bottle 'head space'

[DaveyT]

I'm not sure if head space is the right phrase for this, but how much space should I leave at the top of my bottles of beer? I currently go for as little as possible which is less than a centimetre.

Cheers
David

[6470zzy]

I generally leave one to one and a half inches when bottling. Works for me

Cheers

[Chrissyr63]

I use a bottling stick and so leave whatever the volume of that is after filling the bottle to the brim - which is about the same a as DaveyT - about 1.5 inches.

C

[DaveyT]

That makes sense. I've always thought leaving beer in the top increases the chances of bottle bombs so I've always grappled with the bottling tube to fill the last centimeters. I'll not bother anymore. Brilliant; it was such a PINA!

David

[Dr. Dextrin]

If you keep your beer cool, I don't think the head space makes much difference as regards bottle bombs. At about 13C, the beer and the gas above it both hold the same concentration of CO2, so it's almost as if the beer weren't there as regards pressure in the bottle. As the temperature rises, though, the gas leaves the beer and pressure builds up in the head space. So it's a help to keep a larger head space if your beer is likely to get warm - during the summer, say.

Of course, the real protection against bottle bombs is good sanitation and not bottling too early.

[DaveyT]

Good info, thanks.
Coincidentally, I had a bottle bomb yesterday. It was the dregs of three FVs so the sugar concentration, as it was added to each FV separately, was perhaps inpredictable.

[WalesAles]

Of course, the real protection against bottle bombs is good sanitation and not bottling too early.

I always bottle mine after 9pm!
WA