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Bottle bombs, are champagne bottles the answer?

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shanek17

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 8, 2012
50
0
0
st thomas ontario
Hey everyone I currently got some apple wines and grape wine batches nearing completion and im having a tough time trying to figure out how to keep them safe in the bottles. Iv been gathering different ideas and listening to peoples opinions on how to safely bottle a wine batch. Many people suggest to properly stabilize with chemicals, but that would require expensive equipment. Some have suggested waiting months and years for the yeast to naturally fall to the bottom, others had suggest cold crashing the wine.

These are good ideas, but these are also my very first batches and I do not intend on letting the sit and age until I am more comfortable with this hobby. So I was thinking okay well what about using champagne bottles? There supposed to be the thickest and most durable bottle out there, so im thinking maybe this would be a good alternative.

Just to let you no more about my batches I have a honey apple wine; I am trying to ferment this one as dry as I can get it , but the SG has been sitting at 1.000 for weeks, and hasnt been fermenting ANY bubbles for weeks. and I have a concord red grape wine which i stabalized at a SG reading of 1.000, and after the chemicals were added it also has no more signs of fermentation.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
Hey everyone I currently got some apple wines and grape wine batches nearing completion and im having a tough time trying to figure out how to keep them safe in the bottles. Iv been gathering different ideas and listening to peoples opinions on how to safely bottle a wine batch. Many people suggest to properly stabilize with chemicals, but that would require expensive equipment. Some have suggested waiting months and years for the yeast to naturally fall to the bottom, others had suggest cold crashing the wine.

Not expensive at all to add campden tablets (sulphites) and potassium sorbate (stabilizing chemicals), you should be able to get more than enough of these chemicals to treat a year's worth of batches for $5-10. Cold crashing and filtration are not required, all you need is a hydrometer to make sure that the SG isn't changing after it's been stabilized, you want to track it for a few weeks, then you can bottle it if it's not changing.

These are good ideas, but these are also my very first batches and I do not intend on letting the sit and age until I am more comfortable with this hobby. So I was thinking okay well what about using champagne bottles? There supposed to be the thickest and most durable bottle out there, so im thinking maybe this would be a good alternative.

Nope, unless the mead's gone completely dry. They may be sturdy but keep in mind, if you have more than a very small amount of sugar and the yeast eat it, they can still explode... and they'll have built up even more pressure than a wine or beer bottle and will be even more dangerous if they do blow up.

I like screw-top jugs for batches I'm not sure about, then I can check on them every few weeks and let off the pressure if they do decide to be gassy.

If you've added chemicals, the SG hasn't moved in weeks, and it's clear enough that you'd want to drink it, go ahead and bottle that concord grape batch. If the apple one's clear enough, stabilize that, make sure the SG doesn't drop any further, then you can bottle it. If they're stabilized but not clear, you can always try adding bentonite or sparkolloid or some form of fining agent to speed that up, I think my container of bentonite cost me $2? and my sparkolloid was $3?
 

tweak'e

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 31, 2011
396
1
0
NewZealand
while champagne bottles are the strongest, you do run the risk of making a better bomb. ie they still explode just at higher pressure and do more damage.

while its not good for long term storage, plastic bottles are better because they split rather than explode.

if you do not want to stabilize, pasteurize or filter the wine, then i would bottle with plastic bottles.
 

skunkboy

NewBee
Registered Member
May 30, 2005
2,003
8
0
Between Jackson and Detroit
Champagne bottles are boot up to 5-6 times atmosphere, but can also explode if the yeasts are still kicking along. Thicker glass and higher pressure means a bigger explosion. Cellar masters back in the "good old days" in France used to frequently be missing fingers or eyes due to flawed glass bottles that blew up.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
*pulls up shirt*

This one, a bottle Melbourne Yellow '69

This one, Mead '89

This one, a spork, KFC 2004

and this last one, appendicitis, 2009

:)

How are my scars more manly than yours... a spork???

Left shin, license plate from '77 cutlass (skateboard involved), late eighties
Right knee, nailgun nail, late nineties
Right hand, palm and back, 16 gauge wire right through, last year
Right knuckles, incident with wooden swords, late 2000's
Both hands, numerous small scars from knives etc because I'm a klutz.
My only scars from surgery are hiding in places nobody will ever see (one's in my belly-button)

 

skunkboy

NewBee
Registered Member
May 30, 2005
2,003
8
0
Between Jackson and Detroit
How are my scars more manly than yours... a spork???

Left shin, license plate from '77 cutlass (skateboard involved), late eighties
Right knee, nailgun nail, late nineties
Right hand, palm and back, 16 gauge wire right through, last year
Right knuckles, incident with wooden swords, late 2000's
Both hands, numerous small scars from knives etc because I'm a klutz.
My only scars from surgery are hiding in places nobody will ever see (one's in my belly-button)


:icon_salut: I have few physical scars, mostly emtional... :) I was joking around...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLjNzwEULG8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNOsA4nH8yE
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
:icon_salut: I have few physical scars, mostly emtional... :)

Heh, yeah, the emotional ones Ive taken over the years were all deep enough to have required stitches, but all the physical ones were superficial enough not to need any... But a spork? ;D
 

Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
3
0
Ohio
right knee, motorcycle accident
right hand, knife accident (two inch scars are nice!)
chin, skateboarding accident
shin, broken glass hidden in a trash bag.
 

Penguinetti

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 20, 2011
375
3
0
Eliot, ME
I prefer my men to have all their fingers.


For the obvious reasons, of course... ;)

How are my scars more manly than yours... a spork???...


*pulls up shirt* ...

:)

Chin, barfight, 2004 (maybe 2005)

Right shoulder, wrestling injury, 2002

right ear, coral reef, surfing accident, 2006

two front teeth, 3rd grade


I've been pretty luck with not having scars. The one on my thumb from a table saw basically disappeared cause i was able to peel away the dead flesh, and the nitches on my shins from rugby don't really count as scars.
 

Soyala_Amaya

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 21, 2011
991
6
0
Missouri
I bet it was gallbladder, I have one in my belly button too from that. They do it to minimize visible scary, make the whole somewhere it won't be seen.
 

TAKeyser

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 4, 2012
1,228
3
0
50
Detroit, MI
In you belly button? In your belly button?

Inquiring minds want to know...

It's pretty common now-a days. I'd tell you some of the more common surgeries that it is used for but I can't spell any of those long medical terms.

and wow are we getting off topic a lot these past few days.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
It's pretty common now-a days. I'd tell you some of the more common surgeries that it is used for but I can't spell any of those long medical terms.

and wow are we getting off topic a lot these past few days.

Yeah, no kidding, even with a whole thread for tangents...

Any time they do anything laporoscopically, they pump you full of air so they can see what they're doing, and that's where they typically make the incision for that. The other scar's a fair bit lower. Got some stuff disconnected :)

Ok, trying to head this back on target, even plastic bottles can explode, I think Fatbloke had it happen when one was dropped, although I'm not sure it left scars :p. You do still need to be careful of those.
 

Penguinetti

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 20, 2011
375
3
0
Eliot, ME
Yeah, no kidding, even with a whole thread for tangents...

Any time they do anything laporoscopically, they pump you full of air so they can see what they're doing, and that's where they typically make the incision for that. The other scar's a fair bit lower. Got some stuff disconnected :)

Ok, trying to head this back on target, even plastic bottles can explode, I think Fatbloke had it happen when one was dropped, although I'm not sure it left scars :p. You do still need to be careful of those.


When you say 'explode' you mean like, 'into pieces'? Fatbloke, story time; what happened when your plastic bottle erupted?

The mystic space bees desired that I cause someone to use the word spork on the board? :)

Fair enough, good sir. Have you seen the spork with the knife edge? I'm not sure what you would call that... a Sporfe? a Spik?... hey, maybe a Spike!
 
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