How Long Before Bottle Bombs?

[SearlyPron]

Hi All,

Fairly new to this home brew caper (but thrilled with the result of brew #1!). Just wanted to put out a general question - if you've bottled too early which would lead to bottle explosions, how long after bottling does it usually start to happen?

Background is that I bottled brew #2 almost a week ago when the sg was still quite high (about 1015), but had been stable for several days. I'm pretty sure she'll be fine, but just wanted to know whether, after a week of no explosions, I'm in the clear or not....

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[pint of lager]

Your fg will depend on what ingredients you used. If there is a large component of maltodextrin, lactose or 100% malt, fg can be on the high side. Also, some specialty yeasts attenuate at different rates.

If your sg was stable for 3-4 days (and the temperature is still within the correct range for your yeast) you should be ok.

Bottlebomb timing depends on alot of factors. If bottled too early, they can probably start occurring within 7 days.

There is no hard and fast rule to the timing.

Some brews seem to very slowly keep on working, they may be bottlebombs after a year.

An infection can mean that bombs will appear about week 4.

Put one of your brews in the fridge now and try it this afternoon. If it is overcarbonated, then go around and very gently release the pressure by easing up the crown seal and then letting it reseal. Do this twice a day over the week.

Every few days, put a fresh bottle in the fridge, chill for 12-24 hours and reassess for overcarbonation. Mmmmm, quality control.

 

[Arioch]

What should one do if the bottles are under carbonated?

I bottled two weeks ago and left bottles at 18-20C for a week followed by 8-10C for a week.
Some have now been in the fridge at 2C for a few days and the first I opened was a bit lack luster. Little or no head with slight carbonation. (sugar was not forgotten)
Would the bottles be best going back to a higher temp for a while or just more time at the cooler temp?

 

[pint of lager]

If you added the correct amount of priming sugar, warm the bottles back up to ferment temperature and leave for a further two weeks. Then check the carbonation level before cooling back to 10 degrees. They are not going to prime up any further if they are cold.

Brews that have had extended cold conditioning need longer to prime up.

 

[KGB]

Remember that colder liquid will hold more dissolved CO2 and therefore reduce the pressure in the headspace of the bottle as well.
Like PoL said, there are many variables that contribute so its hard to say how long a bomb will take to go off. If you are really concerned then I'd start opening a bottle regularly to check the pressure - and the taste of course

 

[peas_and_corn]

When I am concerned about bombs I keep my eyes on the caps. Once it starts getting really carbed, the caps start 'bowing' in the middle. This increases as it gets worse. I decide whether it's worth the risk of putting them into the fridge at that point.

 

[ibast]

They will always explode at night, just to scare the shit out of you whilst you are asleep and will always take other bottles out with them.

Kind of obvious but don't store them at head height.

What type of bottles are they. I've had some that were much more prone than others. When you looked at the bottle closely you could see there was more glass in some areas than other.

In future if your brew gets stuck above 1010, then take the lid off and give the brew a gently stir. Not enough to induce oxidation, just enough to wake the yeast back up. 1015 seems high regardless off ingredients unless it was a stout.

 

[SearlyPron]

They will always explode at night, just to scare the shit out of you whilst you are asleep and will always take other bottles out with them.

Kind of obvious but don't store them at head height.

What type of bottles are they. I've had some that were much more prone than others. When you looked at the bottle closely you could see there was more glass in some areas than other.

In future if your brew gets stuck above 1010, then take the lid off and give the brew a gently stir. Not enough to induce oxidation, just enough to wake the yeast back up. 1015 seems high regardless off ingredients unless it was a stout.

The bottles are 740mL PET and no sign of troubles yet (10 days now) so think I might leave them at this stage.

Cheers.

 

[ibast]

The PET bottles won't explode. they'll just go out of shape. Maybe the cap will leak in extreme circumstances.

the good news is you can easily relive the pressure in these by cracking the lid and giving a small shake from side to side.