A Winmalee couple say they had a narrow escape when a giant bottle of cider from Bilpin exploded in their kitchen.
Hawkesbury City Council and the NSW Food Authority are now investigating the incident.
Carol Hill and partner Stephen Larner bought the 1.9 litre glass "growler" bottle of cider during a visit to Bilpin's Hillbilly Cider on February 23. They left it on their kitchen bench.
On the morning of March 3 they heard a giant bang and rushed into the kitchen to find the bottle had exploded.
"If my grandchildren had been there they could have been blinded or killed," Mrs Hill said.
The couple is concerned other people may not be so lucky.
Mr Larner said the label on the bottle said to store the large glass bottle in a cool place - as opposed to the fridge - and their kitchen was very cool, despite it being a hot summer.
Hillbilly Cider co-owner Tessa Mclaughlin said they were very sorry for the customer's experience and had "emailed and texted to offer her a refund and to drop a case of cider to her".
"We're a Mountains business and being part of the local community is very important to us - as is having a good experience of our cider. So of course I was keen to address her concerns immediately," she said.
Mrs Mclaughlin said growlers were commonly used in the cider and craft beer industry.
"It's like taking a schooner home in a bottle - it's not going to stay gassed, so you need to drink it in a short time, and because it's filled in an open environment like a bar/cellar door it doesn't have the longevity of cider filled on a commercial bottling line. We've sold over 2800 in the last three years and have not had an issue."
"We have signs in the cellar door next to the growlers saying they need to be kept in the fridge and drunk in seven days."
Mrs Mclaughlin said since the incident they had increased signage and changed the labels from 'keep in a cool place' to 'keep in the fridge'.
Hawkesbury Council manager of environment and regulatory services, Emmanuel Isbester, said the matter had been referred to the NSW Food Authority over the manufacturing component.
He said "council's environmental health officers will follow up with the NSW Food Authority regarding the manufacturing component, to ascertain if there were any contributing factors which led to the bottle exploding. Once information has been received ... environmental health officers will convey their findings to the customer."
He said after those investigations council would "be in a better position to determine the required action".
NSW Food Authority manager Rebecca Bowman could not supply any details of the investigation.
