Pre-empting Bottle Bombs

[efjay]

I'm wondering if it is possible to tell if a bottle is likely to explode before it actually happens?

Is there perhaps a likely amount of time (like first couple of days when bottled for instance) when you can consider it safe and not likely to be a problem.

Or perhaps the amount of bubbling noticable in the bottle?

I expect the glass bottles will be the hard ones to tell, plastic bottles I expect would go very hard and perhaps start to expand due to being over-gassy......


Your experiences/knowledge sharing will help me survive

Cheers

 

[stephen]

FJ

The only way I know of is to wait 5-7 days, cool/chill and slowly open one. If the noise made is only a slight hiss then all "should" be OK, If the hiss is somewhat longer, almost continuous and the beer starts to froth up towards the cap then this could be an indication of potential problems.

These methods are somewhat crude and not overly accurate in their predictions but should give you an idea as to what is happening. If ever in doubt wear safety protection - particularly the eye type!

Steve

 

[vlbaby]

I'm wondering if it is possible to tell if a bottle is likely to explode before it actually happens?

Is there perhaps a likely amount of time (like first couple of days when bottled for instance) when you can consider it safe and not likely to be a problem.

Or perhaps the amount of bubbling noticable in the bottle?

I expect the glass bottles will be the hard ones to tell, plastic bottles I expect would go very hard and perhaps start to expand due to being over-gassy......


Your experiences/knowledge sharing will help me survive

Cheers

Why are you worried about exploding bottles? Did you add too much sugar? Is there a chance that you have an infection? If none of these apply to you, don't worry about it. It will be fine.


vl.

 

[peas_and_corn]

I start worrying if the cap starts 'bowing'

 

[Trough Lolly]

I start worrying if the cap starts 'bowing'

Fark! :blink:

 

[efjay]

Thanks guys.

I'll keep an eye on them and move them off to sit in the shed or something soon.

I have a mix of plastic bottles and glass bottles so watching out for the plastic ones going hard should be easy, and if I spot any crown caps starting to flex I'll deal with them quick smart....

The reason I asked about this in the first place is because I am an amateur brewer and haven't got around to getting anything to measure accurately small amounts of product (like to the 1gm level) to do the bottle priming so to some extent the amounts I've been using are guestimates...

Cheers guys.

 

[homebrewworld.com]

efjay,

Grab yourself some carbonation drops (lollies) from your hbs.
Saves measuring sugar and its just as simple as droping a lolly in a bottle.
Make sure your beer is fermented right out,and no chance of a bomb (unless infection gets ya )
Oh, one lolly per longneck !

cheers

 

[Ash in Perth]

I always used 1 lolly per 330mL stubby. what do you call long necks? king browns or skinnier 330mL bottles?

I never had any explode form this.

 

[InCider]

I'll keep an eye on them and move them off to sit in the shed or something soon.

efjay - when you go to feed the dogs and they wince, that means there's a trouble brewing and a few of the soldiers have been lost. I have had this twice amd both times is has been a big change in temperature upwards and some underfermenting (don't have hydrometer either).

I don a heavy plastic pair of Chopper Read sunnies and take some shade cloth and go into my shed to de-fuse the rest of the batch. Then I recap. Watch out for the shards of glass - they just stick into the skin and need to be washed off.

And make sure you have the appropriate footware - old thongs are too thin and you should wear your good new ones.

I have found the beer to be great a month afterwards.

InCider.

 

[homebrewworld.com]

I don a heavy plastic pair of Chopper Read sunnies and take some shade cloth and go into my shed to de-fuse the rest of the batch. Then I recap. Watch out for the shards of glass - they just stick into the skin and need to be washed off.

And make sure you have the appropriate footware - old thongs are too thin and you should wear your good new ones.

I have found the beer to be great a month afterwards


:blink: :blink: :blink:
Thats probably a good reason to get kegging InCider !!!

 

[InCider]

Not wrong HBW - pick up a fridge from Bindi last week - I just need to get someone to give me a hand to carry it down the the shed! About 50m from the house, down a dozen steps and a retaining wall... sometimes it seems real easy to carrry a few tallies from the shed to the house, but I'd rather keg when I get the $$$ :beerbang:

 

[DrewCarey82]

Guys.

Over the past 2-3 weeks I've actually had 6 bottle bombs in different batch's - All Mash beers I might add.

With most brews I have to admit I try to squeeze as much as possible out of the fermentor and may get a bit of sediment in a few - would this be causing them to blow?

I always wait to get 2 consecutive readings if not 3 on the hydrometer. Over that many days.

Could it have been the recent heat?

Have tried the beers themselves and when chilled arent gushers, no off smells and taste pretty good.

All are between 3 and 6 weeks old.

 

[Stuster]

It's no fun having those bombs waiting there, DC. :angry:

I doubt it's the sediment. What was the OG and FG of those beers? How long were they in primary/secondary? How much did you prime with?

 

[DrewCarey82]

7 days primary, 7 days secondary. - All at recommended temps for the ale and kolsche yeast, 18 to 20 degrees.

And OG was between 1.041 and 1.058. FG was always below 1.010, normally 1.006 was the lowest and 1.008 was the highest.

I just used the Brigalow sugar scoop, and the recommended dosage for that.

Could it be that some of my bottles are 330mls and others are 375 mls? - None of my longnecks have gone boom! Only stubbies.

I may have to start bulk priming.

 

[DJR]

Check your priming levels, are you cold conditioning? Still using 180g dextrose or do you just use sugar?

 

[DrewCarey82]

Sugar mate.

Really priming is the only area I can trace it too. Might as well just bulk prime.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Guys RE bottle bombs.

I've got 2 batch's possibly 3 that are a drama.

for 2 batch's I've had 3 bottles each explode so I tried a couple and they are gush's after being chilled in the freezy and you can taste way too much gas as well.

Should I just pull off the caps and recap and will this fix my problem?

 

[Steve]

Guys RE bottle bombs.

I've got 2 batch's possibly 3 that are a drama.

for 2 batch's I've had 3 bottles each explode so I tried a couple and they are gush's after being chilled in the freezy and you can taste way too much gas as well.

Should I just pull off the caps and recap and will this fix my problem?

What do they taste like Drew? Are they off?

 

[DrewCarey82]

The American Pale I've done is fine.... Tad Bitter is all.

The Blenheim Pils that I've done is okay to start with as in the first few mouthfuls, but no off flavours, just tastes very gassy.

No rotten flavours or anything.

 

[Steve]

The American Pale I've done is fine.... Tad Bitter is all.

The Blenheim Pils that I've done is okay to start with as in the first few mouthfuls, but no off flavours, just tastes very gassy.

No rotten flavours or anything.

its strange - maybe they are too warm where they are stored?

Id be taking the caps off and re-capping them drew. Very CAREFULLY.

P.S. Whats a Blenheim Pils? Wasnt that a german bomber in WWII - the Blenheim Bomber.