Only cause for this single "bad apple" I could think of is some sort of debris or infection in the bottle. I don't understand how that could have happened as everything was thoroughly washed and sanitized together. There was no visible debris in the bottle, and nothing to distinctly separate it from the others. When bottling, I added the sugar water to the bottling bucket prior to the wort so I'm guessing it was evenly distributed throughout the entire batch.

I wasn't actually around when this bottle was opened, but I did see the aftermath. it just continually foamed out the top. Only other thing I could think of would be if it were shaken vigorously perhaps it'd foam like crazy. I was assured this had not happened. Any ideas what could cause that?

acaiado wrote:
Only cause for this single "bad apple" I could think of is some sort of debris or infection in the bottle. I don't understand how that could have happened as everything was thoroughly washed and sanitized together. There was no visible debris in the bottle, and nothing to distinctly separate it from the others. When bottling, I added the sugar water to the bottling bucket prior to the wort so I'm guessing it was evenly distributed throughout the entire batch.

I wasn't actually around when this bottle was opened, but I did see the aftermath. it just continually foamed out the top. Only other thing I could think of would be if it were shaken vigorously perhaps it'd foam like crazy. I was assured this had not happened. Any ideas what could cause that?

Unless you mix the priming water and beer together, you can get some variability in the solution which could cause some excess carbonation in a few. Seems odd that it would only be 1 bottle, though. Maybe there was something in the bottle that didn't get cleaned/disinfected. Who knows. Always that small bit of random variability with homebrewing. What do you use to sanitize?

just to add to jeff's one bottle def seems like a fluke and prob something in the bottle

Cleaned with a "C-Brite" solution... I typically rinse a bottle immediately after I pour a beer so sediment doesn't typically stick around, then soak the bottle in the C-Brite solution for 30mins - 1 hr. Don't know what happened with that one.

acaiado wrote:
Cleaned with a "C-Brite" solution... I typically rinse a bottle immediately after I pour a beer so sediment doesn't typically stick around, then soak the bottle in the C-Brite solution for 30mins - 1 hr. Don't know what happened with that one.

So, first, you only need about a minute or 2 of contact time to sanitize. Do 15 if you feel really anal. 30 minutes - 1 hour is way too much.

Do you air dry after C-brite, or rinse w/ water? If you rinse w/ water, don't. Just shake it out a bit, then let it air dry.

I don't know the cause of infection, though. I'd chalk it up to variation and not worry about it.

I'm a bit behind on this thread but though I could comment.

I had the exact same thing happen to me recently. Here's a pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidjsnow/2425957289/

One bottle of a Belgian Pale Ale exploded so I went to empty the rest of the six pack so I didn't have any more messes. The rest of the six pack was perfectly fine and a few more I've had since were fine as well. As mentioned by someone else, make sure you thoroughly, but gently, mix in your priming sugar solution with the beer before bottling. This is one thing I often forget to do.

another first check too is looking to see if the caps have swelled at all. this will be a first indicator that something might blow. if the caps are domed at all you've got a risk on your hands if not then you should be ok

Devon wrote:
another first check too is looking to see if the caps have swelled at all. this will be a first indicator that something might blow. if the caps are domed at all you've got a risk on your hands if not then you should be ok

Yeah, I had a whole batch that got infected and did this... i very carefully opened each bottle in the sink... each one was a gusher, but luckily no broken glass!