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Just curious how many volumes of CO2 most average beer bottles can hold. Is there a rough number where alarms should start going off?
Update -- I'm seeing in different carbonation calculators that some styles suggest being carbonated to close to 5.0 volumes. If that is the upward limit, should most bottles be able to handle that?
I'd say this is sort of a moving target. Mainly because bottles do lose their structural integrity slightly every time they get used. More so if they bottles are baked in the oven or exposed to the heat-dry cycle of a dishwasher that accelerates the process.
That said if we just assume newer bottles all the time, I'd think that you can contact the bottle manufacturer for guidance. The shop you buy your bottles from can share the manufacturer contact info.
I am also sure that your local budweiser brewery knows this information inside and out. An email to them, pointing out you are a curious homebrewer, may get a response.
Disclaimer: I'm just some dude on the internet. Anything I say is for recreational purposes only.
I wouldn't carbonate over 2.5-3 volumes of CO2 in the normal beer bottles that we get the majority of our non-Belgian beers from. For anything higher than 3 volumes of CO2, I'd try to find the heavier weight bottles (think Duvel & Westmalle bottles).
