I just had a bottle bomb in my kitchen!

[LarryF]

I know that wild yeast is more prevalent in the summer months, I'm wondering if this is because it evolved to take advantage of the sugars in ripening fruit. Hence the Germans banned brewing during the summer months to avoid infection. Because of this I don't dry hop in the summer months, once the lid goes on to the FV then it stays on until I've finished bottling. I don't know if this helps but I'm just playing the percentages. My other concern is that people have said that when plastic FV's get to a certain age they start getting infected brews, my FV is 15 months old now and I'm starting to see a discernible line where the beer meets the trub when I'm cleaning it. I'd rather get it chucked and a new FV than lose a brew, if anyone's got an idea of the shelf life of a plastic FV I'd love to hear it.

There's an interview with Rob Walker, the Head Brewer at Weatheroak Hill Brewery here:

http://www.ournanobreweryproject.com/rob-walker/

He makes a really interesting point about hygene:

"Hygiene. It’s quite easy to throw the word around, but I’m talking real hygiene procedures set in stone and never deviated from"

I've never had an infection(Thank God) but I think that a well thought out Hygene process that is written down and then adhered to religiously is again playing the percentages in fighting off either wild yeast or bacterial infection.

 

[MyQul]

I know that wild yeast is more prevalent in the summer months, I'm wondering if this is because it evolved to take advantage of the sugars in ripening fruit. Hence the Germans banned brewing during the summer months to avoid infection. Because of this I don't dry hop in the summer months, once the lid goes on to the FV then it stays on until I've finished bottling. I don't know if this helps but I'm just playing the percentages. My other concern is that people have said that when plastic FV's get to a certain age they start getting infected brews, my FV is 15 months old now and I'm starting to see a discernible line where the beer meets the trub when I'm cleaning it. I'd rather get it chucked and a new FV than lose a brew, if anyone's got an idea of the shelf life of a plastic FV I'd love to hear it.

There's an interview with Rob Walker, the Head Brewer at Weatheroak Hill Brewery here:

http://www.ournanobreweryproject.com/rob-walker/

He makes a really interesting point about hygene:

"Hygiene. It’s quite easy to throw the word around, but I’m talking real hygiene procedures set in stone and never deviated from"

I've never had an infection(Thank God) but I think that a well thought out Hygene process that is written down and then adhered to religiously is again playing the percentages in fighting off either wild yeast or bacterial infection.

That's why I'm buying a SS brewmaster bucket. Yes it's pretty expensive but I'll never have to worry about it having a shelf life. God knows how much longer my (at least 3 years old) coopers FV, that I use as a no chill cube can last. You should see the state of it. Fortunatley it only has to last a couple more weeks till I get the brewmaster bucket

 

[LarryF]

That's why I'm buying a SS brewmaster bucket. Yes it's pretty expensive but I'll never have to worry about it having a shelf life. God knows how much longer my (at least 3 years old) coopers FV, that I use as a no chill cube can last. You should see the state of it. Fortunatley it only has to last a couple more weeks till I get the brewmaster bucket

I'm laying the groundwork with SWMBO for one of these, it just ticks all the boxes and it's.........SHINY!!!!!!

I had to post a picture of it, you can't beat a bit of FV porn on a Friday evening.

 

[brumbrew]

I work with polyurethane and all of its wonderful derivatives.

Have you ever scratched your fingernail across an old patio set? Or even a new one that's been in the sun? You can shave stuff off and reveal a new layer.

Somewhere for infection to hide.

All PU resins and the alike are photo sensetive. Even at low levels over time. Say a year or so unless exposed to high long levels. Like the patio furniture analogy. Temperature fluctuations can also seriously affect the isocyanate bonds, filler compounds and anti foam agents added during the injection moulding process.

I had a series of infectious brews, and I tried cleaning, boiling and bleaching etc.

Only thing that solved it was a clean and brand new FV.

I've still got the old one,but I use that to put the bottles in while they condition in the house, just in case they explode....SMART!

 

[MyQul]

I'm laying the groundwork with SWMBO for one of these, it just ticks all the boxes and it's.........SHINY!!!!!!

I had to post a picture of it, you can't beat a bit of FV porn on a Friday evening.

YOUR DAMN RIGHT IT'S SHINY!!!!

And that's the exact one I'm getting

 

[MyQul]

I work with polyurethane and all of its wonderful derivatives.

Have you ever scratched your fingernail across an old patio set? Or even a new one that's been in the sun? You can shave stuff off and reveal a new layer.

Somewhere for infection to hide.

All PU resins and the alike are photo sensetive. Even at low levels over time. Say a year or so unless exposed to high long levels. Like the patio furniture analogy. Temperature fluctuations can also seriously affect the isocyanate bonds, filler compounds and anti foam agents added during the injection moulding process.

I had a series of infectious brews, and I tried cleaning, boiling and bleaching etc.

Only thing that solved it was a clean and brand new FV.

I've still got the old one,but I use that to put the bottles in while they condition in the house, just in case they explode....SMART!

So I'm guessing repeatedly chucking near boiling wort into a FV doesn't do a lot for it?

 

[MyQul]

I'm laying the groundwork with SWMBO for one of these, it just ticks all the boxes and it's.........SHINY!!!!!!

I had to post a picture of it, you can't beat a bit of FV porn on a Friday evening.

Btw, have you seen this thread? http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61767

You can get cool bag in the UK now for half the price I had to pay. The Brewmaster bucket will fit perfect inside it. All ready for some shiny summer brewing!

 

[LarryF]

Btw, have you seen this thread? http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61767

You can get cool bag in the UK now for half the price I had to pay. The Brewmaster bucket will fit perfect inside it. All ready for some shiny summer brewing!

I did see that, I thought I'd leave to the expert to reply to it as you're the only one I know with one, Notlaw pointed it straight at you I see. I'm not sure if it 's a case of great minds think alike or idiots never differ, at the moment I'm going with great minds but another three of four bottles and it'll definitely be idiots all round. I must admit I was really impressed with the Mauribrew and MGJ Workhorse yeasts last summper. 28-30c and not a problem of an off taste in sight, they really are good hot weather yeasts. Re-pitching twice from two packets is six brews and that should cover the worst of the hot weather (the worst of the hot weather, who else but a brewer could say that in England?). I'm thinking of getting a pack of each in at the start of June as I just can't choose between them and run with them over the summer again. One thing though, the steel FV should offer more of a temperature barrier from the heat than a plastic one I'd imagine.

 

[brumbrew]

So I'm guessing repeatedly chucking near boiling wort into a FV doesn't do a lot for it?

Not particularly. Food grade plastic just doesn't 'leach' any chemicals as it decomposes. It sort of flakes, as I said with the patio table. Try it ;-)

I know it means buying a new bucket. Or even your shiny shiny oooooooooo bucket, but they have to be retired at some point.

I jut try find a new use for them. I have 2 duff ones and planning on replacing another.

I also replace all silicone piping periodically. I'm lucky I can get it for free. But taps and pipes are always the first place to look.

 

[MyQul]

I did see that, I thought I'd leave to the expert to reply to it as you're the only one I know with one, Notlaw pointed it straight at you I see. I'm not sure if it 's a case of great minds think alike or idiots never differ, at the moment I'm going with great minds but another three of four bottles and it'll definitely be idiots all round. I must admit I was really impressed with the Mauribrew and MGJ Workhorse yeasts last summper. 28-30c and not a problem of an off taste in sight, they really are good hot weather yeasts. Re-pitching twice from two packets is six brews and that should cover the worst of the hot weather (the worst of the hot weather, who else but a brewer could say that in England?). I'm thinking of getting a pack of each in at the start of June as I just can't choose between them and run with them over the summer again. One thing though, the steel FV should offer more of a temperature barrier from the heat than a plastic one I'd imagine.

I'd defiantely agree with you (that idiots never differ :lol: ) that the temp tolerant yeasts are a fantastic thing for a brewer to have in his/her armoury. I used the mauribrew 514 last summer and plan on using some sort of temp tolerant yeast again this summer as I now have 2 FVs on the go usually and only one brew bag.

But one thing I repeatedly read is that along with good sanitition one of the two best things a brewer can do is to have temp control. Having done a few brews with the brew bag I can only agree with this. When I've used the bag (oddly enough the bag is better for warmer ambient temps as it's used to bring temps down, so I havent used it for a couple of months as my kitchen has been between 18C-20C) the brews definately taste better. It's hard to describe but I have noticed a difference

 

[LarryF]

I'd defiantely agree with you (that idiots never differ :lol: ) that the temp tolerant yeasts are a fantastic thing for a brewer to have in his/her armoury. I used the mauribrew 514 last summer and plan on using some sort of temp tolerant yeast again this summer as I now have 2 FVs on the go usually and only one brew bag.

But one thing I repeatedly read is that along with good sanitition one of the two best things a brewer can do is to have temp control. Having done a few brews with the brew bag I can only agree with this. When I've used the bag (oddly enough the bag is better for warmer ambient temps as it's used to bring temps down, so I havent used it for a couple of months as my kitchen has been between 18C-20C) the brews definately taste better. It's hard to describe but I have noticed a difference

Working on the shiny FV and the brew fridge but I have to moderate the pace at which my brewing takes over the entire house.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I work with polyurethane and all of its wonderful derivatives.

Have you ever scratched your fingernail across an old patio set? Or even a new one that's been in the sun? You can shave stuff off and reveal a new layer.

Somewhere for infection to hide.

All PU resins and the alike are photo sensetive. Even at low levels over time. Say a year or so unless exposed to high long levels. Like the patio furniture analogy. Temperature fluctuations can also seriously affect the isocyanate bonds, filler compounds and anti foam agents added during the injection moulding process.

I had a series of infectious brews, and I tried cleaning, boiling and bleaching etc.

Only thing that solved it was a clean and brand new FV.

I've still got the old one,but I use that to put the bottles in while they condition in the house, just in case they explode....SMART!

yes I keep some of my conditioning bottles in my old fv for safety's sake.

a plastic carb tester bottle is also worth doing. I had a batch that carbed up in a few days. down the shed they went - pronto!

 

[MickDundee]

Ok, so I've had 3 of these bottles tonight 2 of which were absolutely fine. Tight, 2-inch head, a little over carbed but fine. The 3rd fizzed up a little in the bottle so the head was a fair bit bigger but still nowhere near enough to explode a bottle.

Starting to think that either 750ml Birra Moretti bottles aren't strong enough (I have another 3 in the shed I will bring in and uncap tomorrow, or the bottle was damaged.

 

[BeerCat]

I opened a bottle last week and the top nearly hit me in the eye. Bruised my finger in fact. As someone said above keeping them in a container is a good idea but i have to much beer.

 

[chuffer]

Could something like this happen if some bottles weren't as clean as the others?

 

[dad_of_jon]

Ok, so I've had 3 of these bottles tonight 2 of which were absolutely fine. Tight, 2-inch head, a little over carbed but fine. The 3rd fizzed up a little in the bottle so the head was a fair bit bigger but still nowhere near enough to explode a bottle.

Starting to think that either 750ml Birra Moretti bottles aren't strong enough (I have another 3 in the shed I will bring in and uncap tomorrow, or the bottle was damaged.

german wheat beer bottles will be your best bet if re-using commercial bottles as that style has higher levels of carbonation compared to say an typical ale.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Could something like this happen if some bottles weren't as clean as the others?

Out of 800 bottled beers i've bottled i've had 1 foam fountain. So yes absolutely could be a bottle that was missed.

 

[GHW]

Reading through this thread has made me nervous about my Patersbier! I primed them quite heavily and they're all now sat in the bedroom about three foot from my head! They are in cardboard boxes, under a heavy blanket though so if one does go off I think the shrapnel would get caught. It would be the end of using the bedroom for conditioning for sure.

 

[Cwrw666]

So I'm guessing repeatedly chucking near boiling wort into a FV doesn't do a lot for it?

Probably not but my oldest FV, which is still in regular use, is somewhere around 10 years old and the white plastic is stained inside, and inside the tap too, a nice rich `stouty' brown.
You'll also find that stainless steel will get pitted over time. We've got a set of SS cutlery that now has a surface texture reminiscent of the moon landings.

 

[MyQul]

Probably not but my oldest FV, which is still in regular use, is somewhere around 10 years old and the white plastic is stained inside, and inside the tap too, a nice rich `stouty' brown.
You'll also find that stainless steel will get pitted over time. We've got a set of SS cutlery that now has a surface texture reminiscent of the moon landings.

Thanks for that Cwrw666, that's really reasurred me. My coopers FV which I use as a no chill cube is similiarly browny green stained on the inside. It's about 3 years old and I was wondering just how much longer it can keep going - seems I can get at least another 7 years or so out of it.
You've saved me some cash too as one of the main reasons I wanted the SS brewmaster bucket was to use as my no chill cube (and retire the coopers FV). :hat: