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badnaam · 05-13-2007, 04:46 PM

Well after 36 hrs of silence I had vigorous fermentation and so vigorous that it blew the lid and the airlock off of the plastic bucket. I think I heard it last night, though did not quite realize what it might have been. Today morning I discovered the damage. I forgot to drain out the hops and they clogged the airlock. I guess from now I would use blow off tubes for big beer and drain the hops. Lesson learned.

I am guessing this batch is surely ruined, after being exposed for hours. I cleaned/sanitized the lid and the airlock and put it back on and the bubbles are back. Shall I risk it or is it gone for sure?

BTW it was a Rochefort 10 clone, expense too. :cry:

Buford · 05-13-2007, 05:02 PM

Just let it sit and wait it out. It may still be okay since the beer was still outgassing CO2 at a pretty fast rate at that point.

**EdWort** · 05-13-2007, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badnaam

Well after 36 hrs of silence I had vigorous fermentation and so vigorous that it blew the lid and the airlock off of the plastic bucket. I think I heard it last night, though did not quite realize what it might have been. Today morning I discovered the damage. I forgot to drain out the hops and they clogged the airlock. I guess from now I would use blow off tubes for big beer and drain the hops. Lesson learned.

I am guessing this batch is surely ruined, after being exposed for hours. I cleaned/sanitized the lid and the airlock and put it back on and the bubbles are back. Shall I risk it or is it gone for sure?

BTW it was a Rochefort 10 clone, expense too. :cry:

Bummer man. I highly recommend getting a stainless strainer to pour your wort into your fermenter. It strains your hops and areates your wort at the same time. You can get this one at Target.

Evan! · 05-13-2007, 05:08 PM

I highly doubt it's infected. Not only is the hole in the bucket typically pretty small, but you've also got positive pressure pushing out of the bucket from the fermentation, so it's not like there's much of a chance of any nasties making their way into the bucket.

Hell, I've had stupid bungs pop out of the carboy of an aging beer in the middle of the night. Since it had finished fermenting a few months ago, there was no positive pressure like you had, and it's still just A-OK, no infection.

In other words, don't worry.

rcdirtbuggy · 05-13-2007, 06:15 PM

I agree with everyone. i brew primarily hefeweizens and for my first couple of batches i only used an airlock, and both times the airlock blew off and painted my ceiling. anyways, i did'nt have any problems with infection or anyhting like that so i wouldn't worry about it. from now on though i would recommend useing a blowoff tube for everything. good luck.

david_42 · 05-13-2007, 11:25 PM

I've blown bucket lids four or five time without an problem. One batch probably sat for 48 ours with the lid off.

**evanmars** · 05-13-2007, 11:33 PM

Apparently, many large brewers ferment in large open tanks. The CO2 from the ferment covering the surface of the wort and the abundance of active yeast prevent any nasties from getting a foothold.

Chrus · 05-14-2007, 01:19 AM

One thing I have learnt from this forum is to never dump a beer. Always keep goin with it, and after a bit of time, it might end up being one of your best brews...

Torchiest · 05-14-2007, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrus

One thing I have learnt from this forum is to never dump a beer. Always keep goin with it, and after a bit of time, it might end up being one of your best brews...

Yeah, always have faith in the beer. It'll almost always come through for you.

DAAB · 05-14-2007, 07:29 AM

It's perfectly ok to ferment in an open vessel, especially once the yeast head has formed to protect it. I often do this and skim off the trub and hop debris that the yeast head throws up (and any airborne debris that may land on it). IMO skimming helps produce a better tasting beer anyway.