Help!! Fermentation gone wild

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grasshopper1917

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Howdy folks I as brewing a stout and the fermentation is off the charts. It foaming out over the airlock. What should I do from here it just keeps spitting out foam it is on day 2 of fermenting. Is my beer at risk of being infected? Ive never had this happen before so any advice is much appreciated :)

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It's just a vigorous fermentation. First - wipe it clean with sanitizer then get a new air-lock - sanitize it and stick it in there.
You should be fine. You may have to repeat that procedure once more - but you should be fine. Ignore it and you'll be in trouble.

JonM is right - do it before it explodes!
 
Dont move it to a cooler place to slow it down. It is very common for high gravity beers to have crazy fermentation. All you need to do is rig up a blow off tube into a container of sanitizer. If you used a 3 piece air lock you could just remove the cap and float pieces and stick a 1/2 inch tube in the airlock.
 
Adrenaline-Junkie said:
Dont move it to a cooler place to slow it down. It is very common for high gravity beers to have crazy fermentation. All you need to do is rig up a blow off tube into a container of sanitizer. If you used a 3 piece air lock you could just remove the cap and float pieces and stick a 1/2 inch tube in the airlock.

Yeah but I would be worried about temp if its fermenting like that. I had this happen with a Belgian Tripel 1.095 OG and even with a blowoff the bucket lid was about to blow. I removed the tube so it could just foam out through the grommet hole. Temps went up into the 80s even with the bucket at room temp sitting in the kitchen sink. The beer ended up very hot and solventy, fusels I think.
 
I totally understand, ive seen what a mess it can make when bucket lids blow off. I was going to recommend switching to a carboy or better bottle but i figure some people just prefer not to spend the money and like buckets.
 
Bucket, carbon, Better Bottle, warm fermentation, cold fermentation, high gravity, medium gravity--start everything with a blow off tube. After things slow switch to an airlock--or not.
 
I totally understand, ive seen what a mess it can make when bucket lids blow off. I was going to recommend switching to a carboy or better bottle but i figure some people just prefer not to spend the money and like buckets.

Because carboys and BB can't blow off the airlock if it is clogged? It isn't a matter of the type of fermentor; rather it is about giving the krausen a place to go so that it doesn't clog the airlock and cause a blowout from backed up pressure. I have seen plenty of pictures of messy ceilings and walls from carboys blowing off airlocks.
 
Put a bag under / around it so it doesn't flood your floor, I always use a blowoff for first couple of days at least, just in case.
 
Because carboys and BB can't blow off the airlock if it is clogged? It isn't a matter of the type of fermentor; rather it is about giving the krausen a place to go so that it doesn't clog the airlock and cause a blowout from backed up pressure. I have seen plenty of pictures of messy ceilings and walls from carboys blowing off airlocks.

No, thats not what i was getting at. I meant its just easier to stick a 1 inch tube in the top of a carboy than it is to mess with other setups. I didnt clarify, my apologies. Buckets are kind of a PITA imo.
 
Put a bag under / around it so it doesn't flood your floor, I always use a blowoff for first couple of days at least, just in case.

Depending on the size of your brew kettle id suggest setting the bucket in it. Works pretty well imo.
 
I don't think infection will be an issue. Krausen is blowing out. Your yeast is doing its job. Agree with blow off tube. Can sit in storage tub to catch the mess. Keep it from blowing you'll be fine. It happens to me frequently.
 
No real chance of infection since the built up pressure is pushing everything out of the bucket and nothing can get in.

Make sure you keep it clean and hook up a blow of tube
 
Cyclman said:
Put a bag under / around it so it doesn't flood your floor, I always use a blowoff for first couple of days at least, just in case.

Bag in a milk crate, with another bag on top. My belt and suspenders approach.

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No, thats not what i was getting at. I meant its just easier to stick a 1 inch tube in the top of a carboy than it is to mess with other setups. I didnt clarify, my apologies. Buckets are kind of a PITA imo.

I also apologize, I misunderstood what you were saying. I have six or seven buckets I use for primary (I save glass for the rare secondary/bulk aging and Apfelwein). I have drilled the lids for drilled stoppers. I just drilled one today for a one inch blow off tube. I literally took about two seconds and works like a charm. It helps to have a variety of hole bits for the drill.
 
Howdy folks I as brewing a stout and the fermentation is off the charts. It foaming out over the airlock. What should I do from here it just keeps spitting out foam it is on day 2 of fermenting. Is my beer at risk of being infected? Ive never had this happen before so any advice is much appreciated :)

549764_10152599770270246_904318710_n.jpg

You have already been given enough info on what to do next, I am just wondering what type of yeast you used and how much headspace you left in the bucket. You don't have to worry about infection, because everything is being forced out of your brewbucket.
 
Dont move it to a cooler place to slow it down. It is very common for high gravity beers to have crazy fermentation. All you need to do is rig up a blow off tube into a container of sanitizer. If you used a 3 piece air lock you could just remove the cap and float pieces and stick a 1/2 inch tube in the airlock.

I would avoid the 1/2“ tubing over the airlock at all costs. I had a crazy fermentation last week with a 1/2" blow off tube that ended up on my ceiling. The actual plastic from the airlock got clogged and blew the entire bung out. I estimate I lost about a gallon of brew. Bummer. Go with a large blow off of possible 1".
 
Ok, seriously! Am I the only one that got aroused when I saw "Help!! Fermentation gone wild"??? I mean I got visions of scantly clad little yeasties drunk from the brew dancing on the beach and rebelling from their parents by flashing me there goods!!! Damn I love brewing!
 
cluckk said:
Bucket, carbon, Better Bottle, warm fermentation, cold fermentation, high gravity, medium gravity--start everything with a blow off tube. After things slow switch to an airlock--or not.

This. I never start with an airlock. Great advice.
 
I clogged an airlock on my first brew. That was the last time i used an airlock. Now i always use a blow off tube and 90% of the time I need it. I've lost up to a gallon due to blow off so IMO never use an airlock unless you have a huge amount of head space. Sad that so many homebrewers have to learn that the hard way.
 
Hey guys appreciate all the comments. I ended up replacing the airlock and bung with a new sanitized bung+airlock. It bubbled hard for another couple days but no more overflows and the beer turned out great. I will post a pic of the finished product soon.
 
Ok, seriously! Am I the only one that got aroused when I saw "Help!! Fermentation gone wild"??? I mean I got visions of scantly clad little yeasties drunk from the brew dancing on the beach and rebelling from their parents by flashing me there goods!!! Damn I love brewing!

I think you had one too-many homebrews that day. Haha:mug:
 
If you are going to do a lot of stouts maybe look at getting a bigger fermenter.

I use the Cooper's OS Stout kit for most of my stout related brews. It blows off a lot of foam. I did a toucan stout with the stout kit, a dark ale kit and a kg of dextrose about three months back. It was a 23 litre batch and if I was limited to a regular sized ale pale/airlock I would have had to drink the beer by sticking a straw in my chest freezer.

I fermented it in my Cooper's DIY fermenter with the krausen collar attached. One krausen cone did almost touch the lid despite the huge amount of headspace left in the fermenter. (One of the benefits of a clear fermenter is watching the krausen take off. It's kinda cool to see)

I prefer a large fermenter over a blow off tube because everything I put in there stay's in there until I am ready for it to come out. I've only ever used a blow off tube when doing one gallon batches of oatmeal stout and I did appear to lose some beer (not much) as a result.
 
I prefer a large fermenter over a blow off tube because everything I put in there stay's in there until I am ready for it to come out. I've only ever used a blow off tube when doing one gallon batches of oatmeal stout and I did appear to lose some beer (not much) as a result.
:rockin:

I agree. Why go to the trouble and expense of making 5 or 6 gallons of good wort only to lose a gallon due to poor headspace. If I brew 23 liters I want to bottle most of it not let it go to waste.

bosco
 
Here's a picture of my first RIS that blew the airlock off. Changed over to a blow off tube and plastic tub from Walmart ($5.99 money well spent) and no more issues.

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Is five gallons of wort in a 6 gallon Carboy enough headspace to keep from losing too much in the blow off tube?
 
Is five gallons of wort in a 6 gallon Carboy enough headspace to keep from losing too much in the blow off tube?

A lot depends on the type of yeast your using and the gravity of the wort. Generally a 6 1/2 gal. carboy is used. 25% headspace is usually required but certain yeasts like Weihenstephan require 33%. If you're using those 6 gallon better bottles I'd be ready for an eruption.
 
fbold1 said:
A lot depends on the type of yeast your using and the gravity of the wort. Generally a 6 1/2 gal. carboy is used. 25% headspace is usually required but certain yeasts like Weihenstephan require 33%. If you're using those 6 gallon better bottles I'd be ready for an eruption.

Well I was gonna use a six gallon glass Carboy but I'm making a hefe with Weihenstephon so I better use my 7.8 gallon bucket
 
Well I was gonna use a six gallon glass Carboy but I'm making a hefe with Weihenstephon so I better use my 7.8 gallon bucket

Definitely a good idea! Funny you are going to use weihenstephan, that was the craziest fermentation I've ever had, it blew by the gasket on the bucket, squirted on the wall, what a mess! Made a good cherry stout though. That was 5.5 gallons in a 7.5 gallon bucket.
 
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