Quarters

Recipes 

I pitched my yeast about 3 days ago. I went to check on it last night and I noticed that the lid on my air lock was off and on the ground. I looked a little closer and saw that foam had blown up and all over my primary fermenter. It made quite the mess! I am very new to home brewing and was wondering if this is a rare thing to happen or not???



Thanks

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"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin

Yambor44

Recipes 

It can be normal. Called a blow off. You need to make a blow off tube. Take a piece of siphon tubing. Stick it through the stopper that your airlock currently resides in. Stick the other end into a tub/bottle/etc filled with water.

Yambor44

Recipes 

Look here:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/can-blow-off-tube-fit-fermenter-bucket-167585/

Hethen57

Recipes 

I found the same thing when I went to check on my Creme Ale this morning (day 3 also)...it was awesome that I caught it before it blew off....same thing happened a few weeks ago, but I had to find the airlock because it did blow. I think it is pretty common, that is why many use blow off tubes. I changed mine over to a blow off tube and it continued bubbling away. I just took my siphon hose and stuck it into the airlock tube (all sanitized, of course), then put it into a jar of sanitizer. You'll be amazed how much C02 blows through there is you have an active germentation.

Chipman

Recipes 

Same thing happened to me with a Kolsch style i brewed up in an Ale Pail. I used the 3/8" (i think) tubing from my siphon and shoved that into the hole in the lid. Fit pretty snuggly and definitely solved the blowoff issue for the day. It proceeded to sound like a backed up toilet as it bubbled like crazy for another week.

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Remember, 'cold' is a flavor

Cooking with beer? Been doing it for years.
Add it to the food? I'll have to try it sometime.

He who has tasted sailing will walk the earth with his head turned into the wind.

Yambor44

Recipes 

I've been lucky enough to only need a blow off tube once. More times than not this happens because the fermentation temps got a little too high.

SumnerH

Recipes 

Some yeasts just love to chug away, too. Trying to get a French Saison yeast or Bavarian Hefe yeast not to cause blowoff is tough unless you resort to fermcap and the like.

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On deck: Little Bo Pils, Bretta Off Dead (Brett pale)
Secondary: Oude Bruin, Red Sky at Morning (Sour brown ale)
On tap: Saison Duphunk (sour), Amarillo Slim (IPA), Earl White (ginger/bergamot wit)
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