trying to avoid hand grenades

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Central (upstate) NY
Actually, this is a brewing question. In the past when I've made mead I've let it sit in the carboy for the better part of a year. I put together a new batch about a month and a half ago to share with Larry and the Thoits during the Tour deWood this year. How much bubbling in the carboy is going to be acceptable to bottle without risk of making a hand grenade? (For those of you who don't brew, we homebrewers often use the term hand grenade to refer to prematurely bottling a still fermenting beverage, leading to potentially quite exciting bottle failure later on).

Thanks!
 
prematurely bottling a still fermenting beverage :rofl:

Happened to my Grandpa. I was visiting at the time. It happened in the dead of night. I was awakened by angry German words delivered in an intense, no-nonsense manner by my Grandma. I did not understand German, but I do understanding cussing. :rofl: :rofl:

There was also popping noises coming from somewhere. :huh:

I am not certain if Grandpa was ever totally forgiven by Grandma. I do know that I was given chores away from the house that day. Seems Grandpa was busy cleaning out the cellar and declared I would get underfoot.

Ya, right! :rolleyes:
 
with my experience in making mead, and porter, the only ways you would wind up with bottle bombs, are bottling prematurely, or adding too much corn sugar to prime carbonation prior to bottling. i usually wait until after the second or third racking, after all fermenting had died down, before bottling anything. i have both a batch of mead, and porter that i've bottled, the mead is still, and nothing has gone boom yet. :D

if you're grandma said anything like donnerwetter nochmal, yes, she was cussin grandpa out pretty good... :rofl:
 
Generally you wait until the bubble all but stop (they never completely stop) and you rack off to another carboy or bottling bucket. For up to 5 gallons of beer you add 1/4 cup of corn sugar and stir it in good. Siphon off to your bottles and cap put them in a dark corner for about 14 days if I remember correctly and then refrigerate. Usually you don't drink home brew from the bottle because of the dead yeast at the bottom of the bottle. Carefuly decant the beer into your glass so there is no "chugging" to stir up sediment. Pour the beer just until the "trub" reaches the lip of the bottle. Drink beer and enjoy!

Another method to use if you don't like the yeast bodies in your bottle is to rack off the beer when it is through frementing into a 5 gallon "soda" keg. Bring the temperature of the beer down to about 33 degrees. Charge the keg with Co2 by rocking the keg back and forth on your lap while the Co2 is on. This rocking action will cause the gases to go into "saturation" faster than just tuning the bottle on and walking away. At this point the beer is ready to drink by just tapping the keg. If you have a back pressure bottle filler you can have bottled beer with the fizz and with out the trub in the bottom.

Cheers!.... and drink one for me!
 
whew, ya scared me with the thread title mark.
I thought the canadians finally decided to invade us and were coming down south from the border.
I was going to PM you and tell you to only fire short bursts and check your targets.
 
Well, I'm intending it to be either a still mead, or at most a slowly crawling mead. I have considered sulfiting it, but I don't even sulfite my musts for plain meads anymore and it'd be a shame to add sulfites just at the very end. Normally it doesn't matter, as I let it sit for quite some time with one or two rackings before bottling.

This one I'm hoping to bottle much earlier than usual to share with the upcoming Tour de Wood. I usually go about 8 months in carboy before bottling. This one will be closer to 3 - 4 months if done in time for Larry's arrival. I do have one bottle remaining from a previous batch, so I guess I could fall back on that if I have doubts about bottling the current batch. <sigh> This one is my first time using orange blossom honey and was really hoping to share some of this one.

I'll keep you posted with what I decide to do. Need to rack it soon and add my clarifiers anyhow if I want to bottle it soon too.
 
I just had a bottle of Cyser that has probably been sitting for over 10 years suddenly become 'active' again....

Very 'hot' smelling. and just plain nasty tasting.
 
When I used to bottle condition, I'd add a little gelatin to help clear the beer and make the sediment a little firmer.

I switched over to kegging and forced carbonation and never looked back....:thumb:
 
I always use a hydrometer to check specific gravity. If it stays consistant for several days only then will I draw or cant it off, add the correct amount of sugars for carbonation and then bottle. The only time I saw Hand grenades was when my brother-in-law used champaign yeast and added "extra" sugar to get some brew with a "real kick". He had glass shards sticking in the drywall all over the basement room. My advice; Follow the recipe.
 
I do need to get my brewing going again. All my equipment is sitting in boxes on the back patio. Time to design and build a brewing cabinet that doubles as storage for all the 'stuff' you need for this.

Guess I need to find a Co2 supplier in Reno as well....

I'm sure my old canisters are out of date.

Too many hobbies, too little time, too much work... (Thank goodness).
 
10 gallon All Grain batches, using 2 10 gallon Igloos for a hot liqour tank and mash tun, 1 100 liter kettle.

Seperate fermentation chamber for 2 5 gallon carboys....

I will be spending some time in sketchup for this, hopfefully soon....
 
Hand Grenades !!!

So that's what happened ! A friend gave me 2 6-packs of home brew ale he had made. Brought them to me at work(he's our service engineer). At least 2 of the bottles EXPLODED in the lunchroom. They heard the noise way up at the reception desk ! What a mess-glass and beer everywhere. The carbonation was excessive when trying to pour it into a glass-foam all over. Tasted OK though.
 
I don't have much experience in brewing beer, but you guys think me driving around with dynamite was unsafe...heck that is nothing to brewing up a little white lightning. Its the equivalent to boiling gasoline on top of a stove. I thought I was the only one that did a little home brewing, but I see I am in good company.:thumb:

My recommendation is to skip the home beer and go to the old timers favorite of Hard Cider. Before 1900 it was a common drink, and easy to "brew" up without "hand grenading" on you.
 
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