Air Lock Question

I brewed my first AG brew on Sunday and it's in a 5.5 gallon primary fermentation bucket, I left very little air space in the bucket and it started fermenting like crazy yesterday, leaking foam out of the airlock and all over the bucket. Today when I got home the airlock was clogged with trub. I took the airlock out and cleaned it quickly then replaced it. It seems like it is going to keep happening... My questions are... is there anything I can do to prevent this? What should I do about it, is this normal and will my beer get jacked up if i remove the airlock briefly to clean it. Thanks in advance for the help. will try to post pics as soon as I can.

You shouldn't have any problems because of this, but do make sure to get it sanitized and back on your primary as quickly as possible. If you're using a 5.5 gal bucket as your primary, I would highly reccommend using a blow-off tube to ensure that this doesn't happen again. You're just lucky you didn't get to see the whole top blow off as well!

6.5 gallon carboy and a blow off tube?

I have a 6.5 w/h blow off and the krausen is busting out, brewed yesterday.

Today's work is in a 6.5 bucket... and it's in the sink. Wishing I had another 6.5 carboy since the blow off is easy. The last primary bucket I did was a mess on the kitchen floor (that's why it's in the sink).

I have not had a single all grain brew NOT break the blow off barrier. I guess it's just "bigger" beer.

I would use a 6.5 Carboy or Ale Pale. You should not have any problems then.

I had the same problem with a partial mash Kolsch with the airlock filling up.
The beer came out fine. Always have a few extra airlocks on hand just incase this happens again. Taking the airlock off for a moment should not cause any problems with the beer.

HSM said:

6.5 gallon carboy and a blow off tube?

I have a 6.5 w/h blow off and the krausen is busting out, brewed yesterday.

Today's work is in a 6.5 bucket... and it's in the sink. Wishing I had another 6.5 carboy since the blow off is easy. The last primary bucket I did was a mess on the kitchen floor (that's why it's in the sink).

I have not had a single all grain brew NOT break the blow off barrier. I guess it's just "bigger" beer.

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What is your OG and what temp are you fermenting at? I have had two beers bust through the airlock on a 6.5 gallon carboy. A hefeweizen, kind of makes sense since wheat beers are the kings of foam, and my Stone 08.08.08 pitched at 70 which climbed to 72 at fermentation ramped up. Other than that, 66-68 fermentation temps even in a 1.08+ beer have been contained easily.

First off, I would not put an air (LOCK) on a brew that is kreusening over. That my friend is a potential bomb! In lieu of a proper size blow off tube, I would simply soak a paper towel in sanitizer solution to cover the hole and let it spew for a few days keeping it clean. Once the heavy activity subsides, replace the airlock.

Perhaps pitching and fermenting cooler will also help control the fermentation.

I'd go ahead and rig a blow off tube right away. You can also remove the lid from the bucket, and just set it on loosely so that co2 (and krausen, so put it in a tub, or at least a non-carpted surface) can escape. I'd go with the blow off tube. You can use some vinyl tubing (your tubing used for racking is ok) and remove the airlock. Stick one end of the sanitized tubing into the hole for the airlock, and the other end in a pitcher half full of water, with the tip under the surface of the water. Add a bit of sanitizer to the pitcher, and you're all set!

YooperBrew said:

I'd go ahead and rig a blow off tube right away. . . Add a bit of sanitizer to the pitcher, and you're all set!

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This mornings example:

5 1/2 gallons of a wheat/rye wort in a 6 gallon carboy