Risk of bottlwboms?

[ncbrewer]

You say you primed to 3 volumes. The priming sugar calculation should be based on the volume in the bottling bucket - not the fermenter. If you based it on fermenter volume, it is higher carb level than calculated.

 

[ncbrewer]

Edit: Duplicate post

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Regardless, there is way too much headspace in those bottles. You could easily eliminate at least another 1.5" just by allowing the beer and/or StarSan residual bubbles (if any bubbles remained in the bottles prior to filling) to reach the top of the bottle. You could even eliminate more headspace after filling to the top of the bottle by placing the bottom tip of the bottling wand just inside the lip of the bottle and press slightly against the inside of the bottle.

The tip of my bottiing wand/filler seems to displace the right amount of beer (when the wand in the bottle) to get a proper fill. I purposefully over fill each bottle before I remove the wand.

Moving on from the bottling tip (and no longer replying to @CodeSection s comment)

I use one gal carboys for six-packs test batches, so I have plenty of beer for hydrometer samples, bottling losses, ... If I want more beer, I use a bigger fermenter.

If "every drop of beer is precious", then "some drops have a special calling" to help make great beer.

I put the bottles that I'm concerned to safer place and I didn't took a picture of them, so I send the old picture (same bottles, different batch).

Looks like the "classic" bottle bomb picture (at HBT) has disappeared. It was here (link). Photo is, at the moment anyway, here (link). Personally, I'm not convinced that there is a "safe" container to hold those bottles or a "safe" way to open them.

Even ketchup can ferment and cause bottle bombs (link) feels like a good to close out this reply.

 

[HemanBrew]

29h since bottling... I know it's too early to check, but I did open and recap another bottle... nothing unusual with that... Just a small hiss...

I think I'll open another one tomorrow.

 

[HemanBrew]

It's 3 days since bottling. Opened one and recapped. In the picture you can see the small amount of gusher. Hiss-sound was a bit less than what you would expect from normal carbonation.
Maybe tomorrow I drink one and decide if I'll open and recap them all.

 

[JimRausch]

Question HemanBrew: Did you perhaps measure FG after you added the priming sugar? If so, then the reading would be artificially high and all is well. Hopefully that's the answer.........

 

[HemanBrew]

Question HemanBrew: Did you perhaps measure FG after you added the priming sugar? If so, then the reading would be artificially high and all is well. Hopefully that's the answer.........

No, it's before priming.
This is what I did:
-boiled wather and sugar and put that in big kettle.
-siphoned the 1dl of beer to mesurementglass for FG.
-siphon the rest of the beer to the kettle where is the sugars
-siphoned from the kettle to bottles.

 

[kh54s10]

That picture looks like what I would expect with a properly primed beer. Only if beer sprays all over the room do you need to uncap to relieve the pressure.

 

[HemanBrew]

That picture looks like what I would expect with a properly primed beer. Only if beer sprays all over the room do you need to uncap to relieve the pressure.

I'm thinking I want to relieve the pressure before it sprays all over... So I get to drink the beer and not clean it from the walls.
The picture is after 3days in bottle, so I guess it will still generate more pressure.

 

[kh54s10]

I'm thinking I want to relieve the pressure before it sprays all over... So I get to drink the beer and not clean it from the walls.
The picture is after 3days in bottle, so I guess it will still generate more pressure.

But that doesn't look like it is anywhere near over carbonated. If your beer was done but had a high FG you could have properly primed beers. If you open them and there is not a problem you will create one - flat beers.

 

[HemanBrew]

Opened one at day 4. Not wery much carbonation yet. Taste wery sweet... a bit like barleywine.
I have hope for the other bottles so I will not open/recap them if they stay fine.

I hope I cans see from the bottlecaps if the pressure gets too high...

 

[CodeSection]

At this point I would suggest you stop opening the bottles. Just relax and give it at least a full week before opening another bottle.

It is one thing about being concerned, it is another thing to overreact. I'm not trying to be critical here, especially with all the posts about the dangers of overcarbing. But the fact remains 1) there is no evidence that you have overcarbed and 2) it is too early to tell since you only bottled last Saturday (~4-5 days ago). Give it time.

Again, you have too much headspace in those bottles.....

 

[dmtaylor]

Yeah, I'll admit that the evidence does not support my initial claim that these will overcarb. Please accept my sincere apologies. We can't all be correct all of the time.

 

[Jokester]

I saw a video once about opening a properly primed beer. He opened one just a day or so after priming and it gushed. A little later they overflowed a little and when fully conditioned at a few weeks they were fine.

That is true. I put a few grains of sugar in a cam lock bottle filled with one of my brut's. It immediately overflowed, but I quickly cam locked it. A week later it seemed to be lightly carbonated just perfectly. I thought it was because my camlock may be leaking, but now I know better. That's how its supposed to be. I guess yeast running for fresh sugar releases co2 trapped in the beer not to mention the light agitation of dropping the sugar in. Then as yeast eat the sugar and make co2, it remains lightly carbonated till you open it, where by it just hisses and little gets out.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

[kh54s10]

That is true. I put a few grains of sugar in a cam lock bottle filled with one of my brut's. It immediately overflowed, but I quickly cam locked it. A week later it seemed to be lightly carbonated just perfectly. I thought it was because my camlock may be leaking, but now I know better. That's how its supposed to be. I guess yeast running for fresh sugar releases co2 trapped in the beer not to mention the light agitation of dropping the sugar in. Then as yeast eat the sugar and make co2, it remains lightly carbonated till you open it, where by it just hisses and little gets out.
Cool.
Srinath.

What is really happening when opening a bottle early is that the co2 has not gone into solution, and it foams. Once the co2 has gone into solution you get carbonation and that will appear as bubbles rising, giving the glass of beer a head.

Adding sugar gave the beer that was slightly carbonated nucleation points and it foamed up.

 

[HemanBrew]

At this point I would suggest you stop opening the bottles. Just relax and give it at least a full week before opening another bottle.

It is one thing about being concerned, it is another thing to overreact. I'm not trying to be critical here, especially with all the posts about the dangers of overcarbing. But the fact remains 1) there is no evidence that you have overcarbed and 2) it is too early to tell since you only bottled last Saturday (~4-5 days ago). Give it time.

Again, you have too much headspace in those bottles.....

So I have waited 2 weeks now. Opened one. There was not much carbonation. I wonder why? It been in room temperature the whole 2 weeks.

The taste was wery sweet. Like a sweet barleywine. Maybe I should let this batch age some...?

 

[bracconiere]

i have to admit i skipped most posts...but if it's a 1 gallon batch, just throw them in the fridge after a week, drink them in a couple days.....

 

[CodeSection]

So I have waited 2 weeks now. Opened one. There was not much carbonation. I wonder why? It been in room temperature the whole 2 weeks.

The taste was wery sweet. Like a sweet barleywine. Maybe I should let this batch age some...?

We are obviously missing something here. With the amount of priming sugar you used, you should have seen more carbonation after two weeks as compared to what you were seeing after a couple of days.

When I went back and closely looked at your capped bottles, I noticed several caps that appeared to be crooked. Combine this observation with you not experiencing much carbonation, I wonder if the caps sealed properly.

 

[Rackrunner]

Just to ask the obligatory question: Was your final gravity reading with a hydrometer or refractometer? If it was a refractometer, did you correct for alcohol presence? 1.025 FG is right around the reading I get for a few beers using US05 without correcting for alcohol. If you didn't, your FG may be right as expected

https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

 

[HemanBrew]

We are obviously missing something here. With the amount of priming sugar you used, you should have seen more carbonation after two weeks as compared to what you were seeing after a couple of days.

When I went back and closely looked at your capped bottles, I noticed several caps that appeared to be crooked. Combine this observation with you not experiencing much carbonation, I wonder if the caps sealed properly.

Not shure what you mean. They are properly sealed. Maybe it's my camera wide lence that makes that effect that you see. Dunno.

 

[HemanBrew]

Just to ask the obligatory question: Was your final gravity reading with a hydrometer or refractometer? If it was a refractometer, did you correct for alcohol presence? 1.025 FG is right around the reading I get for a few beers using US05 without correcting for alcohol. If you didn't, your FG may be right as expected

https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

Hydrometer.

 

[lowtones84]

So I have waited 2 weeks now. Opened one. There was not much carbonation. I wonder why? It been in room temperature the whole 2 weeks.

The taste was wery sweet. Like a sweet barleywine. Maybe I should let this batch age some...?

Did you chill the bottle for a couple of days before opening? Overnight works but I find 2+ days gives the best amount of time for the co2 to go into solution. If it is warm or didn't have enough time chilled for the co2 to go into solution, it will just escape when you uncap. You're keeping the bottles somewhere at least room temperature, right?

 

[HemanBrew]

Did you chill the bottle for a couple of days before opening? Overnight works but I find 2+ days gives the best amount of time for the co2 to go into solution. If it is warm or didn't have enough time chilled for the co2 to go into solution, it will just escape when you uncap. You're keeping the bottles somewhere at least room temperature, right?

I have never heard about this factor that you need to chill the beer for longer time that it takes for to get te temperature right. Interesting. But shouldn't there be Co2 even in room temp bottle. Intrested about more info about this topic.

I store the bottles in room temp (20°C).
I chilled the bottle outside (3°C) about 4-5 hours before opening.

 

[lowtones84]

I have never heard about this factor that you need to chill the beer for longer time that it takes for to get te temperature right. Interesting. But shouldn't there be Co2 even in room temp bottle. Intrested about more info about this topic.

I store the bottles in room temp (20°C).
I chilled the bottle outside (3°C) about 4-5 hours before opening.

Basically, the co2 will just occupy the headspace at a warm temp. Some will be absorbed at room temperature I believe, but very little. In my experience, 4-5 hours is not enough for it to go into solution.

 

[CodeSection]

@HemanBrew, you can try and put a bottle in the refrigerator for 24 hours to see if you notice any increase is carbonation. While it is true more CO2 is absorbed/dissolved into the beer at a lower temperature, I'm not sure if one could actually detect a change with such a small amount of headspace. Though, as mentioned before, you have too much headspace.

Have you ever dropped a warm bottle of beer or punctured a warm can of beer? If so, what occurred? I suspect you saw a lot of foam as the CO2 was releasing out of the beer. My point, warm beer does have CO2 dissolved into it.

Reasons why bottles do not carb could be : 1) caps do not seal, 2) the yeast has flocculated out so there is no yeast to consume the priming sugar, 3) there wasn't enough priming sugar used, 4) the bottles were conditioned at a lower temperature that caused the yeast to go dormant, and 5) the bottles were condition at a high temperature that effectively killed any remaining yeast.

Any one of the above, or combination there of, could cause the bottles not carbing. Heck, maybe you miscalculated in the amount of priming sugar you added. Though, with you commenting how sweet the beer is tasting, I suspect that is not the case unless you had already a large amount of unfermented sugar to begin with.

I would review your process by listing the steps you took to see if you can identify what occurred. I'm curious, in those bottles that you opened (or at least the recent one), did you notice any sediment at the bottom of the bottle?

 

[HemanBrew]

@HemanBrew, you can try and put a bottle in the refrigerator for 24 hours to see if you notice any increase is carbonation. While it is true more CO2 is absorbed/dissolved into the beer at a lower temperature, I'm not sure if one could actually detect a change with such a small amount of headspace. Though, as mentioned before, you have too much headspace.

Have you ever dropped a warm bottle of beer or punctured a warm can of beer? If so, what occurred? I suspect you saw a lot of foam as the CO2 was releasing out of the beer. My point, warm beer does have CO2 dissolved into it.

Reasons why bottles do not carb could be : 1) caps do not seal, 2) the yeast has flocculated out so there is no yeast to consume the priming sugar, 3) there wasn't enough priming sugar used, 4) the bottles were conditioned at a lower temperature that caused the yeast to go dormant, and 5) the bottles were condition at a high temperature that effectively killed any remaining yeast.

Any one of the above, or combination there of, could cause the bottles not carbing. Heck, maybe you miscalculated in the amount of priming sugar you added. Though, with you commenting how sweet the beer is tasting, I suspect that is not the case unless you had already a large amount of unfermented sugar to begin with.

I would review your process by listing the steps you took to see if you can identify what occurred. I'm curious, in those bottles that you opened (or at least the recent one), did you notice any sediment at the bottom of the bottle?

Thanks guys. I'm luring mutch.

I'm thinking if the brew was done in too high temp and therefore the wort had much unfermentable sugars. So thats at least one possible factor that could have made it so sweet.
... But I don't remember that the sample before priming sugars would have been too sweet? But I don't really trust my tastememory in this wery much...

One thing comes to my mind. When I took the sample out of the fermenter to measure the FG, I did it by siphoning it to the sample first. And after that I siphoned the rest of the beer to kettle where I added priming sugars.
So is it possible that the first sample that I siphoned from the bottom of the fermenter had more sugars than the rest of the beer?
In the other way to ask: when the beer is in the fermenter, are there more sugars in the bottom than in the upper parts?
This would explain a lot.

The priming sugars were weighted carefully and counted in brewersfriend, so it's hard to believe there would have been less priming sugars than I intended.

When I opened and poored this beer, There were some sediments in the bottom of the bottle. Mainly stuck in the bottom (yeast?) and just little sediments/bigger haze in the last part of the beer (didn't poor that to glass).
Also the Hiss-sound was not wery big when opening the bottle.


Let's say that I have calculated the FG wrong and the beer would have actually be fermented good.
... and then I would have added priming sugars to 3+volume. And now the priming sugars are not for some reason conditioning to Co2.
Is it possible that all of the weetness that I'm tasting comes from the priming sugars?


And I'm deffinetly going to put one beer to fride for few days to test if something will change.

Thanks again.


Ps. My second allgrain batch is fermenting and this time I had better mash temperatures. And this batch is lower avb (4.5) . Hoping to get good FG from that batch. If not then something is really twisted in my system

 

[dmtaylor]

So is it possible that the first sample that I siphoned from the bottom of the fermenter had more sugars than the rest of the beer?
In the other way to ask: when the beer is in the fermenter, are there more sugars in the bottom than in the upper parts?
This would explain a lot.

No, this does not occur. The sugars are uniform in the fermenter.

Is it possible that all of the weetness that I'm tasting comes from the priming sugars?

This is very likely.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know about 4-5 hours but I have never seen any difference in a bottle put in the fridge the night before and drunk the next night - about 24 hours and one that stayed in the fridge for several days. There has not even been a significant difference between those put in the fridge first thing in the morning and drunk that night - about 10-12 hours.

 

[HemanBrew]

No, this does not occur. The sugars are uniform in the fermenter.



This is very likely.

Ok. I thinking this have no real idea how sweet would beer taste if it would have FG 1.025...

 

[CodeSection]

....One thing comes to my mind. When I took the sample out of the fermenter to measure the FG, I did it by siphoning it to the sample first. And after that I siphoned the rest of the beer to kettle where I added priming sugars....

Some questions:
1) You were using a kettle as a bottling bucket, correct? Why?
2) You did NOT heat the beer in the kettle, correct?
3) What was the volume of beer in the kettle before you added the priming sugar?
4) How certain are you about that volume? How do you know it is correct? How did you measure it?
5) What type of priming sugar did you use?
6) How much priming sugar did you use? What was the weight?

 

[HemanBrew]

Some questions:
1) You were using a kettle as a bottling bucket, correct? Why?
2) You did NOT heat the beer in the kettle, correct?
3) What was the volume of beer in the kettle before you added the priming sugar?
4) How certain are you about that volume? How do you know it is correct? How did you measure it?
5) What type of priming sugar did you use?
6) How much priming sugar did you use? What was the weight?

1. Yes. I siphon the beer from the fermenter to kettle and mix the priming sugars there. Then siphon to bottles. Why? Because I can... And the kettle is always clean. Is there something wrong with this method?
2. Of course not after fermentation.
3. 3.5 litres
4. The kettle has a measurement numbers inside.
5. Table sugar
6. 30 grams

 

[CodeSection]

1. Yes. I siphon the beer from the fermenter to kettle and mix the priming sugars there. Then siphon to bottles. Why? Because I can... And the kettle is always clean. Is there something wrong with this method?
2. Of course not after fermentation.
3. 3.5 litres
4. The kettle has a measurement numbers inside.
5. Table sugar
6. 30 grams

At this point, I have no idea what is going on. Even if the volume was higher, say 4.5L, your carbonation level would be 2.5 and very noticeable. Your ABV is 7.4% which is well below US-05 ABV tolerance of 9-11%.

I'm out of ideas....

 

[dmtaylor]

At this point, I have no idea what is going on. Even if the volume was higher, say 4.5L, your carbonation level would be 2.5 and very noticeable. Your ABV is 7.4% which is well below US-05 ABV tolerance of 9-11%.

I'm out of ideas....

Ditto. The results make no sense at all.

 

[lowtones84]

Turn the bottles upside down and back over again every day, make sure they're warm. Wait another week at least. Chill 2 days before drinking the next. Although within the alcohol tolerance of the yeast, it's a bit of a heavy lift and I wouldn't be surprised if it's having some difficulty. I don't really have any other ideas.

 

[HemanBrew]

Reasons why bottles do not carb could be : 1) caps do not seal, 2) the yeast has flocculated out so there is no yeast to consume the priming sugar, 3) there wasn't enough priming sugar used, 4) the bottles were conditioned at a lower temperature that caused the yeast to go dormant, and 5) the bottles were condition at a high temperature that effectively killed any remaining yeast.

Ditto. The results make no sense at all.

Turn the bottles upside down and back over again every day, make sure they're warm. Wait another week at least. Chill 2 days before drinking the next. Although within the alcohol tolerance of the yeast, it's a bit of a heavy lift and I wouldn't be surprised if it's having some difficulty. I don't really have any other ideas.

So heres a closer to this topic.

I turned few bottles up and down few times for few days and stored them in the warmest room in the house for a week.
I put the bottles to fridge for 3 days.
I opened the bottles carefully.
Not much carbonation.
Good foam.
Wery wery sweet.

So my best quess is that the yeast has focculated out or died for some reason and the priming sugars makes the beer wery sweet now.

The good news:
1. I dont have many bottles left.
2. I can blend this beer to some blood orange + sparklingwather/tonic and I get deesent tasting raddler kindof drink
3. The batch I made after this didnt have the hig OG problem, and I get to taste the first beer from that batch tomorrow.

Thanks for you all for helping me to make some sence out of this

 

[CodeSection]

....The good news:....3. The batch I made after this didnt have the hig OG problem, and I get to taste the first beer from that batch tomorrow.

Thanks for you all for helping me to make some sence out of this

Let us know how this other batch turned out and if it is at the correct carbonation level you wanted.

Happy brewing!