# Homebrew Tragedy! [with Pics]



## Acasta (10/7/10)

Looks bad right?

Well The other night me and some buddies were at a Party with some good ol' Home Brew in the Esky. One of the worst batches we'd ever made, it was an English Bitter that may have been sligtly infected, anyway.
We were sitting down and talking doing normal things, all of a sudden! BOOM! Massive explosion, glass shards everywhere! The largest and sharpest piece flew up and accross the room, over 3 people on the couch, once we all came to out sences my Friend (and fellow brewer) had been near fataly wounded in the explosion! [This is the image your seeing above] Anyway, he went to the hospital and waited around for 3 hours and ended up with 2 stiches.

All in all, it could have been way worse, he and everyone around are lucky that it was just a flesh wound to the hand.

Anyway, more pics;










Yes i understand why the bottles exploded and noone at fault but myself and fellow brewer included.


----------



## 501 (10/7/10)

fark!

how over carbed was the batch on average. 

Lucky no one lost an eye etc.


----------



## Dazza88 (10/7/10)

That is crazy.


----------



## Acasta (10/7/10)

Im not too sure to be honest, i would say bottled a day too early? And only 8g/L of table sugar.
Its becase in the esky of ice, the bottle srinks and the gas expands. Leading to bang.


----------



## Pennywise (10/7/10)

A big lesson learned I would assume? Glad no one was seriously hurt.


----------



## manticle (10/7/10)

Someone should sticky this thread so the next person who asks "brew at 1020 for 3 days - should I bottle anyway?" can be directed to it.


----------



## brando (10/7/10)

I'd say it was either bottled several days too early, or was more than slightly infected.


----------



## Acasta (10/7/10)

Acasta said:


> Yes i understand why the bottles exploded and noone at fault but myself and fellow brewer included.



Yeah definetly a bad combination. just wanted to get the story out there.


----------



## mxd (10/7/10)

now this is the reason you need kegs and party kegs


----------



## manticle (10/7/10)

Acasta said:


> Yeah definetly a bad combination. just wanted to get the story out there.



Good on you for posting it. It's a good lesson for many brewers and takes a bit of guts to post something that potentially makes you look or feel stupid.


----------



## 501 (10/7/10)

love the kegs, 

bottled for years though with only 2 dangerously over carbed batches...
they were both dry enzyme noob kit experiments. 

wouldn't mind some more details on the brew - processes etc, 
just out of interest.


----------



## Acasta (10/7/10)

Yeah, moving away from Kits and such now. Not kegging just yet. Only been doing this 4-5 Months.


----------



## Greg Lawrence (10/7/10)

What type of bottles were they?


----------



## Acasta (10/7/10)

I usually use alot of different ones, but the one in question came from a White Rabbit. Im pretty sure those bottles are thin, but i doubt the main cause of the explosion.


----------



## _HOME_BREW_WALLACE_ (10/7/10)

Very unlucky! i have a similair story. a few months back i had come home from work and put a few tallies of HB in the freezer, long story short - dropped one of the tallies and a shard of glass shot up and hit me about 1/2 an inch from right eye! have a corker of a scar, people dont believe me when i tell the story.


----------



## Acasta (10/7/10)

Jeeze! its amazing how if things were just a little different, our stories could have turned out way worse!


----------



## jyo (10/7/10)

Mate, that is very lucky!


----------



## Noxious (10/7/10)

Acasta said:


> Im not too sure to be honest, i would say bottled a day too early? And only 8g/L of table sugar.
> Its becase in the esky of ice, the bottle srinks and the gas expands. Leading to bang.



Don't mean to add insult to injury but please explain how the carbon dioxide (gas) expands under cooler conditions?
In almost all cases, gases increase their density at lower temperatures, (excepting supercritical fluids - as I doubt the bottle would reach the temperature & pressure needed to reach the critical point of CO2), and as the volume occupied is constant, the gas would usually expand if the temperature is *increased*.
I would be more inclined to believe your first two possibilities - un-finished fermentation and/or too much priming sugar in a thin bottle.


----------



## Nick JD (10/7/10)

PET bottles FTW.


----------



## Acasta (10/7/10)

Noxious said:


> Don't mean to add insult to injury but please explain how the carbon dioxide (gas) expands under cooler conditions?
> In almost all cases, gases increase their density at lower temperatures, (excepting supercritical fluids - as I doubt the bottle would reach the temperature & pressure needed to reach the critical point of CO2), and as the volume occupied is constant, the gas would usually expand if the temperature is *increased*.
> I would be more inclined to believe your first two possibilities - un-finished fermentation and/or too much priming sugar in a thin bottle.


Well look at you, arn't you the big boy! haha, My mistake.


----------



## seravitae (10/7/10)

...and this is why bottling in glass with natural carbing is baaaaaad. Not worth the risk. Glad everyone survived.


----------



## manticle (10/7/10)

sera said:


> ...and this is why bottling in glass with natural carbing is baaaaaad. Not worth the risk. Glad everyone survived.



No it's why bottling in glass with natural carbing improperly is bad.

I haven't had an exploding bottle for at least 2 years (coincides with me learning to finish my brews properly and bulk prime). Only ever had a couple then and it was due to hot weather + me not knowing what I was doing.

Let beer finish, stay patient and glass conditioning is fine


----------



## warra48 (10/7/10)

manticle said:


> No it's why bottling in glass with natural carbing improperly is bad.
> 
> I haven't had an exploding bottle for at least 2 years (coincides with me learning to finish my brews properly and bulk prime). Only ever had a couple then and it was due to hot weather + me not knowing what I was doing.
> 
> Let beer finish, stay patient and glass conditioning is fine



I agree with Manticle.

I bottle all my brews in glass, haven't had a bottle blow on me since 1973 (yes, 1973).

Probably helps that my ales are all in the fermenter for at least 2 weeks, and up to 4 weeks, before bottling.
Plus, I tend to carbonate at the low end of the range, or even a little lower. I don't like high carbonation. Hefeweizens are the exception, and I reserve my stock of Coopers tallies for those exclusively.


----------



## Acasta (10/7/10)

Yeah after this, i learned to leave fermentation longer, and it has improved on clarity of the brew, and death rate has decreased significantly.

Didn't realise about the image being too big, here it is again resized;


----------



## rendo (10/7/10)

top post Acasta,

Thanks for sharing, its a good reminder how dangerous brewing can be (if you arent doing quite right, infections, bottled early, overcarbed, etc etc,dropping bottles...now thats an easy-ish mistake to make. Gotta keep the bottles outta reach from the kiddies)

glad to hear everyone is ok, sorta.




Acasta said:


> Yeah after this, i learned to leave fermentation longer, and it has improved on clarity of the brew, and death rate has decreased significantly.
> 
> Didn't realise about the image being too big, here it is again resized;


----------



## Muggus (10/7/10)

Scary stuff. Glad to hear no one was seriously hurt.

From past experience of bottle bombs I know how destructive they can be, which is why I keep them to condition in a seperate dark room, in boxes, away from the rest of the house. 
I'm still finding shards of glass in the boxes, ceiling and walls in there; good thing the explosion(s) were contained.


----------



## Shed101 (10/7/10)

Acasta said:


> Yeah definetly a bad combination. just wanted to get the story out there.



I'm afraid you need to edit the story and bump up the stitch conut a bit. 

Two stitches? I get more than that cutting the grass (i'm not telling you how I cut the grass). 

To really teach people a lesson stitches need to be double-figures - try 12?


----------



## mje1980 (10/7/10)

When i first start using liquid yeast, i used to bottle the first starter at peak activity, in glass. One night, after i'd bottled about 10 stubbies of fresh Irish ale yeast, i heard a serious bang. I went outside, and found the fridge blown open. i figured out what had happened, and put the rest in the bin. over the next 12 hours or so, they went off in the bin like grenades. The door of the fridge had glass shards embedded in the plastic. Scary. I now happily use PET, and when it comes to bottling, i always undercarb, regardless of glass or plastic, as i find even undercarbing by 1/3, the beer always carbs up anyway. 


Lucky mate!


----------



## ekul (10/7/10)

Hmmm, i'm moving the 12 stubbies that i didn't have enough room for in the shed outside right now. That looks nasty! Hope your mate is alright


----------



## rendo (10/7/10)

Dead set, about 10mins after writing the below about dropping bottles, I went under the house to get some more brew to stock the fridge. I have NEVER dropped a bottle, but I did.....BANG...right on the top of the bottle...it didnt break...shat my pants, kept thinking shes about to blow. Got my beer and bolted...  I'll check it out tmw. Think I might pop the top on that one and drop it in the bin. (will drink the beer if thirsty....for sure)

SHIT.....



rendo said:


> top post Acasta,
> 
> Thanks for sharing, its a good reminder how dangerous brewing can be (if you arent doing quite right, infections, bottled early, overcarbed, etc etc,*dropping bottles...now thats an easy-ish mistake to make*. Gotta keep the bottles outta reach from the kiddies)
> 
> glad to hear everyone is ok, sorta.


----------



## chappo1970 (11/7/10)

Glad everyone is ok... and great post to demonstrate how dangerous bottle bombs really are to the experienced and noob brewers.

Imagine if this happened around your kids or someone else's kids for that matter? Just for a second? I would struggle to forgive myself I know that much.

This is exactly why glass has been banned from QLD case swaps. In the past year I have had two bottles go off (given to me by other brewers, truely  ) and it wasn't pretty. Thankfully one exploded away from me while opening it and the other just exploded in the fridge and dinted a keg. There was a great photo here once where a bottle had exploded in BeerBelly's shop, a shard of glass was completely inbedded in the plasterboard. Be careful brewers.

+1 for making this a sticky Mods! This should serve as a vivid reminder to the danger of bottle bombs to the forum community, no?


----------



## Acasta (11/7/10)

Muggus said:


> I'm still finding shards of glass in the boxes, ceiling and walls in there


Wow, it actually embedded into the walls and roof? Jeeze!


----------



## Screwtop (11/7/10)

My last explosion was about 2006 while I was in the shed, glass and beer everywhere, took a lot of cleaning up small glass chards and washing everything that had been bathed in beer, PITA. Had used an old milk crate for bottle storage. Few weeks later again in the shed I heard a loud hiss and the unmistakable sound of beer pissing out under pressure. A PET bottle had cracked at the base (same batch of beer) and let go. However this bottle was stored in a plastic crate with a solid bottom and sides, you know, the stackable cubes. It contained the spilt beer in the bottom (easier cleanup) and would have provided much better protection from exploding glass than the open sided milk crate. Ever since I make a point of storing carbonating bottles in these crates and using the old milk crates for storing empty bottles. 

Lucky boy, that injury could have been to the eye.

Cheers,

Screwy


----------



## Acasta (11/7/10)

With all this talk of clean up it reminded me, the bottle was in a Esky being chilled in ice, when it exploded the whole thing shattered but only the top went like a rocket, the rest of the glass was trapped by the ice.
Also reminds me of ANOTHER story, ive only been doing this a short while, so im sure you master brews would have a story of 2. But one time using a hand capper i was banging down on the capped with a hammer and the bottle smased in my hand, and i was left holding the neck and capped while the rest of the bottle flew away haha. Needless so say, I now use a Bench Capped.


----------



## Shed101 (11/7/10)

i store my bottles with a blanket over the top of the open boxes ... ostensibly to keep the light out, but I suppose any explosions would be contained.

i undercarbonate if anything so hopefully I won't have any bombs h34r:


----------



## Siborg (11/7/10)

for some reason I can't see the first pic... or the re-posted pic. Getting "403 Forbidden"


----------



## Acasta (11/7/10)

I think it was removed from imageshack, maybe because of the gore nature?
Sorry.


----------



## mxd (11/7/10)

I use Grolsh bottles, an I 'm pretty sure there would have been a couple of bottle bombs if I had been in thin bottles. It's certainly scary stuff.


----------



## Fourstar (12/7/10)

Another reason wny im glad i use these!







Put it this way, if you can get one of these to blow up in your face. Well, you where probably asking for it!


----------



## petesbrew (12/7/10)

The OP only showed one pic... was that the fatal injury? Lucky he survived

Got my bottle bomb stories here, so no need to retype em.
Yep, they go off with a ******* great bang hey? I keep em safely away in the garage. 
I'm even sus about leaving them in an ice bucket at a party. I'd hate to be the one responsible for a lost eye or worse.
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...27782&st=20


----------



## shaunbrew (24/4/11)

wow thats crazy shit, so lucky no one got seriously hurt! being a newbie i am gonna e extra carefull about carbonating i have a brewing scoop that gives me the exact amount, definatly wont be using thin bottles either, by the sounds of it most ppl have an exploding story  
glad i have a spare wardrobe for storing them 

shaun


----------



## kelbygreen (24/4/11)

them scoops like carb drops usually carb a bit higher then usual. I used to weigh a scoop and then work out the carb from there so it means you might not fill the scoop right up. But if you keep a good eye on the bottles for cracks and chips and use bottles like coopers then you will be fine


----------



## InCider (25/4/11)

Thirstyboy posted a pic a couple of years ago of his hand after a PET bottle exploded...just as nasty!

KEGs....carb then to your hearts content.


----------



## brocky_555 (25/4/11)

Use champange bottles you shouldn't be able to make those explode. Much more durable


----------



## gjn200 (25/4/11)

If anybody is wondering which glass bottles to use, this is from the Coopers web site

"A beer, such as an Imperial Stout, intended to be aged for 2 years or more, should be bottled into sturdy glass designed for re-use. With this in mind, Coopers also produce Original Pale Ale, Sparkling Ale and Best Extra Stout beverages in sturdy 750ml glass bottles. These bottles have a lip designed for a prise-off crown seal and weigh a formidable 560g empty! They are an excellent option for brewers and sauce makers, alike."


----------



## cosmo (7/5/11)

manticle said:


> Someone should sticky this thread so the next person who asks "brew at 1020 for 3 days - should I bottle anyway?" can be directed to it.



cheers manticl i actually just asked in anothr thread if it was ok to bottle at 1020 but has been down 2 weeks and got redirected to this so i can take it the answers NO!!! so will try and stir it up a bit for a couple more days


----------



## mmmyummybeer (8/7/11)

Wow couldn't see the pic but got the message pretty well. I have been fortunately luckily enough to never experienced a bottle bomb and am now kegging. 

I do keep my yeast in Grolsh bottles in the fridge. They do build up some pressure in the first few weeks after going in the fridge but the grolsh bottles are good because you can open them to relieve the pressure then reseal. 

Great post to keep us brewers on our toes as to the dangers, I guess if your like me and haven't experienced a bottle bomb its a good reminder not get complacent with cleaning and sanitation, sugar additions for bottling and not to bottle to soon.


----------



## Spork (30/10/11)

Pfft. You call that a tragedy?
Saw a mate today, he has a vineyard and winery. He told me that when he bought the winery the previous owner was putting some of his wine into 20 litre SS kegs. I showed him my cornies and he said "yeah, thats the ones, but they were in better nick. There were about 60 of them. Scrap metal bloke gave me $5 each for them".
I almost cried...

Next day off I'm going down the local scrap metal yard and seeing if they ahve any, and giving them my phone no. in case they get some.


----------



## agorganic (13/11/11)

Last week there was an almighty bang, went to kitchen and noticed liquid dripping from upper kitchen cupboard (it was a warm day outside even had the aircon on), I have a flat roof so maybe this contributed as this cupboard door is solid. I was so scared as I had previously read this post and I didn't open the cupboard door until I had on thick garden gloves, glasses, long sleeves, pants and shoes with a hoodie to protect my ears! These beers were in the 6 pack carton holders, not too hard to clean the shards of glass, none penetrated the thin carton or stuck in anything. There were only 3 six packs in this cupboard, along with other random beer batches.

I had an empty eski, after loading one beer at a time into the eski I would shudder from the thought that the beer I was just holding could have exploded. These were your James squire golden ale bottles. But this was not the mother load, I had the same beer in same bottles in a different cupboard which has slats so can let cool air in, but I decided to move the remaining slab in its original carton along with 3 other slabs of beer, besides the loose ones in the eski, all my beers are now resting on the terra-cotta tiles at the bottom of a cupboard.

Just now I protected myself and using a towel wrapped around bottle to the lid, i opened a bottle from eski and cupboard, both extra fizzy. But these are my beers gone wrong and not reserved for drinking. The hydrometer reading I did on pouring beer a moment ago was 1010! it still fruity, see link below.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...c=57766&hl=


----------



## Dars183 (5/10/12)

I've just weighed all my bottles and am only going to use the ones that weigh <560gms  That was a great little tidbit in this forum 

Cheers


----------



## Acasta (5/10/12)

Good choice, thoose coopers long necks are great and sturdy! But when you catch the bug like I did when this happened I was putting beer in everything I could find so I could make more! haha :lol:


----------



## Superoo (5/10/12)

The earlier post about having a bottle bomb at someones party etc bears thinking about, how bad would you feel if....

horrible thought..


----------



## krisisdog (8/10/12)

Dars183 said:


> I've just weighed all my bottles and am only going to use the ones that weigh <560gms  That was a great little tidbit in this forum
> 
> Cheers



< = less than. > = greater than.


----------



## losp (8/10/12)

This has made me think about being much more careful as well. I have never had a bottle explode. But there is always a first. 

Yesterday i bulk primed a 22L cider with 200 grams dextrose, now i am thinking that may have been too much. I went by what i read online, but it is certainly more than i have ever put in any of my brews.
I have also never checked by bottles to see how thin they are. Perhaps i should start doing this?

I am re thinking my procedure. Usually i tap out to a bottling bucket and while it is swirling (well soughta swirling) around in the bucket gradually drop the dextrose in, and then give it a little stir (gently) and bottle immediately.

Would i be able to mix it in with hot water in a 600ml bottle first and then gradually tip it in with the same process to get a better dilution? Or is there some no-no there?


----------



## Acasta (8/10/12)

Losp, don't worry too much. Bottle bombs are usually caused by infection or bottling too early. So the pressure from that plus priming sugar will add up.
What was the co2/vol you were aiming for with the dex? What you said gives me 3.15 which should be an issue. A Hefeweizen is 2.5-2.9 according to BS2.



losp said:


> I am re thinking my procedure. Usually i tap out to a bottling bucket and while it is swirling (well soughta swirling) around in the bucket gradually drop the dextrose in, and then give it a little stir (gently) and bottle immediately.
> 
> Would i be able to mix it in with hot water in a 600ml bottle first and then gradually tip it in with the same process to get a better dilution? Or is there some no-no there?


Wont really change. What I used to do was dex and boiling water in a jug, dissolve to syrup and add to bottling bucket. Is yours disolved?


----------



## jaypes (23/10/12)

Man this thread has me worried about my first brew, I do have Coopers longnecks and some of the PET ones.

With 3 young kids I dont want to get this one wrong

Might buy some more PET ones to be on the safe side


----------



## Liam_snorkel (23/10/12)

Start putting money away for a keg setup, they don't blow up


----------



## jaypes (23/10/12)

Yep, just have to get it past the Warden


----------



## IainMcLean (23/10/12)

jaypes said:


> Yep, just have to get it past the Warden



That's easy - just leave 60 empty 330ml bottles laying around the kitchen for a while then have a bottle bomb go off in the shed/garage the day after you comment that *** homebrew store is havign a sale on keg setups and wouldn't it be great to have a beer on tap and a cider/soda whatever for the wife/kids whoever...

Leave it a week and then you'll have your passport stamp ;-)


----------



## tricache (24/10/12)

Yippie Ki Yay said:


> That's easy - just leave 60 empty 330ml bottles laying around the kitchen for a while then have a bottle bomb go off in the shed/garage the day after you comment that *** homebrew store is havign a sale on keg setups and wouldn't it be great to have a beer on tap and a cider/soda whatever for the wife/kids whoever...
> 
> Leave it a week and then you'll have your passport stamp ;-)



Or all your bottles in the recycle bin and fermenter on ebay :lol:


----------



## Liam_snorkel (24/10/12)

I pity all of you who are held hostage by partners who are unsupportive of your hobby/vocation/affliction


----------



## tricache (24/10/12)

Liam_snorkel said:


> I pity all of you who are held hostage by partners who are unsupportive of your hobby/vocation/affliction



Mine is all for my hobby...just the cost is the drama :lol: I recycle coke/soft drink bottles for the homebrew cause and I have more than enough bottles which I have not had to pay for (technically I/or friends have bought them for the drink itself)


----------



## DU99 (24/10/12)

:icon_offtopic: my mr's has her hobby and i have mine.when i work O/T the extra money i get goes into my hobby.


----------



## jaypes (24/10/12)

yep, its all about the cost for me. Trying to buy a house with 3 kids under 3 and a single income.

I suppose its better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission


----------



## Liam_snorkel (24/10/12)

:icon_offtopic: 

I see. Cost isn't an issue for me because I'm FILTHY RICH


----------



## jaypes (24/10/12)

Liam_snorkel said:


> :icon_offtopic:
> 
> I see. Cost isn't an issue for me because I'm FILTHY RICH



Fo' Shizzl


----------



## WarmBeer (24/10/12)

jaypes said:


> Fo' Shizzl


Careful, dont you know your messing with 50 cent's big cousin, 17 dollaz.


----------



## tricache (24/10/12)

WarmBeer said:


> Careful, dont you know your messing with 50 cent's big cousin, 17 dollaz.



Don't worry its only like $16.50AUD :lol:


----------



## troy.wood (27/10/12)

kelbygreen said:


> them scoops like carb drops usually carb a bit higher then usual. I used to weigh a scoop and then work out the carb from there so it means you might not fill the scoop right up. But if you keep a good eye on the bottles for cracks and chips and use bottles like coopers then you will be fine






gjn200 said:


> If anybody is wondering which glass bottles to use, this is from the Coopers web site
> 
> "A beer, such as an Imperial Stout, intended to be aged for 2 years or more, should be bottled into sturdy glass designed for re-use. With this in mind, Coopers also produce Original Pale Ale, Sparkling Ale and Best Extra Stout beverages in sturdy 750ml glass bottles. These bottles have a lip designed for a prise-off crown seal and weigh a formidable 560g empty! They are an excellent option for brewers and sauce makers, alike."




Concurr on the Coopers bottles, I now keg (still have a few bottles) but bottled with Coopers bottles for about 2-3years and never had an explosion. One day even dropped one and all that happened was the cap flew off and the bottle spun around with beer flying out


----------



## Pixiedust (10/1/13)

I made some ginger beer from a plant. The first batches I made I found weak, taste wise, so in this batch I upped the sugar and the ginger. Big mistake. It got all infected. Now thankfully, I store them all in the tractor workshop and had been inspecting all my homebrew (I try to do it weekly) and noticed the PET bottles (I bottled it in a mix of glass and plastic) had gone rock hard and expanded more then they should have. Had a closer look, and yep, infected. So two crates of ginger beer shuttled outside to near the fence very quickly. I thought I would just leave them there to do their thing...being just before Christmas in CQ, the sun should have finished them off pretty quickly. And it did. Some of them. One, I don't know how, but we now have the top of a tallie stuck in the cobwebs near the roof (8m up) of the shed.

Now the gentlemen of the house decided on Christmas afternoon to shoot the unexploded PET bottles, teaching SIL to shoot in the process. Poor thing cried with fright after shooting my 410, lol.

I am just glad I caught it in time, as we had 5 kids here on Christmas day and over 10 on Boxing day, as well as a lot of adults. I shudder to think if one had exploded while they were around.


----------



## mattdean4130 (10/5/13)

kelbygreen said:


> them scoops like carb drops usually carb a bit higher then usual. I used to weigh a scoop and then work out the carb from there so it means you might not fill the scoop right up. But if you keep a good eye on the bottles for cracks and chips and use bottles like coopers then you will be fine


Wait on, so you're saying carb drops aren't a good idea?

I only just started using glass, and thought carb drops would be the safe option. I've bottled two 23l batches this week (one drop per stubbie, two per longie).

One into Coopers PA stubbies, the other into mostly coopers PA longnecks with some assorted tooheys/carlton/vb longies to make a full batch.... The stubbies have been down 7 days and there's been no explosions - only bottled the longs last night. I've given one stubbie a bit of a wiggle, it seems less carbed than a regular CPA stubbie on a wiggle test...

Are you saying i shouldn't use carb drops? They are quite expensive at the same cost if not more than a kilo of sugar...

With bulk priming, do you just add dextrose to the fermenter before you bottle?
What is the measure?
And how do you stir it in without disturbing all the yeast/sediment on the bottom and getting excessive gunk in your bottles?

Cheers! I'm a total newbie to glass!


----------



## scon (10/5/13)

So when you bulk prime you need a bottling bucket (preferably with a tap) big enough to hold your fermented beer.

Figure out how much sugar you need to bulk prime (I use this calculator: http://webspace.webring.com/people/ms/sirleslie/AlcoholChart/PrimingCalculator.html) and dissolve that in some boiling water and put that in the bottom of your bottling bucket then siphon/rack your fermented beer over it gently, you don't want to introduce oxygen at this stage if you can avoid it. Give it a bit of a stir (again being gentle) when it's 1/3rd full to ensure it's incorporated and then continue siphoning till it's all transferred.

Then you can just fill your bottles normally.

Good thing about this method is that the size of the bottles doesn't matter - the sugar solution is evenly distributed through your beer.

Edit: one thing to note with the calculator is that temperature is your maximum fermenting temperature.

Edit edit: and i just use regular Cane sugar.


----------



## mattdean4130 (10/5/13)

scon said:


> So when you bulk prime you need a bottling bucket (preferably with a tap) big enough to hold your fermented beer.
> 
> Figure out how much sugar you need to bulk prime (I use this calculator: http://webspace.webring.com/people/ms/sirleslie/AlcoholChart/PrimingCalculator.html) and dissolve that in some boiling water and put that in the bottom of your bottling bucket then siphon/rack your fermented beer over it gently, you don't want to introduce oxygen at this stage if you can avoid it. Give it a bit of a stir (again being gentle) when it's 1/3rd full to ensure it's incorporated and then continue siphoning till it's all transferred.
> 
> ...


Yes that sounds like a really good advantage!!

Seems like quite a bit of extra work involved though...
Had a quick squiz at that calculator - but desired level of C02??? Ummm, i just want bubbles in my beer!!!??? lol :chug:


Maybe not quite for me just yet! But i am still interested to know why some of you think Coopers carb drops aren't ideal?

Cheers!


----------



## Bridges (10/5/13)

The sizes of carb drops isn't uniform, so carb can vary from bottle to bottle, also most brewers (me) are tight and they are expensive for what they are.


----------



## mattdean4130 (10/5/13)

Bridges said:


> The sizes of carb drops isn't uniform, so carb can vary from bottle to bottle, also most brewers (me) are tight and they are expensive for what they are.


I agree they are expensive!

To be honest, i've never checked that they're uniform - i kind of thought that was the whole point of using them and paying extra....

In-fact i'll kind of feel ripped off and disappointed in Coopers if this is correct and they aren't a consistent size, basically defeats the purpose they're intended for right there! :angry:


----------



## Florian (10/5/13)

Please, someone weigh a bags worth of carb drops individually and debunk this stupid persistent myth!

That little bit of difference that there might be will make feck all difference in your carbonation, and certainly will not make your bottles explode.


----------



## scon (10/5/13)

mattdean4130 said:


> Had a quick squiz at that calculator - but desired level of C02??? Ummm, i just want bubbles in my beer!!!??? lol :chug:


There's a little pulldown menu that lists beer types and usual volumes of CO2 Home brew (general) is 2.9-3.1 so shoot for that on your first one. After that if it's too carbed or not carbed enough you can modify it for next time.


----------



## mattdean4130 (10/5/13)

Florian said:


> Please, someone weigh a bags worth of carb drops individually and debunk this stupid persistent myth!
> 
> That little bit of difference that there might be will make feck all difference in your carbonation, and certainly will not make your bottles explode.


Challenge accepted. I'll check it out over the weekend.
Not sure if i have a complete bag, but i've got one thats around 75% full... Should be enough for an idea.


----------



## chewy (3/6/13)

I had a mate give himself 3 stitches under the eye from the lid on a over carbed hb... That was pre twist tops and opened it with a lighter.. You'll never believe it but we were at work!


----------



## T.T.B.Co (3/6/13)

After a few years off the home brewing I decided that it was time to have another crack. It was the middle of summer and I was called to work away for a week, the temps were in the low 40's and my bottles were left all alone in the laundry with no one to tend to their needs, What a ******* mess to come home to!! Thats just what I needed after a hard week at work.... 

That was in the late 90's and I am just starting to get back into it Now..


----------



## stretch69 (6/7/13)

I've got a mate that years ago dropped a long neck from the top shelf of his fridge, he kinda tried to catch it but was too late, the thing exploded and a piece of glass severed a tendon thingy in his hand. He had to wear this weird thing with rubber bands on it for months til it healed, he hasn't brewed since.

The thing is it was completely his fault, he would have bottled it too early and most likely put too much sugar in the bottles too(he would have thought they'd have more alcohol by doing that haha), and to top that off HE dropped it , the funny thing is he's actually scared off homebrew now, well at least the bottles!


----------



## Lincoln2 (7/7/13)

Goodbye old friend. You have served me faithfully lo these many years. Good beer, good music, good food, good people, good times. Forgive me.


----------



## yum beer (7/7/13)

That sucks...


----------



## Rowy (7/7/13)

Lincoln2 said:


> Goodbye old friend. You have served me faithfully lo these many years. Good beer, good music, good food, good people, good times. Forgive me.


It's like losing a member of the family.......I to have recently gone through this tragedy......I tried to console myself by thinking there are plenty more out there....but it will never be the same.


----------



## Not For Horses (3/10/13)

krisisdog said:


> < = less than. > = greater than.


You made the mathematician inside me smile just now.


----------



## WarmBeer (3/10/13)

krisisdog said:


> < = less than. > = greater than.





Not For Horses said:


> You made the mathematician inside me smile just now.


I always thought <= was "less than or equal to"


----------



## Not For Horses (4/10/13)

WarmBeer said:


> I always thought <= was "less than or equal to"


No "less than or equal to" would be ≤


----------



## losp (13/11/13)

Not For Horses said:


> No "less than or equal to" would be ≤


depends if you are a programmer or not.


----------



## Not For Horses (13/11/13)

losp said:


> depends if you are a programmer or not.


I don't dabble in black arts if that is what you mean.

Plus, don't they only do that because of a lack of a symbol at the time?


----------



## Online Brewing Supplies (13/11/13)

Not For Horses said:


> You made the mathematician inside me smile just now.


You have whom inside you, not that there is anything wrong with that :lol:
Enjoy.
Nev


----------



## hsb (22/11/13)

20 litres of Pilsner. Previously stored in keg. Leaky beer out post. Took 7 weeks to make, I had a glass (tasted good!), then the next time i opened the keezer to find this lake of beer 3 inches deep and an empty keg.




Drinking the 750ml bottle of 12% dubbel immediately after taking this picture helped with shock.
It took me over an hour to clean it all up today. Looks like I'm brewing again this weekend lol.


----------



## Cocko (22/11/13)

Been there brother.

Condolences.

Still, better than glass flying around....


Just scoop out from the bottom.


----------



## Camo6 (22/11/13)

Cocko said:


> Been there brother.
> 
> Just scoop out from the bottom.


Nope. Not even going there.













Hom.


----------



## hsb (22/11/13)

I considered a straw. But I didn't want to make a bad day worse! "Man found dead floating in beer filled freezer"


----------



## Camo6 (22/11/13)




----------



## bradsbrew (13/12/13)

Lucky the kids know to stay away from this area when dads working


----------



## dicko (14/12/13)

That is not good bradsbrew..... what happened??..I have the same gas stove for making starters..was it a bad flask???


----------



## yum beer (14/12/13)

was it a bad flask???


It is now.....


----------



## bradsbrew (14/12/13)

I don't know what happened Dicko. I had it boiling away went to the beer room to keg a beer a few minutes later there was a huge bang, came outside and there was water and glass every where. As I said lucky the kids have been taught to stay away.


----------



## HBHB (14/12/13)

Those gas stoves create 4 hot spots from the arms, uneven heating in borosilicate + a bit of a breeze = "Bugger".


----------



## bradsbrew (14/12/13)

Thanks Martin. Will know better next time.


----------



## lael (17/12/13)

Is that the same for any gas stove then?


----------



## mosto (23/1/14)

Seen this in the latest Beer & Brewer email. Sounds like every rookie mistake rolled into one batch. Had a chuckle reading it.


----------



## Bridges (23/1/14)

mosto said:


> Seen this in the latest Beer & Brewer email. Sounds like every rookie mistake rolled into one batch. Had a chuckle reading it.


Good read. Scratched head a bit that the deputy editor of beer and brewer mag doesn't brew...


----------



## Florian (23/1/14)

lael said:


> Is that the same for any gas stove then?



Any gas stove where the bottle will sit on metal arms.

It always surprises me that no homebrew shop has cottoned onto that yet and is selling those heat dispersion mat that we all know from chemistry class.

Thinking about it, they're probably making more money on glass flask repeat business than once off heat dispersion mat sales.


----------



## Florian (23/1/14)

Bunsen Burner Gauze would be the more searchable term.


----------



## HBHB (23/1/14)

lael said:


> Is that the same for any gas stove then?


Correct. They're really only meant to be heated over a consistent single/wide gas point such as a Bunsen Burner with a mesh spreader as Florian has pointed out above. The stays/struts/supports on most stoves will cause uneven heating and cause stress on the flask. While they're made of what's commonly known as "Pyrex" they're a hell of a lot thinner than a pyrex casserole dish. Half the reason dickheads, scumbags, speed freaks blow themselves up while doing a cook of illicit poisons with very dangerous ingredients. The other half is just mother nature sorting out the gene pool. Oops, I said that out aloud then didn't I? h34r: 
(sorry I missed your earlier post)

Cheers,
Martin


----------



## dicko (23/1/14)

What would you guys recon about a thin sheet of aluminium on the stove between the flask and the trivet??
Would this be better??

Before I bought that little stove I used to use the flask on a Nasa turned down with no ill effects.
I have broken one when I took it from the stove and placed it on a stainless steel sink....dick head....now I place it on a teflon cutting board and let it cool a bit before I put it in the sink for chilling.
I also don't have the gas flat out on that stove but set to more of a simmer.

If the aluminium sheet is no good I may have to search out the burner gauze.


----------



## Blitzer (23/1/14)

mosto said:


> Seen this in the latest Beer & Brewer email. Sounds like every rookie mistake rolled into one batch. Had a chuckle reading it.



Best part: 

So there they sat for a few more days – much to the curious delight of my 18-month-old son. He’s learning to talk at the moment, and took great delight in grabbing my hand, leading me into the bathroom and – pointing into the tub – saying “Beer! Beer!”.

There was only one appropriate response: “It’s meant to be beer, mate… but I wouldn’t drink it if I was you. It’s bloody horrible.”


----------



## StalkingWilbur (5/2/14)

Just had my first tragedy. Brew is going fine, even though it was nearing midnight. Multiple hop additions using a hop sock. 60 min was cascade pellets and Nelson flowers. Two knives wasn't enough to way it down because of the flowers floating. Next Nelson flowers addition I think "why don't I just throw them in, they float anyway". Yeah. You can see how this ended up. 

Currently sitting on the brew stand with a blocked pick up tube. Only using no chill cubes so couldn't cool it down and pour it throw a filter into fermenter. 

Pretty annoyed. Smelled amazing too.


----------



## Donske (5/2/14)

StalkingWilbur said:


> Just had my first tragedy. Brew is going fine, even though it was nearing midnight. Multiple hop additions using a hop sock. 60 min was cascade pellets and Nelson flowers. Two knives wasn't enough to way it down because of the flowers floating. Next Nelson flowers addition I think *"why don't I just throw them in, they float anyway". *Yeah. You can see how this ended up.
> 
> Currently sitting on the brew stand with a blocked pick up tube. Only using no chill cubes so couldn't cool it down and pour it throw a filter into fermenter.
> 
> Pretty annoyed. Smelled amazing too.



Haha, that sounds painfully familiar.


----------



## StalkingWilbur (6/2/14)

Went back today. Boiled for 10 minutes and threw in a handful of pellet hops. Let it cool and then using a syphon hose tip I managed to succeed into getting the wort into no chill cubes. 




I know this is homebrew tragedy, but... Victory!


----------



## Dave70 (26/5/14)

Managed to get my hop additions arse about for Maibock on Saturday. Put the Tett in a 60 instead of Perle which would have put the IBUs at around a cloying 19 instead of 30. So made a second addition an boiled for another 20.
OG still wound up at 1.070 - should have been 1.076 despite the extra boiling. No idea why. 
Then while chilling, the irrigation pump on the second water tank I was hooked up to melted its start / run capacitor and went pop in a cloud of acrid smoke.
Then racing about sorting dinner, left the tap on and overflowed the cube by about a liter all over the garage floor. Let the dog lick it up. 
What a ******* afternoon.
The sad part is I hadn't even touched a drop all day.


----------



## Aydos (26/5/14)

HBHB said:


> Correct. They're really only meant to be heated over a consistent single/wide gas point such as a Bunsen Burner with a mesh spreader as Florian has pointed out above. The stays/struts/supports on most stoves will cause uneven heating and cause stress on the flask. While they're made of what's commonly known as "Pyrex" they're a hell of a lot thinner than a pyrex casserole dish. Half the reason dickheads, scumbags, speed freaks blow themselves up while doing a cook of illicit poisons with very dangerous ingredients. The other half is just mother nature sorting out the gene pool. Oops, I said that out aloud then didn't I? h34r:
> (sorry I missed your earlier post)
> 
> Cheers,
> Martin


Any chance you would look at stocking a burner gauze martin?


----------



## stux (26/5/14)

StalkingWilbur said:


> Just had my first tragedy. Brew is going fine, even though it was nearing midnight. Multiple hop additions using a hop sock. 60 min was cascade pellets and Nelson flowers. Two knives wasn't enough to way it down because of the flowers floating. Next Nelson flowers addition I think "why don't I just throw them in, they float anyway". Yeah. You can see how this ended up.
> 
> Currently sitting on the brew stand with a blocked pick up tube. Only using no chill cubes so couldn't cool it down and pour it throw a filter into fermenter.
> 
> Pretty annoyed. Smelled amazing too.


First time I used flowers I made that mistake. Ended up juggling it into the cubes, flowers and all. Was nelson sauvin in too 

Turned out to be the best NSSA I ever made


----------



## rude (3/8/15)

Done the same ended up poking coate hanger wire through the tap pickup into kettle
Finally filling cube with a big mess everywhere


----------



## bevan (1/7/17)

Lost 9 750ml bottles (3 of Berliner Weisse and 6 of Brett Lambric). Had just shut the fridge when the lower lot went and as I picked up a bottle the top shelf went! Only just bottled them a couple of hours earlier after ageing for six months.


----------



## AJS2154 (2/7/17)

bevan said:


> View attachment 106725
> 
> Lost 9 750ml bottles (3 of Berliner Weisse and 6 of Brett Lambric). Had just shut the fridge when the lower lot went and as I picked up a bottle the top shelf went! Only just bottled them a couple of hours earlier after ageing for six months.


Bugger! What a shame. 

When stuff like that happens to me I try to clean it up really fast and then pretend it hasn't happened. Compartmentalisation is my best protection mechanism. 

Oh, and get a few of those other survivors on the shelf into the fridge. Compartmentalised and medicated. Everything OK now. 

See you, Anthony


----------



## Grott (2/7/17)

What can one really say, what a shit. As Anthony says, clean up real quick and I say pretend you drank them.


----------



## bevan (2/7/17)

Sadly my wife took a photo and put my distressed state on Facebook for the world to see!
17 of each brew survived. Had to recap about 20 of them though, so I'm guessing I'm going to have a few under carbed.


----------



## Grott (2/7/17)

Don't tell her about utube!


----------



## wynnum1 (2/7/17)

bevan said:


> View attachment 106725
> 
> Lost 9 750ml bottles (3 of Berliner Weisse and 6 of Brett Lambric). Had just shut the fridge when the lower lot went and as I picked up a bottle the top shelf went! Only just bottled them a couple of hours earlier after ageing for six months.


I get very depressed when something like this happens even though its trivial .


----------



## bevan (2/7/17)

wynnum1 said:


> I get very depressed when something like this happens even though its trivial .



The bit that gets me is you've been patiently waiting for the good stuff to do its thing.....


----------



## GregMeady (2/7/17)

Sorry for your loss


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/7/17)

bevan said:


> Sadly my wife took a photo and put my distressed state on Facebook for the world to see!
> 17 of each brew survived. Had to recap about 20 of them though, so I'm guessing I'm going to have a few under carbed.


My wife did the same to me, wasn't to do with homebrew though, was putting a veranda up along the front of the house put up a support strut between the rungs of the ladder for support. Welded the opposite end went up the ladder and welded the end supported by the ladder, on facebook within 10 minutes.


----------



## Grott (2/7/17)

And the ladders still there. Ha ha


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/7/17)

Not quite but it did stay there till the next day, it was the last job for the day and I could taste that beer, cut the strut and rewelded the following day.


----------



## AJS2154 (2/7/17)

wynnum1 said:


> I get very depressed when something like this happens even though its trivial .


Steady on, Wynnum......the man has lost 9 bottles of beer. What part of that is trivial? If that is trivial, hate to hear about something serious. 

Empathy, man.....empathy.


----------



## wynnum1 (3/7/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Not quite but it did stay there till the next day, it was the last job for the day and I could taste that beer, cut the strut and rewelded the following day.


One way of stopping the ladder from being stolen.


----------

