Spilled beer: what happened?

[dougdecinces]

I will try to explain what happened to the best of my ability, and I want you guys to help determine what caused my little accident this week.

I visited California this week and my friend gave me some local craft beers to bring back with me on the plane. When I got home with my bags, I saw that a bottle of Stone RIS had leaked about 3/4 of its contents all throughout my luggage. But here is the peculiar thing: the bottle was not broken. The cap was not broken. The cap still seemed firmly attached to the bottle. I tasted it out of curiousity and the beer tasted very stale and possibly infected.

As of now there are two competing theories: 1) the cap slipped ever so slightly due to natural jostling/idiot porters on the plane. OR 2) the bottle could have been improperly capped all along and once it got tipped, it was game over.

Here is the evidence for both:

For theory #1:
*The nice men and women who move your luggage around usually don't give a **** about the contents of your package.
*I didn't notice a strong beer smell when giving my bags to the airline. Though to be fair, I wasn't really looking out for it either.

For theory #2:
*I trust my packing skills. I double wrapped each bottle in bubble wrap and packed amongst dirty clothes.
*I tried to pull off the cap with my hands and it wouldn't come off. To be fair, I only used moderate force.
*The aforementioned foul-tasting beer.

Verdict, anyone? Any opinions would be welcome.

Bonus question: if I emailed Stone about my problem, what do you think they would do?

 

[azscoob]

Pressurized cabin. I lost a bottle of rum I picked up while on a trip to the caribbean, when I looked into it, that was the cause, also happened to misc shampoo bottles etc over the years.

 

[huge1s]

Have you ever brought a water bottle on the plane? pressurization.

 

[dougdecinces]

I just want to clarify that this bag was checked and not carry-on. Would checked bags be pressurized, too?

 

[Jakemo]

I'm interested in this as well being that I'm going to Germany this winter and had planned on taking homebrew with me....

 

[cfonnes]

Not sure but I think that dogs that are shipped that way would die if the baggage area was not pressurized.

 

[robtotten]

I think so, I had an ink pen explode (well, it was more of a pop) in the cabin once.

 

[robtotten]

here's an interesting and relevant link:

Wikipedia article on cabin pressurization

 

[Maxkling]

Heres the thing, I am a technician on BHS's (Baggage Handling Systems). If you didn't have a fragile sticker on your bag, then your bag will go through a lot of impact. It doesn't matter if its the human handlers or if its the system, your luggage has a rough ride. (The Airline shouldn't be responsible for it, everyone has the option, and it should be common knowledge that your bag doesn't ride around on a fluffy pillow)

Also some compartments on the plane are pressurized and some aren't. Depends on the plane.

 

[cfonnes]

Heres the thing, I am a technician on BHS's (Baggage Handling Systems). If you didn't have a fragile sticker on your bag, then your bag will go through a lot of impact. It doesn't matter if its the human handlers or if its the system, your luggage has a rough ride. (The Airline shouldn't be responsible for it, everyone has the option, and it should be common knowledge that your bag doesn't ride around on a fluffy pillow)

I used to travel extensively for work, it always amazed me how a quick a new suitcase got beat up.

He is talking about the bottle not being broken and the lid intact, does not sound like the results of rough handling.

 

[dougdecinces]

Heres the thing, I am a technician on BHS's (Baggage Handling Systems). If you didn't have a fragile sticker on your bag, then your bag will go through a lot of impact. It doesn't matter if its the human handlers or if its the system, your luggage has a rough ride. (The Airline shouldn't be responsible for it, everyone has the option, and it should be common knowledge that your bag doesn't ride around on a fluffy pillow)

Also some compartments on the plane are pressurized and some aren't. Depends on the plane.

Just let it be known that I'm not upset at the baggage handlers. I accept that they are a little rough with the packages. They have a lot to do with a little time. It's just the nature of the beast.

But I know I packed my bag well (I have done this several times), so I believe that wouldn't be an issue.

I guess it is pressure. Oh well. I can get this beer here in Indy. It just costs twice as much .

 

[OCLemon]

The contents of the bottle are pressurized, if your bag was checked in a non-pressurized area of the plane, then the pressure differential between the beer and the atmosphere rose considerably. If beer is pressurized to about 15 PSI at normal elevation (i.e. as measured against 15 PSI atmospheric pressure), this means that the beer has an absolute pressure of 30 PSI (i.e. as measured against zero pressure). At 30,000 feet, the air pressure in an unpressurized cabin drops to about 4 PSI or so, meaning the relative pressure inside the beer bottle is now 26 PSI (30 - 4), instead of the original 15. That might be enough to unseat the cap just slightly and permit a lot of pressurized beer to leak out through the resultant gap.

 

[dnslater]

Just let it be known that I'm not upset at the baggage handlers. I accept that they are a little rough with the packages. They have a lot to do with a little time. It's just the nature of the beast.

But I know I packed my bag well (I have done this several times), so I believe that wouldn't be an issue.

I guess it is pressure. Oh well. I can get this beer here in Indy. It just costs twice as much .

I think they carry it at Kahn's. Your probably right about price though.

 

[Malintent]

The contents of the bottle are pressurized, if your bag was checked in a non-pressurized area of the plane, then the pressure differential between the beer and the atmosphere rose considerably. If beer is pressurized to about 15 PSI at normal elevation (i.e. as measured against 15 PSI atmospheric pressure), this means that the beer has an absolute pressure of 30 PSI (i.e. as measured against zero pressure). At 30,000 feet, the air pressure in an unpressurized cabin drops to about 4 PSI or so, meaning the relative pressure inside the beer bottle is now 26 PSI (30 - 4), instead of the original 15. That might be enough to unseat the cap just slightly and permit a lot of pressurized beer to leak out through the resultant gap.

FAA regulations require pressurization on any flight climbing above 10,000 feet (that would be just about any commercial flight you take). The cabins are generally pressurized at a relative atmosphere of 7,000 feet.

So, the pressure differential is not nearly that much (but certainly enough to allow beer to leak through an imperfectly sealed cap (without leaving the appearance of a flaw).

 

[dougdecinces]

I think they carry it at Kahn's. Your probably right about price though.

Silver lining: my Consecration, Pliny the Elder, and odd year Stone RIS survived the trip. Not all is lost.