use regular table sugar to prime my bottles and I've never had an issue. I also soak them in very hot water before using them to get out all the nasties that may have found their way in there.

 

[m00ps]

I had this exact problem with a number of my earlier batches. I realized it was most likely infections in the bottle since only some of the bottles would do that and it would only happen months down the line.

I solved the issue by getting a bottle tree and doing an extra rinse step while bottling.

 

[edroberts]

If you are adding your priming sugar to the full batch before bottling, it could also be the result of not fully mixing into your completed beer before bottling. Some bottles get more sugar, some get less. I've had this issue in the past. Unfortunately, it can be a bit of a catch-22. You want your priming sugar to integrate well, but you also don't want to splash and add more oxygen to the beer.