Possible bottle bombs

[Lowlyf]

So I bottled my second brew today. And a fella saw the pic posted below of the beer in the fermenter prior to bottling. He suggested that the yeast may not have been finished. I batch primed the beer and bottled it and you can see sediment in it. Obviously its a sloppy job as I only have 1 fermenter and batch primed the lot in there and gently stirred it in.

Is this a recipe for disaster? I currently have my bottles carbing within the warm walls of the fridge but I definitely don't want them to explode in there

 

[madpierre06]

What was your F.G.?

 

[Lowlyf]

What was your F.G.?

Well it was strange when I took my SG, because I followed the recipe to a T and it came back at 1.040. So I added 500g of dextrose on Sunday (3 days after the initial brew) and dry hopped Wednesday. I took 2 FG readings and both were 1.014. Which makes it a crappy 3.5% beer

 

[madpierre06]

There's blokes here who's experience and knowwledge far exceeds mine, I would have thought though that 1.014 was a tad high. 'Specially for a mid strength beer.

 

[Pogierob]

it would appear you did still have active fermentation and 1.014 is a bit high.


what yeast did you use?
my VERY rough calcs would put OG at around 1.048 so 1.014 isn't too far off depending on the yeast, for example with us05 I wouldn't worry about 1.012

also what level of carbonation were you heading for with your bulk priming?

 

[Camo6]

I've had us05 and a couple of other yeasts maintain a krausen long after the beer is fermented but 1014 is probably higher than expected for a 1040 brew but that may come down to recipe design and mash temps.
To be sure you should do a forced ferment test to ensure final gravity when in doubt.

When were your pics taken? Unless it was just after bottling I'd be concerned with the foaming in the neck of those bottles. Maybe worth carefully opening a couple to check carb levels. Just use PPE and fill out the SWMS first.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Please post results and If they explode please post pictures.

 

[Lowlyf]

it would appear you did still have active fermentation and 1.014 is a bit high.


what yeast did you use?
my VERY rough calcs would put OG at around 1.048 so 1.014 isn't too far off depending on the yeast, for example with us05 I wouldn't worry about 1.012

also what level of carbonation were you heading for with your bulk priming?

Yep I used US05. I was going for a carb level of 2.5.

I've had us05 and a couple of other yeasts maintain a krausen long after the beer is fermented but 1014 is probably higher than expected for a 1040 brew but that may come down to recipe design and mash temps.
To be sure you should do a forced ferment test to ensure final gravity when in doubt.

When were your pics taken? Unless it was just after bottling I'd be concerned with the foaming in the neck of those bottles. Maybe worth carefully opening a couple to check carb levels. Just use PPE and fill out the SWMS first.

Please excuse my ignorance, but how do I do a forced ferment test?

Well the picture of the bottles was taken only an hour or 2 ago so maybe 2 or 3 hours after bottling.
So are you suggesting I open a bottle (carefully) and take another reading?

Thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[Lowlyf]

Please post results and If they explode please post pictures.

Haha is this so you can hang shit on me mate?

 

[manticle]

1014 is only a useful number if we know what your ingredients and process were.

 

[Lowlyf]

1014 is only a useful number if wd know what your ingredients and process were.

Extract brew, steeped some grains and hops and put in a can of pilsner and a 1kg bag of brew booster, 3 days later added 500g bag of dextrose and then dry hopped later

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Unknown in technical geeky terms. Premature bottling me guess?

Haha is this so you can hang shit on me mate?

A good commodity of a home brewer is to hang shit on themselves. Honestly though post the results. Some long term bottle beer I have made has ranged up to gushers in carbonation. Very fruity. Then some rare voluntary guinea pig samplers thought it was great! Were I was more inclined to tip it down the sink. Go figure.

 

[Lowlyf]

Anyone else have any input?

 

[Grott]

manticle is right. Looking at the pictures of the brew before bottling and the foam in the bottles after 2 to 3 hours I'd be concerned that fermentation hadn't finished and you have potential bombs. I would open one up now (outside) and advise the result.
Cheers

 

[Camo6]

Yep I used US05. I was going for a carb level of 2.5.



Please excuse my ignorance, but how do I do a forced ferment test?

Well the picture of the bottles was taken only an hour or 2 ago so maybe 2 or 3 hours after bottling.
So are you suggesting I open a bottle (carefully) and take another reading?

Thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it.

Use the AHB Google search for 'forced (or fast) ferment test and read up. Basically you take a small sample of the beer (before bottling!) and keep it warm and aerated in a separate covered vessel. You're pretty much accelerating the fermenting process in the sample. After a couple of days if the FG of the sample drops it's likely your beer still isn't finished. Be sure to sanitise as usual as an infection in the sample will give false results.
Other factors that could affect the FF results could be yeast tolerance or health in which case you could introduce a different yeast with a higher attenuation rate and in active numbers to finish the beer.

But I doubt you have anything to worry about. 1014 isn't that high an FG for an extract brew. I'd be carefully opening a bottle in a week to check carb levels and be sure to keep the bottles covered while they carb up. If they are overcarbing you could probably get away with removing the caps and immediately recapping but can't really advise on that as I've never done it.

Just be sure to always check your FG is steady over a few days and roughly where its expected to be. It doesn't hurt to leave your beer in the fermentor for atleast a couple of weeks to be sure it's finished.

Also, cold crashing the fermentor in the fridge for a few days will help drop persistent krausens and help clear the beer too.

 

[Mardoo]

Do be careful though. I had one 10cm piece of bottle lodge in my leg 5cm deep through two layers of denim. Not to be effed with.

 

[Camo6]

^ Definitely! Once again wear PPE and read and sign the JSA's and SWMS.

Some blokes even bottle at least one beer in plastic so they can monitor carb levels. Personally, I'd rather be sure the beer was done first.

 

[manticle]

Extract brew, steeped some grains and hops and put in a can of pilsner and a 1kg bag of brew booster, 3 days later added 500g bag of dextrose and then dry hopped later

Extract as in dried or liquid malt? What's in the brewbooster? More extract? Dex? Maltodextrin?

Malto dex and malt extract will result in higher fg. Dex should completely ferment out.

IF the booster contained some maltodextrin and IF you used extra malt extract then 1014 is reasonable.
Some yeasts, including 05 can have persistent krausen. However it's better to leave a bit longer to be sure and when in doubt, do the forced test. Never bottle in doubt.

 

[Lowlyf]

manticle is right. Looking at the pictures of the brew before bottling and the foam in the bottles after 2 to 3 hours I'd be concerned that fermentation hadn't finished and you have potential bombs. I would open one up now (outside) and advise the result.
Cheers

I just opened up a bottle and it frothed up everywhere. Is this batch salvageable?

It doesn't actually taste too bad though

 

[manticle]

Get them as cold as possible, as quickly as possible. Chill for at least 24 hours. You can open and leave to degas, then recap and repeat until they aren't over the top - your guess as good as mine. If it were me though and
if they are glass, I'd chill, open them all, have a big session then tip the rest down the sink. Not worth the risk.