Safe bottle carbonation levels?

[All.Hopped.Up]

I am about to bottle my hefeweizen and am wondering what people would recommend as a safe volume of co2 for glass bottles?(bulk priming)

I am planning on bottling half the 21litre batch 330ml bottles in a mix of hoegaarden, Sierra Nevada and Paulaner bottles and the rest in old solid 750ml tallies.

The recommended co2 level for German Wheat Beer is 3.3 - 4.5 volumes, if I aim for 3.3 volumes would this be safe? I really don't fancy exploding bottles.

Thanks.

 

[verysupple]

I asked Jamil about reusing their commercial Heretic bottles becuase they looked pretty sturdy and this was his response:

The bottles we use are considered single use here and are not extra heavy like true commercial refillable bottles. However, these are the same bottles that most homebrewers use in the US for bottling and carbonating homebrew. If undamaged, they can hold standard beer pressures without trouble. I would avoid using them for higher carbonation levels, such as some belgians, and keep the volumes of CO2 to 3 or lower.


Jamil Zainasheff
Chief Heretic
Heretic Brewing Company

So I'd say keep it under 3 vols to be safe. Also FWIW, I've been carbing my weissbiers to ~3.0 vols lately and think they might be slightly over done so my next one I'll back off to ~2.8 anyway.

 

[All.Hopped.Up]

I asked Jamil about reusing their commercial Heretic bottles becuase they looked pretty sturdy and this was his response:



So I'd say keep it under 3 vols to be safe. Also FWIW, I've been carbing my weissbiers to ~3.0 vols lately and think they might be slightly over done so my next one I'll back off to ~2.8 anyway.

I don't want them to end up like soft drink, so I might take your advice and aim for 2.8 Vols.

 

[All.Hopped.Up]

I was planning a La Chouffe clone in the near future.... Does this mean that I will have to source stronger bottles or should my thick older style 750ml longneck bottles suffice?

 

[verysupple]

I was planning a La Chouffe clone in the near future.... Does this mean that I will have to source stronger bottles or should my thick older style 750ml longneck bottles suffice?

Are the "older style 750ml" bottles reused commerical ones or ones bought from a HBS?

I asked my LHBS about the "Rogue Style" 640 mL ones I have and they told me they're good for up to 4 vols no probs.

 

[All.Hopped.Up]

Reused commercial ones.

Are the "older style 750ml" bottles reused commerical ones or ones bought from a HBS?

I asked my LHBS about the "Rogue Style" 640 mL ones I have and they told me they're good for up to 4 vols no probs.

 

[verysupple]

I wouldn't risk the high carbonation for the La Chouffe clone in the commercial bottles. Just buy some of the proper reusable homebrew ones, they're not that dear. If you want to be doubly safe, go for some decent 750 mL swingtops. They're a bit more expensive but when I asked about the Rogue Style bottles, my LHBS also said the swingtops are "super strong!". http://www.liquorcraft.com.au/afawcs0133827/CATID=0/SUBID=446/ID=2282/SID=30275669/productdetails.html

 

[All.Hopped.Up]

:unsure: It would seem that 2.8 Vols may be too high, as something just exploded in the garage.

What should I do? I don't really want to disturb the rest of the batch, lest I may have to make a trip to the emergency department :blink: .

 

[philmud]

I didn't see this before I started a bottle bomb thread a moment ago, but I had a bottle explode today too. Ironically, I think it was a Sierra Nevada 330ml bottle. I carbed to approx 3.4 volumes (feel like a muppet now!).

Check out the thread for the advice I was given.

Edit: I realise it's more coincidental than it is ironic.

 

[Alex.Tas]

I use old sparkling wine bottles. they can stand much higher carb levels and i reckon they are easier to source than long necks. You just need a slightly larger crown seal and a slightly larger capping "cup". i think even the thinish ones are rated to 5g/v.

 

[verysupple]

:unsure: It would seem that 2.8 Vols may be too high, as something just exploded in the garage.

How sure are you that they're actually 2.8 vols? I presume you didn't make the age-old rookie mistake of bottling too early, but a small miscalculation or error in measuring priming sugar can make a difference.

I use old sparkling wine bottles. they can stand much higher carb levels and i reckon they are easier to source than long necks. You just need a slightly larger crown seal and a slightly larger capping "cup". i think even the thinish ones are rated to 5g/v.

That's a pretty good option, I think. Coming into spring, and the "bogan chicks pretending to be classy and getting smashed on bubbly in a slutty evening dress instead of a frock while carrying their shoes" season spring racing carnival, is a good time to collect them.

 

[All.Hopped.Up]

All.Hopped.Up, on 18 Sept 2013 - 4:20 PM, said:

:unsure: It would seem that 2.8 Vols may be too high, as something just exploded in the garage.

How sure are you that they're actually 2.8 vols? I presume you didn't make the age-old rookie mistake of bottling too early, but a small miscalculation or error in measuring priming sugar can make a difference.

It was in the fermenter for over 3 weeks, and I took 3 stable gravity readings in a row before bottling.
I use a set of digital scales to weigh my sugar for priming.... so that wasn't it either.
I checked the rest of the bottles this morning and they don't seem to be highly pressurised (no bubbling crown caps) so I am hoping it was just the one bottle.....only time will tell.*ducks for cover*

 

[Mardoo]

I use old sparkling wine bottles. they can stand much higher carb levels and i reckon they are easier to source than long necks. You just need a slightly larger crown seal and a slightly larger capping "cup". i think even the thinish ones are rated to 5g/v.

For high-carbed beers new home brew bottles or re-used sparkling wind bottles would be safest. ATas is correct that sparkling bottles are rated to 5 atmospheres. If you live in Melbourne I can collect some for you from work. It'd take a couple weeks to get two dozen.

You would need a bench capper with a tirage bell and tirage caps.