Made bottle bombs, help! :/

[Mr. No-Tip]

I think the real test is how it goes when you open the bottle. Looking at the glass is guess it would fizz up, but does it gush over the top?

SOMETHING was wrong with those two bottles. The risk I guess is if one or two more have the same issue. If you have al the bottles in a cold fridge now it should be safish...

 

[panzerd18]

Are you 100% sure the bottles are 750ml and adding 2 carb drops?

 

[InterCooL]

1 x carb drops. I'm using stubbies

 

[Grott]

A friend of mine had exactly the same problem, it turned out to be a pint glass he had got on special. The bubbles would "pour out of a particular spot near the bottom of the glass like cascading fire works, a flaw in the glass. Hope this is your problem as well.
Cheers

 

[Pogierob]

375ml or 330ml stubbles? That is a VERY active carbonation.. I'd be careful of it were you. I have had similar but not that active after a few seconds and defiantly not well after a minute.

 

[InterCooL]

I'm not sure if they are 330 or 375ml. I'll have to check tonight.
I'll try popping a few and recapping and see what the results are like after a week or so.

 

[InterCooL]

Ok, first of all, thank you so much for your help so far. I've really been encouraged by all the help offered in the last few months.

There was about 50 bottles across 2 mini batches (10L), brewed on different days, fermented for nearly the same time, about 12-13 days or so. Both had stable FG readings over 3-4 days

About 5 blew up in my garage, 2 from the first batch, 3 from the second.

So I've just gone and popped all my caps off the (330ml) bottles. I'm very confused to what may have caused this and how to prevent for the future.

About half of the bottles sounded perfect, appropriate amount of bubbles in the bottle.
Then about 5 had audibly more gas (PSSSSHT on opening).
About 5-10 had enough gas to start to bubble up the bottle neck and slowly ooze out everywhere.
And a few started to GUSH out everywhere as soon as I opened them, it was as though I had been shaking them for 5 minutes prior!

I don't understand why most were perfect but some were explosive. The only similar trait I may have seen was that the real gushing ones were all next to one another (I think). But they were out of sunlight, all in the same room (milk crate), so I don't know why it would occur like this.

I did so many new things in these 2 batches that I'm not even sure what to think it could be.

1. It was my first full volume BIAB (my prior perfect batch was a mini mash BIAB)
2. I used a different brand of carbonation drops (Brew Cellar)
3. It was my first time using Brewmate and coming up with my own final ingredient weights.
4. It was my first time using 10L jerry cans as fermenters.
5. First time no-chilling.
6. First time using glad wrap lids.
7. I very well may have over pitched my dry yeasts (obviously designed for 23L batches).
8 First time cold crashing

I'm a bit bummed. My brews were just getting better and better. After listening to some podcast, the host was encouraging people to go straight into all grain / biab as soon as they can. I thought it sounded good, and read up as much as I could from multiple magazines and forums. I thought I knew enough to not make explosive bombs!

I think I may go back a few notches and do something simpler next time.
Lets hope my current brew won't explode. It's been placed into quarantine for the next few weeks...

 

[killspice]

I'd really recommend bulk priming instead of carbonation drops, it is slightly more effort but you should end up with more accurate (and flexible) priming.
There ate a number of factors that could be at play, but I'd suggest either the drops are inconsistently sized (even slight changes can be a big deal in 330ml) or you have some infected bottles. Bulk priming will help with a), not do much b)
It could also be that you bottled too early, but you'd probably see more consistent over carbonation in that case.

 

[wynnum1]

With the cold crashing and not bulk priming i find that not every bottle is the same that may because beer on the bottom of fermenter is different to beer on the top. Bulk priming would mix the beer.

 

[Dave70]

I did so many new things in these 2 batches that I'm not even sure what to think it could be.

1. It was my first full volume BIAB (my prior perfect batch was a mini mash BIAB)
2. I used a different brand of carbonation drops (Brew Cellar)
3. It was my first time using Brewmate and coming up with my own final ingredient weights.
4. It was my first time using 10L jerry cans as fermenters.
5. First time no-chilling.
6. First time using glad wrap lids.
7. I very well may have over pitched my dry yeasts (obviously designed for 23L batches).
8 First time cold crashing

.

Probably 99% none of the above.
With the many online calculators, bulk priming is a piece of piss and delivers the goods far more consistently - assuming you enter accurate numbers.
Don't get disheartened over one crook batch. I doubt the'd be a brewer - even the vastly experienced ones - on this board who hasn't had even their beat laid plans go tits up.
Those billions of micro organisms at the heart of the process we think we've go tamed and pinned down to a style will still throw the odd curve ball occasionally. I've got a batch of pilsner in crates that's like playing Russian roulette when you crack the bottles. Most are fine, then POP!! - hissssss.. Why? I dunno. They were bottled side by side and I was sober at the time.

Don't be taking it 'back a few notches and do something simpler next time', thats and a slippery slope that will see your rig on e bay and you scanning the weekly Liquorland specials. Get back on the horse man.

 

[Grott]

"I don't understand why most were perfect but some were explosive. The only similar trait I may have seen was that the real gushing ones were all next to one another (I think)."

"i find that not every bottle is the same that may because beer on the bottom of fermenter is different to beer on the top."

The last few bottled from the fermenters could be the problem as if they were all next to each other it could follow that they came from a particular section in the fermenter. I think it is the only logical reason from info given.

Cheers

 

[InterCooL]

Thanks Dave70. I've got a lot to learn.

"

The last few bottled from the fermenters could be the problem as if they were all next to each other it could follow that they came from a particular section in the fermenter. I think it is the only logical reason from info given.

Cheers

That's what I thought. I mentioned it to my LHBS who said that C02 production is proportional to secondary sugar addition, not yeast levels.

That is, some bottles could have had 20x the amount of yeast than others, but if the same portion of sugar is added, there should be the exact same amount of C02. Is that right? Sounds reasonable to me

 

[Grott]

Good point, but could there be "unfermented sugars" settled near the bottom of the fermenter. I may be wrong here but I don't think you get a 100% conversion rate. Someone more knowledgeable may help out here.
Cheers

 

[wynnum1]

unfermented sugars could the top of the sediment have these and cold crashing make drop onto the sediment .

 

[yankinoz]

A suggestion for future reference: I always label with a B the caps on bottles filled when the fermenter is nearly empty, and with a BB the very last one. They generally end up with more sediment, especially the BB. They do not usually have off-flavours, but the one time I had gushers they were the worst.

Most everything mentioned by the other commenters is plausible, except that unfermented sugars would not settle; they're too soluble. Also, you might have picked up wild yeast when bottling, and they munched some unfermented sugars, especially at 35 C.

If it's only some of the bottles, you could have your capper and sanitized caps ready when you open them, but the suggestion about chilling first and wearing protective gear, goggles at least, is a good one.

 

[Dazzbrew]

Good point, but could there be "unfermented sugars" settled near the bottom of the fermenter. I may be wrong here but I don't think you get a 100% conversion rate. Someone more knowledgeable may help out here.
Cheers

If there were unfermented sugars left in the fermenter and consistant fg readings (fermentation complete) then transferring the beer into a bottle wont make it ferment.