Do not reuse PET bottles

Did you carb your PET bottles individually, or did you add your priming sugar to a bottling bucket?

My finger pointing would start with the amount of headspace left in a PET bottle vs that of your glassware. I'd also point a finger at the bottle threads not sealing tightly. Did you do anything in between the first and second batch, like run the bottles through a dishwasher?

One thing that you can do to check the threads would be to add another dose of priming sugar directly into your PET bottle. a scant 1/4 tsp per 12 oz of beer should do the trick. Seal it up tightly and put a deflated balloon over the top of the lid. If the pressure is leaking out, you'll see the balloon start to fill, or next to the bottle on the floor.

 

Do you stir your sugar solution a few times during the bottling process? That heavy sugar solution wants to try to settle out of the beer in your bottling bucket and will be hugging the bottom, so a few gentle stirs (I use an upward motion from bottom to top) will keep it mixed into the beer. If you bottled all of your glass ones as a group and then all of the PET ones as a group, and if you didn't mix the sugar solution in very well, the last bottles will be under-carbed because most of the sugar went into the first bottles. The bottles that were filled in the middle of the bottling session should be just about right for carbonation, and those filled first would have too much sugar and become gushers. So beware when you open these bottles and be close to a sink with a glass close by.

 

The brewdemon made you do it : )

Beware any kit named after a devil and having screw caps : )

 

Really? yikes. I just bottled a 5 gallon batch of stout 2 weeks ago (previously I've only bottled 1 gal batches), and I relied on the flow of siphoning beer to stir everything. I put the cooled sugar water in the bottom of the bucket, and siphoned to the side of the bucket to kind of whirlpool it. Last I checked, there was sediment at the bottom of the bottles. They were in secondary for 2 week prior to bottle, so I think it's a good sign. And no bottle bombs yet.

 

Depends a lot on how the end of the siphon tubing is facing in the bottling bucket. Sometimes you can get a good mix with no stirring, but I wouldn't count on it. Keep your bottles in a safe place prior to refrigeration just in case.

 

Yep, I've been keeping them in a large Tupperware container with a latching lid.

 

I once decided to try bottling without stirring (this was over 10 years ago). My theory at the time was the siphoning action should be sufficient to properly mix the sugar solution with the beer. That batch had inconsistent carbonation.

That was the one and only time I did not gently stir the beer & sugar solution in my bottling bucket.

Cheers!

 

Cooper's plastic bottles work well. Tight seal and durable multi-use caps.



http://store.coopers.com.au/pet-beer-bottles-and-caps-15-x-740ml.html

 

FWIW I used PET bottles once which were previously filled with seltzer water. My use, which was each bottle's 2nd, seemed to go without issue even without replacing the caps. YMMV

 

@ $22 though for 16 ~half litre bottles, I think I might forego and save towards a kegging system

 

I mostly keg, but still use glass and plastic bottles occasionally. The plastic bottles get used for potential bottle bomb beers (wild ales) that get aged several months in the bottle.

 

Another good argument for kegs with a handy pressure relief on the lid (if you can afford to tie up a keg).

 

not everyone has kegs (or enough kegs). Some competitions require beer to be served in bottles.

 

No it isn't. Aging at room temperature and gradually sampling the beer over several months isn't practical with a keg. It is with bottles, though.

 

While I have never had a bomb in 5000 bottles, I always mark the first few bottles filled and open those first as QC.

 

Why's that?

 

So keg and force carb and then fill 3 bottles instead of 50

 

Because of logistics management. The most practical formula for this situation is to bottle. No further explanation will be provided. This is something you should worry about if you ever make a wild beer.