Bombs in the Basement

A month or so ago I posted a blog on some fun of splitting batches into three gallon carboys for a little fun and curiosity. Here's a little update.

Well, I didn't do any preparatory sterilizing to the honey before adding to the carboy, I just put it in the microwave for a short bit to make it more viscus. That could have been a mistake since after a couple days I noticed what "appeared" to be the beginning of an infection. There were little white spots starting to form on the surface that were not anything related to fermentation. they might have been harmless, but I wasn't ready to risk it. Perhaps next time I experiment with honey ill dilute it in some water and boil it for a short amount of time.

So, with said infection on the way I thought it would be beneficial to bottle up and try to bypass any further harm. Mistake number two, I didn't take any preliminary hydrometer readings during the initial transfer or at bottling time. I made the priming solution on a bit of the high side with DME, bottled up and left everything in the basement in anticipation of bottling the other half and moving that portion upstairs (where it is warmer) and thus, having both beers ready to sample at the same time. Well, Saturday afternoon proved that wish wrong when Brittany had said "it smells like someone spilt beer all over the basement." Coming from the woman who has the best olfactory this side of the Mississippi, I didn't dispute that something could be amiss. Sure enough, there it was, the remnants of bottle, and a nice ring of sticky goodness surrounding all the others. A bottle Bomb. Glass was everywhere, and I could even pin point its direction of explosion from the mass in one direction. I knew this might have happened. All that unfermented honey (or partially) coupled with more sugar, equals more fermentation within the bottle and more pressure trying to escape. Give it enough juice, and it will. After cleaning up after this soldier I placed the remaining bottles in an empty case (hey, why didn't I think of that before hand?) and made my way upstairs.

Things were good until Sunday evening when Brittany and I heard a couple more explosions within an hour. The cat shot off the couch and made his way to investigate. In those 24 hours, I had lost three more.

The remaining tribe is holding well. Sampling one, it certainly was a tough pour. I bottled the remaining Weizen last week and am hoping to sample them side by side by Memorial Day weekend.