stpierre

Recipes 

I just racked a batch of elderberry mead into secondary, and the fermenter was a bit full. Sure enough, within an hour, it was overflowing slightly. (Luckily I had put it in a bucket, so my floor is at no risk.) I'm concerned that, since the mead currently forms a complete path from the fermenter, through the airlock -- no blow-off tube, since I've never had this happen before -- to the outside world, that it'll get contaminated and the contamination will spread into the main body of the mead.

Am I right to be worried? Should I uncork it, drain a bit, and recork it? Or will the "swelling" go down soon enough that it's not something I need to worry about, aside from refilling the airlock with clean water?

Thanks!

Nurmey

Recipes 

With all the CO2 pushing out, there is very little chance of anything getting in. You might have a bit of a mess for a couple days but that's about it. Keep your airlock clean and sanitized, wipe the mess up with a cloth soaked in sanitizer and all will be well.

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Parker36

Recipes 

+1. You are most likely ok. I would take out the airlock and clean it, then you should be fine

stpierre

Recipes 

Thanks guys. I sanitized the cork and airlock, sadly dumping out the mead that had percolated its way up, and in doing so noticed that the mead had already ebbed back into the neck of the carboy. I'll keep a close eye on it, but hopefully the storm is over.

Thanks again!