F@ckin **** !!!

Massive boil over bros !! I walked away for 30 sec and a hollow or more of wort boiled out all over everything !!! ... I didn't know what I should do so I added more water to the pot I didn't have any more fermentable's to thrown in with it even it back out

Finish the boil, let it cool down and take a gravity reading. Maybe you won't have to add as much top up water as the recipe calls for, but it will be all right. Just clean up the stove before it gets discovered.

It's already in the carboy and like a dumb ass I didn't take any gravity readings at all , terrible brew day yesterday y'all

Maybe you should change your name from "ifearnothing0" to "ifearboilovers". Sorry, couldn't resist.
It happens to all of us, most of the time when we turn our backs for just a second.

Of course, it will turnout to be your best brew ever, and you will forever be tempted to boilover on purpose in the future.

Get some FermCap and you will never have to worry about a boilover again.

I have had a boilover, it made one hell of a mess, and ever after I hovered over the kettle almost all the way thru the brew; especially when I added something like the hops.

Discovered FermCap a few years ago, and have no more worries, never had anything close, I can ignore the pot and get on with other stuff. I will not brew without it again.

sucks to be a rookie??

PackerfaninSanDiego said:

sucks to be a rookie??

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constructive

Exact same thing happened to me on my very first brew. Really turned out to be a GREAT beer! So just sit back, relax and enjoy a homebrew

In the event of a boil over, I'd recommend simply turning off the heat. That tends to stop a boil over quickly. I've never used ferm cap, but that's an option as well.

I've noticed that unhopped wort can boil over very quickly so I pay extra close attention as the wort nears the boil. In addition, adding extract or other ingredients can also cause a boil over. Also, use a larger enough pot. Typically you'll want at least a few extra gallons of space. The boil over is a bit of rite-of-passage, so congrats. It certainly teaches you to pay very close attention to the boil and get a good feel for the boil.

Fermcap is the answer. I just bought a full pint of the stuff.

But, until you have that, get a spray bottle of cold water and spray the boil if it starts to come up. Works almost instantly.

This is the best thread name ever. The only batch I've had go wrong was old LME. I have had some odd events happen during brewing. With my Oktoberfest lager, my 3 year old dipped her foot in the bucket during bottling. I'm sure your beer will taste great.

Sir-Hops-A-Lot said:

This is the best thread name ever. The only batch I've had go wrong was old LME. I have had some odd events happen during brewing. With my Oktoberfest lager, my 3 year old dipped her foot in the bucket during bottling. I'm sure your beer will taste great.

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lol... yeah, little kids can be a hazard to sanitary environments. especially cooled wort. don't leave that laying around where they can start playing GI-Joe diving missions...

Yeah, that batch will end up terrible. Do this...let it finish and get it all bottled up. After that, DONT taste it at all...package it up real nice and send it to me to dispose of for you. Im using a Mr. Beer, so you KNOW im a noob. LOL

Get a turkey fryer and brew outside...its the way to do it. Get a 15 gallon pot and you are good to go.

GeorgiaTiger said:

Yeah, that batch will end up terrible. Do this...let it finish and get it all bottled up. After that, DONT taste it at all...package it up real nice and send it to me to dispose of for you. Im using a Mr. Beer, so you KNOW im a noob. LOL

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hahahaha mr beer. my cousin bought one of those and i could only hand my head in disgust.

dont judge me. LOL

PackerfaninSanDiego said:

sucks to be a rookie??

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Nice addition pecker fan.

I second the spray bottle of water. Can't get nuttin cheaper than that to knock down a boil over before it happens. Of course like mentioned I also hit the Heat Source and shut it down for that instant stop of the boil.

Also, you'll really only have to worry about boil over until you get the hot break, which should happen within a few minutes of boiling assuming your stove/burner is powerful enough. Once that happens it should be more manageable. Better luck next time.

The wort has eyes. The eyes watch you and only leap out of the pot when you turn your back. What you need to do is grab a teaspoon, crouch real low and when you see the eyes, spring out and dig those little suckers out. Just kidding. Hot break occurs near the boiling point. Drop a thermometer into your pot and be particularly attentive as it climbs out of 200F. I have never used ferm caps, although I have only heard good things about them. 1-2 gallons of head space gives you more time to react, more is better. If you don't have a larger pot, reduce the size of your boil to gain the head space and top off afterwards. Full boil makes better beer, but we all work with the equipment we have. Scraping caramalized wort off your ceramic cooktop is not fun. Been there, done that.

For those with electric systems controlled by a PID, set the process high alarm to 200°F. Then tie a buzzer to the alarm relay output. I haven't done this myself, but imma gonna soon. Would be great to get an audible warning that the boil is approaching.

Whenever I boil in a smaller pot I use a few drops of baby gas drops. Food grade and cheap. You can carry a spray bottle if you want, but everyone can agree that you won't need it until you turn your head, and then that bottle of water will be useless!

But now I have a larger pot and no worries. I've also found that skimming the foam off the top as it starts to boil helps reduce the boil-over.

You'll be fine! I spilled my sunglasses in my boiling wort for my pumpkin brew....luckily they didn't melt. My wife was having a fit b/c they weren't cheap and she was for sure they would be melted b/c they made it to the bottom of the pot. Sunglasses and brew turned out just fine.

FermCap S