Hot weather & Old beers

[photek1000]

So I was in the garage earlier taking the rubbish out and heard a bang, like a tyre giving way, I couldn't work out for the life of me what it was, checked all the bikes etc.

Out there again just now to check the temperature in the fermentation box I find the cause of the bang, an old bottle of American Pale Ale, couple of years at least, that was never really a great beer and was just waiting for a drain session.

Guess I'll be checking all the other bottles tomorrow, generally use PBs these days as I'm lazy, so no major loss and my first bottle bomb.

 

[Dutto]

Maybe (just maybe) the bottle was faulty from when it was manufactured ...

... but just in case it has been the result of overpressure I advise:

1. Wear (as a minimum) long sleeved overalls, safety goggles and heavy duty gloves before approaching the other bottles.

2. Gently spray the bottles with cold water to chill them down. (If they are in a container fill the container with cold water and leave it for 60 minutes.)

3. Cover the tops of the bottles with a wet heavy-duty bath towel.

4. If possible, open the bottles in situ rather than moving them to another location. (Moving them will agitate the bottles and you don't want them exploding because you have moved them. Also, if you get a lot of "gushers" try and live with the problem rather than move the bottles.)

Best of luck and "Be Careful"! I'm glad to say that I haven't had a "bottle bomb" in many years ... :thumb:

... and here's hoping that the "Bad Luck Fairy" doesn't read this Post!

 

[marlon]

5. Drink the contents ASAP

6. There is no Six - Problem solved

Cheers :drunk:

 

[photek1000]

Spotted another this morning in one of the bottle crates, totally contained so no issues with damaged or spearing anyone, a newer brew this time, my Hobgoblin clone, it was a bit frisky that one though.

These are all second hand bottles, and not first use, so probably a combination of issues amplified by the heat in my garage even though they are all sat on the concrete floor.

Will check the rest on the weekend.

 

[Mungri]

Had to drain about 10 pints of Mosaic from my pressure barrel I keep in the shed yesterday.
Last week I needed to get co2 bulbs to help get it out from the barrel.
Checked it yesterday and it was flying out and didn't smell /taste very good. Guess there must have been a little yeast left in the brew and the heat has kicked it off.
Damn this hot weather. 10 pints wasted!!

 

[Dutto]

Good Luck! :thumb:

Back in the mid-50's my Mum made some Ginger Beer from what was known as a "Ginger Beer Plant".

The GBP lived on the mantlepiece in a big Kilner jar and was fed daily with sugar and ground ginger for about two weeks. The resulting "goop" was then poured/scraped into an enamel bucket and mixed with sugar and enough water to fill the bucket.

The result was bottled in a load of screw-top pop bottles and placed on a shelf in the pantry to "mature".

Result? No-one could get into the pantry for about a week as all we could hear was the "thump" of exploding bottles ...

... and my Mum gave up brewing ginger beer - thank God! :thumb: :thumb:

Happy Days! :whistle:

 

[Dutto]

...........

Damn this hot weather. 10 pints wasted!!

I had a luckier experience with some Wilco Cerveza that I brewed in St Nazaire, France.

With no hydrometer I had to guess it had finished fermenting after 18 days when I stuck it in the PB with 85g of sugar. I then carted the PB down to Beziers in the south of France the next day and after only three weeks to clear and carbonate I started to drink the contents.

It was a bit cloudy at first but tasted just fine. :whistle:

Here's the good bit. For the first time EVER, I managed to draw off a litre every day for 21 days without using a CO2 capsule. :thumb: :thumb:

The last couple of pints were transferred into pop bottles at the end of our break and even then the internal pressure was enough to drive the beer out.

Conclusion? Boy was I lucky!

 

[MiddleRoom]

Good Luck! :thumb:

Back in the mid-50's my Mum made some Ginger Beer from what was known as a "Ginger Beer Plant".

The GBP lived on the mantlepiece in a big Kilner jar and was fed daily with sugar and ground ginger for about two weeks. The resulting "goop" was then poured/scraped into an enamel bucket and mixed with sugar and enough water to fill the bucket.

The result was bottled in a load of screw-top pop bottles and placed on a shelf in the pantry to "mature".

Result? No-one could get into the pantry for about a week as all we could hear was the "thump" of exploding bottles ...

... and my Mum gave up brewing ginger beer - thank God! :thumb: :thumb:

Happy Days! :whistle:

That is absolutely class.

 

[Sandimas]

Most of my bottle bombs over the years have been in the garage on a hot sunny day. It just gets too hot in there. I shifted all my stash into the house in this hot weather, it's warm but not as warm as the garage mid-day.

If you cool the bottles down by putting them in the fridge, the CO2 will be re-absorbed into the beer preventing gushers.

 

[Duxuk]

Good Luck! :thumb:

Back in the mid-50's my Mum made some Ginger Beer from what was known as a "Ginger Beer Plant".

The GBP lived on the mantlepiece in a big Kilner jar and was fed daily with sugar and ground ginger for about two weeks. The resulting "goop" was then poured/scraped into an enamel bucket and mixed with sugar and enough water to fill the bucket.

The result was bottled in a load of screw-top pop bottles and placed on a shelf in the pantry to "mature".

Result? No-one could get into the pantry for about a week as all we could hear was the "thump" of exploding bottles ...

... and my Mum gave up brewing ginger beer - thank God! :thumb: :thumb:

Happy Days! :whistle:

Nice. My memory of making ginger beer is that we made a few bottles each week which used half the "plant". The other half you kept feeding. You added quite a bit of extra sugar and lemon juice so it fermented in the bottles. You then drank it within the week so it didn't reach bottle bomb stage. If we'd left it for much longer it would surely have been dangerous, though quite alcoholic:drunk:

 

[Slid]

I had a luckier experience with some Wilco Cerveza that I brewed in St Nazaire, France.

With no hydrometer I had to guess it had finished fermenting after 18 days when I stuck it in the PB with 85g of sugar. I then carted the PB down to Beziers in the south of France the next day and after only three weeks to clear and carbonate I started to drink the contents.

It was a bit cloudy at first but tasted just fine. :whistle:

Here's the good bit. For the first time EVER, I managed to draw off a litre every day for 21 days without using a CO2 capsule. :thumb: :thumb:

The last couple of pints were transferred into pop bottles at the end of our break and even then the internal pressure was enough to drive the beer out.

Conclusion? Boy was I lucky!

Fortunate timing, as you say, Dutto, very fortunate timing.