A Sour Mess

I came back from work today to find my flanders red fermenting in the kitchen had pushed off it's stopper and air lock and did some overflowing. Since this is my first real sour ale using bugs I was wondering if there was anything special I that is suggested other than normal soap and water. I assumed I don't need to do anything special to kill off the bugs but I figured I'd ask just in case!

On the bright side most of the spillage was caught by the cool brew bag and I know that the belgian sour ale mix is working

Argh! Well I just figured out why it made a mess. The better bottle is pressurizing as it can't let enough gas out. Time to clean up again...

You could just place some sanitized foil loosely around the mouth of the bottle. Or use a blow-off tube.

I didn't think about foil. Thanks!

I use Alpet D2 from Moorebeer. I am overly paranoid about sanitation and any spill no matter what size gets cleaned up with this stuff.

http://morebeer.com/products/alpet-d2-surface-sanitizer-quart-spray-bottle.html?site_id=7

chuck

SteveLikesBeer said:

I came back from work today to find my flanders red fermenting in the kitchen had pushed off it's stopper and air lock and did some overflowing. Since this is my first real sour ale using bugs I was wondering if there was anything special I that is suggested other than normal soap and water. I assumed I don't need to do anything special to kill off the bugs but I figured I'd ask just in case!

On the bright side most of the spillage was caught by the cool brew bag and I know that the belgian sour ale mix is working

Click to expand...

I had a similar issue this past week. As a result, I have a layer of yeast on the top of inside of the carboy.

Should I:
a) leave it alone?
b) swirl the contents after initial fermentation has ended?
c) rack into another carboy?

I was not planning on racking it into another carboy. The plan was to let it sit on the yeast cake for the first 8 - 12 months.

So much for my thoughts of a 7 month old 3278 not having a huge fermentation. I should have placed a blow off tube from the beginning.

Any comments would be appreciated. Yes this is my first sour.

Scarnera: leave it alone. Don't worry about it.

sweetcell said:

Scarnera: leave it alone. Don't worry about it.

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Will do. Thanks so much!

That looks perfect! Leave it alone and taste it in 6 months. Then again at 12. You'll probably love it at 18

Hopinista said:

That looks perfect! Leave it alone and taste it in 6 months. Then again at 12. You'll probably love it at 18

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I do not doubt it. I am committed to the long haul on this. The plan is to have it sit on cherries for another year after primary. Should have brewed 10 gallons.

scarnera said:

Should have brewed 10 gallons.

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What is stopping you starting a new batch now. Learn/improve as you go along, rather than commit a large batch each time. Once you have it dialed in, that is when a large batch is appropriate.

Calder said:

What is stopping you starting a new batch now. Learn/improve as you go along, rather than commit a large batch each time. Once you have it dialed in, that is when a large batch is appropriate.

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This, plus it is a very sad day when you're out of sours and have to wait months for more.

Hopinista said:

This, plus it is a very sad day when you're out of sours and have to wait months for more.

Click to expand...

Calder said:

What is stopping you starting a new batch now. Learn/improve as you go along, rather than commit a large batch each time. Once you have it dialed in, that is when a large batch is appropriate.

Click to expand...

The plan was to do another 5 gallon in about 6 months. Do you recommend sooner? Maybe 3 months? Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

I'd say mash up tomorrow