# Blew up my office with 1 gal bottle bomb



## Ryan S (May 7, 2019)

Oops. Glass embedded in the wall, dent in the fridge, this was intense, I'm glad it blew over night!

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=R3ZWMGRsMU1lODZNQ2thTXVnbzVKa2NOd0tmd1p3

Defused the remaining few 12-ounce bottles from that batch. To my credit, I knew this carboy was hot and I had left the lid off for a few days, then put it in the fridge. The fridge was full, I didn't even consider that it could fully re-carbonate overnight -- but boy, did it ever!


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## NorCal (May 8, 2019)

That’s pretty wild.


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## sour_grapes (May 8, 2019)

Yowzers!


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## cmason1957 (May 8, 2019)

Perhaps you should share what you did, so those of us who like to remain among the living and not a member of the Night King's Army might know what not to do. I am glad no one was injured by this.


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## Ryan S (May 8, 2019)

cmason1957 said:


> Perhaps you should share what you did, so those of us who like to remain among the living and not a member of the Night King's Army might know what not to do. I am glad no one was injured by this.



EC1118, stuck fermentation (I had let it sit for 4 weeks, no progress), still pretty sweet (SG 1.050 or so). Was still deciding what to do with it, stupidly put a cap on it to move it around and left it for a few days: moving the jug must have shaken it up enough to get it going again.


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## cmason1957 (May 8, 2019)

Ryan S said:


> EC1118, stuck fermentation (I had let it sit for 4 weeks, no progress), still pretty sweet (SG 1.050 or so). Was still deciding what to do with it, stupidly put a cap on it to move it around and left it for a few days: moving the jug must have shaken it up enough to get it going again.



Lesson learned. It's amazing how much pressure it was able to generate to blow up a carboy.


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## Michael Alspaugh (May 9, 2019)

Ryan S said:


> Oops. Glass embedded in the wall, dent in the fridge, this was intense, I'm glad it blew over night!
> 
> https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=R3ZWMGRsMU1lODZNQ2thTXVnbzVKa2NOd0tmd1p3
> 
> Defused the remaining few 12-ounce bottles from that batch. To my credit, I knew this carboy was hot and I had left the lid off for a few days, then put it in the fridge. The fridge was full, I didn't even consider that it could fully re-carbonate overnight -- but boy, did it ever!


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## Ryan S (Jun 5, 2019)

The surviving 4 gallons of this batch going into bottles  These will be pasteurized / refrigerated more carefully


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## DLily (Jul 14, 2021)

Boy am I happy to know this now.


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## winemaker81 (Jul 14, 2021)

Wow! Glad no one was hurt!

A friend told me a story of her friend that brought a gallon jug of wine from the cellar and left it on the counter overnight. In the morning the base of the jug was on the counter and shattered glass was embedded everywhere. I was never 100% sure I believed the story (I believed my friend, but wasn't sure her friend was accurate). Now I'm a believer.


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## DLily (Jul 19, 2021)

Boy am I happy to know this now. Me and my team have spent quite a lot of money to be able to move to an office from here Office for Rent in Singapore | Find an Office for Rent or Lease | osDORO. All of us really love wine so we literally bought EC1118 to celebrate. Seeing this thread makes me extra conscious about the way I interact with it. Would really not want to trash the office while celebrating the fact that we moved there. It would be ironic, but the irony is not at all worth it. I honestly don't think our young business could ever recover from such a financial disaster. Thanks a lot for this post you helped me avert a crisis. Hope you recovered the office!


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## Ty520 (Jul 26, 2021)

I've only had one bottle bomb - was confident fermentation was done after 2.5 months. bottled it up and stashed it in my office closet. Blew in the middle of the night and woke us up; knew immediately what it was, though - luckily it was just one 750ml bottle.

Now i am very adamant about stabilizing and keeping an air lock on for several months


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## winemaker81 (Jul 26, 2021)

Ty520 said:


> Now i am very adamant about stabilizing and keeping an air lock on for several months


I've become a believer in bulk aging. BITD the rule was 4 months, and kits shortened that. However, I now believe that 6 to 12 months is the best choice.

The worst I've had happen is a few corks pushing out due to a renewed fermentation. I caught them before I experienced any losses. It was a valuable lesson.

That said, if someone wants to bottle earlier? The rule commonly quoted is the SG should be 0.998 or lower and not change for 3 days. Personally, let the wine set for at least 2 weeks, and if the SG is above 0.998, stabilize before bottling. Better to add sorbate unnecessarily than to blow corks (or bottles!).


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