FraserH Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 well not quite yet [biggrin] .Recently while drinking a brigalow cider that I made I noticed that all the bottles I was opening were opening with so much force that its forcing the wire swing top off the bottle completely ( 2 so far have hit the ceiling). As you can imagine my first thoughts are "oh darn Ill just have to drink them all faster[bandit] " but it does kind of concern me for the bottles that I have in storage that I was planning on keeping, as I keep 3 of every brew in boxes and was planning on leaving them for 9-12 months. If the cider bottles were to go bang in the box what would potentialy happen to the other 9 bottles of beer in that box[crying] I know that there are potentially a few things that Ive done wrong ie: over primed or fermentation wasnt complete and this is defiantely a learning curve for me and a mistake I wont be making again any time soon. Cheers Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Put towel/rags/blankets etc between them this might help a potential "domino" effect and if there are any explosions it will contain the glass rather than have glass all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyR1525228508 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 If it is safe to move them, it might be worth chilling the bottles to reduce some of the pressure before popping the swing-top... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersAle Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 with the brigalow cider it id best drink them all with in 6months as they do change be more like a strongbow in the end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 wrap them several times in clingwrap, when they shayyer it will at least stop the vast majority of the glass fragments and may go some way to protecting the others. Yob [edit] you can always get the ones you suspect are over carbed and if in swing tops, release some of the pressure and reseal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'd recap them or release the pressure like Yob said...I'd also wear some kind of eye protection while handling the bottles. (I'd then cower in a corner and get my wife to open them [innocent] ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserH Posted September 26, 2011 Author Share Posted September 26, 2011 the only problem is that when i pop them they force the whole wire swingtop off the bottle and flying in all directions and its like putting a mentos into a bottle of diet coke as it turns into a fountain and I lose 1/4 of the bottle. so I dont think just releasing some pressure is really an option. Ill wrap the long term storage ones to lessen the impact if they do go bang and Im down to 6 bottles left which ill finish off in the next few days. Now Im about to bottle another cider which has well and truly finished fermenting but should i still use the carbonation drops as before or should I use sugar and half the amount this time? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserH Posted September 26, 2011 Author Share Posted September 26, 2011 (I'd then cower in a corner and get my wife to open them ).... well after one swing top got SWMBO on the forehead lastnight i dont think she will be too keen to open anymore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 How big are the bottles and how many carb drops did you put in Fraser? I'd recommend bulk priming if you are using grolsch or irregularly sized bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserH Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Ohk well Im using grolsh and 745ml amber swingtop bottles so Im guessing bulk priming it is. so whats the easiest method of priming as Ive only ever used the carb drops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Do a search on this site - I know I've given the rundown many times. If you don't have any luck finding the bulk priming threads I'll try and be lees lazy and type it out again [biggrin] A Bulk Priming Calculator can also be useful. EDIT: Here a link to some of the BULK PRIMING THREADS My method is to then join them together, tap to tap, with some food grade hose and drain the beer into the one with my sugar solution. I use dextrose dissolved in around 1 cup of boiling water. I used to use about 180g of dex per 23L batch but lately have been using the calculator which generally prescribes less than that to suit my needs. BULK PRIMING THREADS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 geez Muddy.. 180g!! Im down to about 120g and still fallling!! lol +1 for the Tap to Tap method, it's great... be sure to get yourself some food grade hose (not from bunnings) as non FG hose when boiled lets off plastic aroma that I for one do not like in my beers!! I havnt used drops in some time, in fact I threw out an almost full packet, I very much like being able to tailor my beers for my tastes. Bulk Priming Rocks[cool] Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The 180g was as per coopers advice of 8g per litre (rounded down to 180). 120g is a little low for my tastes. I guess just shy of 140g for a 23L would be my current standard for my Pale Ales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoptimus Maximus Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The 180g was as per coopers advice of 8g per litre (rounded down to 180). 120g is a little low for my tastes. I guess just shy of 140g for a 23L would be my current standard for my Pale Ales. I use dextrose at 8.5gms/litre and never have suffered over carbonation. Found with the heavier ales I have bottled during the winter(7.5% ABV) that they were just slightly under-carbed but still fine. My beer never goes above 18\xb0C and I do tend to leave them in the primary for 3-4 weeks before bottling. I am wondering if the lower temperature storage and totally fermenting out and clearing up in primary may result in less bottle carbonation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Fraser, it might also be worth double checking the volume of your Grolsch Amber bottles. They can look quite substantial but may be smaller volume that what you expect. [sideways] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Ignore this post....the quotes were screwed up [pinched] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The 180g was as per coopers advice of 8g per litre (rounded down to 180). 120g is a little low for my tastes. I guess just shy of 140g for a 23L would be my current standard for my Pale Ales. I use dextrose at 8.5gms/litre and never have suffered over carbonation. Found with the heavier ales I have bottled during the winter(7.5% ABV) that they were just slightly under-carbed but still fine. My beer never goes above 18\xb0C and I do tend to leave them in the primary for 3-4 weeks before bottling. I am wondering if the lower temperature storage and totally fermenting out and clearing up in primary may result in less bottle carbonation? I found my earlier priming regime worked but I have increasingly found that beers are over primed - not exploding but over primed nonetheless. I don't really know what the variable was between the ones that were ok and the ones that were too fizzy but I have found using a priming calculator to be beneficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserH Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hey PB, I apologise but what that was meant to say was that Im using the grolsh bottles and Im also using some larger amber swing top bottles, off the top of my head the grolsh bottles are 450ml and the others are 745ml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserH Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Im heading into my LHBS tomorrow to get a few things to bulk prime etc so hopefully once this cider is in the bottle it will be alot more stable [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoptimus Maximus Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I found my earlier priming regime worked but I have increasingly found that beers are over primed - not exploding but over primed nonetheless. I don't really know what the variable was between the ones that were ok and the ones that were too fizzy but I have found using a priming calculator to be beneficial. The next batch I do I think I will split and prime half as I normally do and the other half according to the priming calculator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien E1 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 geez Muddy.. 180g!! Im down to about 120g and still fallling!! lol +1 for the Tap to Tap method, it's great... be sure to get yourself some food grade hose (not from bunnings) as non FG hose when boiled lets off plastic aroma that I for one do not like in my beers!! I havnt used drops in some time, in fact I threw out an almost full packet, I very much like being able to tailor my beers for my tastes. Bulk Priming Rocks[cool] Yob Agreed. Your local homebrew shop will have the hosing you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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