Help identifying white floating bits please...

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AircooledAdam

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I brewed a John Bull English ale kit on 15th July. I bottled some in 1ltr pet bottles, some in glass and the rest in the pressure barrel. I used half brown sugar and half white sugar and added white sugar to prime along with a small amount of maple syrup.
Exactly a week after bottling 2 glass bottles exploded! The rest were all ok.

I drank a glass from the barrel yesterday and it tasted great, but I've just checked the PET bottles and there is a lot of white bits floating at the top and there seems to be a few settling around the side of the small amount if sediment at the bottom.

Anyone have any ideas? Is it ok to drink?
Cheers. Adam.
 
if the beer tastes ok its probably just yeast clumps, either a wild strain that found its way in or a mutation of what you added. if they bug you when supping try pouring through a t strainer.
 
Fil said:
if the beer tastes ok its probably just yeast clumps, either a wild strain that found its way in or a mutation of what you added. if they bug you when supping try pouring through a t strainer.
Click to expand...

Ok nice one cheers. Yeah it's tastes great, it doesn't bother me as I can't see it in the glass bottles or pressure barrel!

klaus said:
How did you measure out the priming sugar?
In 20 odd years I have never had a bottle explode ....
Click to expand...

I used just under half a teaspoon per pint, it's how I always do it, but I added the maple syrup to the priming sugar so maybe that tipped them over the edge? Was a hell of a bang!
 
Had the gravity stabilised for consecutive days before bottling (i.e. Had fermentation definitely finished ?).

The 1/2 teaspoon of sugar shouldn't have resulted in bottle bombs - how much maple syrup per bottle ? Your PET bottles have a bit of flex in them that glass bottles obviously don't !

That's weird looking stuff in the PET bottle - you sure they were spotless at bottling?
 
Hopping_Mad said:
Had the gravity stabilised for consecutive days before bottling (i.e. Had fermentation definitely finished ?).

The 1/2 teaspoon of sugar shouldn't have resulted in bottle bombs - how much maple syrup per bottle ? Your PET bottles have a bit of flex in them that glass bottles obviously don't !

That's weird looking stuff in the PET bottle - you sure they were spotless at bottling?
Click to expand...

I checked it two days apart and I assumed it had. Maybe it hadn't! I used around half a teaspoon probably per bottle. I just gave each bottle a quick squirt! I've got 4 grolsch bottles which haven't gone bang, but I'm too scared to open them incase I lose an eye!!
I had washed and sterilized them, packed in the cupboard. Then washed and sterilized before I used them this time.
 
Hi, I agree with Film. I had the same with my coopers Mexican cerveza. It slowly disappeared throughout the last 6 weeks.
 
I've had bottle bombs twice. Not from massive over priming but maybe a little too much followed by a long time in a very warm shed followed by moving the bottles. That knocks out the co2 from the beer (into the small air space in the top) and warmer liquids can't hold as much co2 so they went booom. Bloody dangerous. They were also the import german style bottles that are mostly quite thin.
I would uncap the glass bottles, let them gush a bit and then re seal. I did this in the past and the beer was fine. Perhaps cool them slightly first to dissolve some co2 in the beer.
Maybe leave a bigger air space at the top (more margin for error) and maybe don't just squirt in a bit of syrup!!
Whatever you do be very careful moving warm bottles of over carbed beer.
 
jonnyconga said:
I've had bottle bombs twice. Not from massive over priming but maybe a little too much followed by a long time in a very warm shed followed by moving the bottles. That knocks out the co2 from the beer (into the small air space in the top) and warmer liquids can't hold as much co2 so they went booom. Bloody dangerous. They were also the import german style bottles that are mostly quite thin.
I would uncap the glass bottles, let them gush a bit and then re seal. I did this in the past and the beer was fine. Perhaps cool them slightly first to dissolve some co2 in the beer.
Maybe leave a bigger air space at the top (more margin for error) and maybe don't just squirt in a bit of syrup!!
Whatever you do be very careful moving warm bottles of over carbed beer.
Click to expand...

I think it was all of what you said above! The bottles were in a cupboard in the house which was reasonably warm. One went bang so I emptied the cupboard onto the side. It was then that the other went bang, I had literally just turned my back on it! When the glass hit me my life flashed before my eyes! Aswell as a lot of beer! I've drank all the glass ones now, the rest is in a pressure barrel.
 
AircooledAdam said:
I think it was all of what you said above! The bottles were in a cupboard in the house which was reasonably warm. One went bang so I emptied the cupboard onto the side. It was then that the other went bang, I had literally just turned my back on it! When the glass hit me my life flashed before my eyes! Aswell as a lot of beer! I've drank all the glass ones now, the rest is in a pressure barrel.
Click to expand...


****! You were lucky! Always amazes me that the glass goes before the cap coming off (that I think most people presume happens). Glad your skin and eyes are intact!
 

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