Instructions

1. Prevent exploding beer bottles by adding the right amount of priming sugar when bottling. Brewers usually add dextrose -- corn sugar -- when bottling to carbonate the beer, but if you add too much of it the beer will be over-primed and the carbonation of the brew will escalate. If the beer carbonates too much, the gas will need to escape the bottle -- this will cause an explosion. Add enough sugar at the bottling stage to match the amount of beer you are brewing -- a good rule of thumb is to add 3 oz. of sugar for every 5-gallon batch.

2. Bottle the beer in bottles that are designed for carbonation. Bottles that are safe for carbonation have a thick glass body; avoid using ones with twist-off caps because they are too thin and the caps will not properly seal. Also avoid using bottles with a capacity greater than 1 liter.

3. Store your beer in a dark and cool place. Light and heat will cause the beer to ferment further and increase the CO2 pressure in the bottle; heat will also increase the pressure of the bottle itself.