Help; losing alot of beer out of airlock!!!

Ok so this is the second time I am making a Maple Wheat Ale Clone. This fermentation is causing so much in bubbles that alot of the beer is coming out the airlock!

I wanted to try putting the airlock at a higher elevation to the beer, but my brother told me that this was a bad idea because it can clog up and explode (he is a brewer). What do you guys think? Is it safe to put the blowoff at a higher elevation? I tried to attach some photos to help describe this but I am not sure if it worked :/

IMO - I'd follow what your brother said. Just remember - it's mostly foam and foam is mostly air/gas... so it's not that much beer! Let the yeast do their job and watch out for potential clogging. Put an airlock on that bad boy once the fermentation dies down!

Looks delicious

judging by how full your carboy was in the first pic i will say that is your issue. get a bigger container, brew smaller batches , or just have a big blow off jug.

First what is the fermentation temp? If the temp is to high it can cause a rapid violent fermentation. It doesn't look like you have anything to control your temps. If so I wouldn't put the blow off container up high like that because when fermentation slows if you have a rapid cooling temperature swing you could get back flow into your fermenter. I put my carboy a in a plastic tub full of water and rotate out frozen bottles of water to control temps.


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and you better hope only your clothes are in that closet, good brew times turn bad super fast when the wife's clothes get beer all over them.

lol thanks guys. Yes it was definitely overfilled when i started. Thinking about a 6 gallon fermenter next time. I will look at what i can do the bring the temp down

ffd520 said:

because when fermentation slows if you have a rapid cooling temperature swing you could get back flow into your fermenter.

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^^This.

You don't want all that blowoff water that has been exposed to the open air (and has who-knows-what in it at this point) flowing back into your beer.

poptarts said:

and you better hope only your clothes are in that closet, good brew times turn bad super fast when the wife's clothes get beer all over them.

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This +100. Your larger concern is not losing beer, it's hop material/yeast clumps plugging the hose and then kablooey...all over those clothes.
Trust me on blowouts..it's not fun to cleanup even when no clothes are involved...

I put it in the mini-fridge on the lowest setting possible. I have a thermometer in there so I can check the temp.

anything over 1060 will raise at least 2 to 3 inches and some is foam but some is yeast your losing not beer so you need a bigger vessel plain and simple

sattle16 said:

I put it in the mini-fridge on the lowest setting possible. I have a thermometer in there so I can check the temp.

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Don't swing the temp too far in the other direction - the yeast will go dormant before the fermentation is complete.

Not bustin chops but I see a propane tank in a closet. I have seen three times where a 20 lb. tank brought down a three story building. Two brick ones and 1 wood frame building.
Hope you have another option.

Get a bigger carboy, like a 6.5g.

Ferment cooler. Low 60's is usually good, depending on yeast and style. That will slow the ferment and not let it go crazy!

Get a larger blowoff tube. You're just asking for a clog with that tiny diameter. I'm not positive, but I think 1 1/4" tubing fits nice and snug in 6g &6.5g glass carboys. Maybe 1" diameter in a glass 5g? No need for a stopper.

I don't know about size for plastic carboys. Don't use 'em. You could figure it out easy enough.

Thanks again guys

1.) I set the mini-fridge to "min" so hopefully the temp swing is minimal.
2.) I quickly cleaned and sanitized tube and replaced the sanitizer blow-off water.
3.) I have never used a glass fermenter because my brother had an issue where it broke in the tub when he was cleaning it in there. no fun :/ I will stick with plastic for now i think unless its really that big of a deal.
4.) I will buy a larger 6 gal carboy for 5 gal batches. My reasoning in getting a 5 gal was to reduce air space in the fermenter. maybe the primary should be 6 gal...5 gal for secondary to reduce overall possibility of contamination?
5.) Propane tank is only temporarily there...yea i know fire hazard...i will move it.
6.) larger blowoff without a stopper is smart; I will size it and get what I need thanks!
7.) I used to always use the Ropak cans for the primary...are those better for primary fermentation just because easier to get at to clean or do they minimize foaming to some extent as well?
Photo of my new setup is attached. What do you guys think?

forget about glass in big beers .... 6.5 bucket will work just fine and be lighter to lift in the future

poptarts said:

and you better hope only your clothes are in that closet, good brew times turn bad super fast when the wife's clothes get beer all over them.

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If you married a good one, it's not the first time she's had beer sprayed on her clothes

MyCarHasAbs said:

If you married a good one, it's not the first time she's had beer sprayed on her clothes

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LOL..this made my day.

You need a temp controller for that mini fridge. Just build one with a STC1000 for cheap. built mine for 30$.

get an stc or your going to make all the yeast drop out.