Yup, Bottle Bombs - advice needed

***Update at End of Thread***

Sorry to somewhat double post here, but there's a question at the bottom that needs a somewhat urgent answer. Thanks!

So I bottled my first 2 batches on the weekend, each 6 gallons. I wasn't wearing my glasses when i read the chart for quantities of priming sugar (that's the story I'm sticking with) and instead of adding 2+1/2 ounces of priming sugar to each batch, I ADDED 2+1/2 CUPS TO EACH 6 GALLON BATCH!

Wowsers, what a mistake!

I realized my mistake last night at 4am. I opened a bottle from one batch, and sure enough, after 4 days of "conditioning" it foamed out quite a lot. To save the batch I opened them all, let sit a few minutes, recapped them all and put them in the fridge.

The other batch is a bit more interesting, and I'd like some suggestions.

With this other batch, I forgot to add the priming sugar to the bottling bucket before I racked the beer into it. So I added the sugar (yes, all 2+1/2 cups) after. I had nothing suitable to stir with, so I used the racking cane to swirl it around a bit. Honestly though, I reckon that really didn't even count as stirring. It would be like trying to stir a witches cauldron with your d@#k. To make matters even more interesting, I didn't realize when bottling that there was so much more beer below the spigot, so I didn't tip to get the remaining few liters out. Man, I'm such a noob, I probably shouldn't be allowed anywhere near this equipment. Is it possible most of the sugar sank to the bottom below the spigot line and never made it into the bottles?

So, again, after 4 days of conditioning, I opened one. Barely any fizz at all. So, my question is - what should I do with this second batch? Open them all and recap like the others, put directly into the fridge, or simply play the waiting game and see what happens?

I am new to this, so take it with a grain of salt....but this is what I would do:

-dump
-rebrew
-learn lesson

For the 'foam' batch, I'd keep a real close eye on those, opening a bottle every 2-3 days until I was sure they weren't over carbing again, if they are, I'd repeat what you did, or get them cold.

For the non foam batch, let them ride, and do the same thing.

Granted, the amount of sugar may really alter the flavor, either drying it way out, or sweetening it way up depending on the yeast.

andy6026 said:

So, again, after 4 days of conditioning, I opened one. Barely any fizz at all. So, my question is - what should I do with this second batch? Open them all and recap like the others, put directly into the fridge, or simply play the waiting game and see what happens?

Click to expand...

No harm in waiting at this point.... though it may be a good idea to make allowances for possible bottle bombs... 4 days isn't much time even for 3x the sugar. Don't worry, most of us have made far worse mistakes in the beginning than adding too much bottling sugar...

In the future this may be of some assistance: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

Don't dump. Don't ever dump, unless you have no space, or you have a verified infection--and even then, maybe don't dump. You can make beer vinegar, save a vinegar mother that has formed in a fermenter, or save a soured beer for a year or so and see what happens.

In this example, get the overdosed bottles cold if you have the space, and let them alone for about six weeks.

Give the underdosed bottles the same amount of time. And hey, if they don't carbonate fully? It still may taste good, and it will be beer. Some beers, like English bitters, have very low levels of carbonation. The natural carbonation from the yeast will be present at least.

Dumping is only the absolute, final, resort. Don't do it if you can. Learning how to fix and adapt to problems is part of brewing. http://delray.patch.com/articles/port-city-brewing-company-has-close-call-after-storm-power-outages

climateboy said:

Don't dump. Don't ever dump, unless you have no space, or you have a verified infection--and even then, maybe don't dump. You can make beer vinegar, save a vinegar mother that has formed in a fermenter, or save a soured beer for a year or so and see what happens.

In this example, get the overdosed bottles cold if you have the space, and let them alone for about six weeks.

Give the underdosed bottles the same amount of time. And hey, if they don't carbonate fully? It still may taste good, and it will be beer. Some beers, like English bitters, have very low levels of carbonation. The natural carbonation from the yeast will be present at least.

Dumping is only the absolute, final, resort. Don't do it if you can. Learning how to fix and adapt to problems is part of brewing. http://delray.patch.com/articles/port-city-brewing-company-has-close-call-after-storm-power-outages

Click to expand...

To each their own, but if I made this big of a mistake, I would consider the cost of a bunch of beer blowing up in my wife's coat closet (where I bottle condition). A catastrophic event that causes hundreds of dollars in damage to the hardwood floor and my family's coats could mean the end of beer in the house.

Bad beer isnt worth drinking IMO either. I am not strapped for cash, or looking for anything to get me drunk. I want to make good beer...if it's no good, I will not be wasting the calories on it.

That's why I personally would not hesitate to dump a batch that I knew I screwed up pretty bad. And just so we are clear, he added 17 OUNCES of sugar when it called for 2.5. That's a bad screw up, that I would think has the potential for blow ups.

Also, one more thing:

To Andy, best of luck. I dont want to come off as a sh*t to you, because stuff happens. No judging here, I do stupid stuff all the time. But when I do, I try to minimize the damage.

No problem at all on the advice to dump. I understand where you're coming from. I'm going to go the other route though and keep an eye on them, keep 'em cold and open one every so often to see how it's 'progressing'. I've got some in a fridge solely dedicated to homebrew, and most of the rest in coolers that will minimize damage and clean-up. I do have one case (12) on its lonesome in the basement with no where to go. A friend is going to come over tonight and see if we can't make a dent in the collection.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I feel reassured that I can let this ride for a bit at least.

brokebucket said:

To each their own, but if I made this big of a mistake, I would consider the cost of a bunch of beer blowing up in my wife's coat closet (where I bottle condition). A catastrophic event that causes hundreds of dollars in damage to the hardwood floor and my family's coats could mean the end of beer in the house.

Click to expand...

I think there are plenty of ways to avoid bottle-bombing your wife's closet besides dumping the beer. I would also never dump a batch if it can still be salvaged, and I think this one still can.

Good to see you still putting up the good fight, Andy. The "unstirred priming sugar" batch might have some bottle bombs along with some heavily undercarbonated beers, so you'll just have to keep an eye on it. Crap happens. We learn from it. And beer is still beer.

I would uncap all the beers and put foil with rubberbands on the tops. Let that sugar ferment fully out for a few weeks and then use priming tabs and recap. It will be the easiest solution with only the risk of oxidation as a downside that I see.

So I tasted another one last night and it was waaaay to sweet to be a drinkable beer. But I'm guessing that's because of all the sugar I added that had yet to ferment. I considered dumping, but if I can that sugar to ferment without exploding my bottles, I may forge ahead. It just means I'll have to be doing quite a bit of capping and re-capping I imagine. The foil ideas not bad, I might try it.

Update - A tasted one of each batch the night before last. I had them in the fridge all day and then poured a pint of each.

The Munton's Pale Ale was awful. It tasted extremely malty and sweet at the same time. Even imagining the sweet taste gone, the base malty taste left over appeared undrinkable. When I poured it into the glass it fizzed like crazy but then completely lost its head... but it bubbled heavily - exactly like Coca-Cola. I'm not sorry to say I dumped it. I needed the bottles for an IPA that ought to be good. Ok, I could have got other bottles had I tried, but the effort didn't seem worth it. I saved 2 liters just to see if something improves at some point...

The Dark Ale was a bit of a different story. Still too sweet, but there's hints of something drinkable underneath. If this was the final product then it too would get dumped, but since there's chance of improvement, and the bottles are yet to be useful for something else, I'll keep it longer.

Should refrigerate for at least 4 days before sampling. Taste will most likely be quite different.