Bottle exploded

[mntnmax]

I made a Mead that I bottled August 2009, which turned out to be sparkling unintentionally. I ended up moving to a higher elevation this past winter and I only transported one bottle which exploded on me. I was wondering if their is any thing that can be done so I can transport the rest of it and prevent the bottles from exploding. I saw one suggestion made that said to put the mead back into a carboy and then re-bottle it after the CO2 has degassed is that safe to do with a Mead that has aged this long already.

 

[Wade E]

That is what I had to do with a Plum wine that I either forgot to add sorbate to or the sorbate didnt work maybe due to age. I CAREFULLY OPENED UP THEM BOTTLES WITH BOTH THICK GLOVES ON AND SAFETY GLASSES and then racked them into carboy being careful not to expose the wine to excessive 02. Once in carboy I took and sg reading and then again in a few days to make sure it wasnt fermenting anymore and also degassed again and sulfited. Please be careful even moving these bottles as they are under a pressure that the bottle isnt designed for. Welcome to our forum and hope you stay awhile.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Chilling them first can also reduce the effects of opening a carbonated bottle.

 

[mmadmikes1]

Yes I had mead do same thing and all bottles went in freezer getting them as cold as possible before opening. Otherwise you will have mead all over the place when you pull the cork

 

[fatbloke]

Well you can, very carefully, unstopper and put into carboy to remove the gas.

You can also, if you have access to one, then de-gas it easily with a vacuum bottler. Or you can just agitate it with something like the handle of a long plastic stirrer, to remove some of the gas that way.....

If you like the idea of sparkling meads, then just rebottle into "champagne" bottles, then cork/stopper (probably plastic stoppers) and wire cages should do the trick.

Then if you want (and don't want to wear it) drink some, just chill the bottle like when serving champagne and uncork it that way.

Or you can just put the bottles in the freezer for 6 or 8 hours, then transport them in a portable chiller box - that should keep them cold enough.....

Oh and the suggestion of handling them with heavy gloves and saftety glasses is likely to be the smartest move you could make.....

regards

fatbloke

 

[Wade E]

If you dont plan on doing anything with these for a whil then at least take each botle and put them in a freezer ba to avoid the mess of any blowing in your cellar and making a mess.