Help!!!!!!!

Just got home from work and my 2nd day of pumpkin ale (with real pumpkin) is exploding out the airlock from my 6 gallon glass primary carboy... What a sticky mess this is. What should I do? I'm afraid to take the cap off the airlock or take the airlock off. I don't want an infection or pumpkin ale everywhere. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

blow off tube

Make a blow off tube and put it into the bung. Don't worry about infection for the brief time between removing the air lock and putting a blow off onto it.

So much CO2 is blowing out there is really no concern if anything getting in, just sanitize a blow off tube set up and your good

Wow... Thank god for this awesome beer forum app. You guys rock. Just followed your advice and my situation went from messy and crazy to a clean, stable blow off tube situation.

I stuck it in a bucket of water mixed with a little star san. How long should I now keep this blow off tube set up? Should I leave it like this until secondary? I'm a little disappointed that the pumpkin ale looks so thick and filled with sediments. Has anybody experienced this with pumpkin ale using real pumpkin. My OG was 1.060 I thought that was a little high

MinnesnowtaBrew said:

Wow... Thank god for this awesome beer forum app. You guys rock. Just followed your advice and my situation went from messy and crazy to a clean, stable blow off tube situation.

I stuck it in a bucket of water mixed with a little star san. How long should I now keep this blow off tube set up? Should I leave it like this until secondary? I'm a little disappointed that the pumpkin ale looks so thick and filled with sediments. Has anybody experienced this with pumpkin ale using real pumpkin. My OG was 1.060 I thought that was a little high

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Have a BDSA in primary now that i KNEW was going to cause me trouble. I always put any beer over .060 in a blow off just to avoid this situation.

Healthy yeast, correct pitch and temperature should almost always cause a blow off IMO ( w/ 3 piece airlocks)

Leave it untill you see activity slow. dont be afraid with switched air locks/blow offs. Its very hard to infect a batch while still fermenting so active and with regards to your sediment comment, was it all grain? Ive had a couple batchs where i drained a lil to much break material in the FV. Just make sure you cold crash or let it sit for 2-3 weeks after vigorous fermentation settles and you hit your FG, you should be fine.

Johnnyhitch1 said:

Have a BDSA in primary now that i KNEW was going to cause me trouble. I always put any beer over .060 in a blow off just to avoid this situation.

Healthy yeast, correct pitch and temperature should almost always cause a blow off IMO

Leave it untill you see activity slow. dont be afraid with switched air locks/blow offs. Its very hard to infect a batch while still fermenting so active and with regards to your sediment comment, was it all grain? Ive had a couple batchs where i drained a lil to much break material in the FV. Just make sure you cold crash or let it sit for 2-3 weeks after vigorous fermentation settles and you hit your FG, you should be fine.

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Thanks Johnnyhitch! I feel better now about my situation, I'm gonna put all OG's > 1.060 started in a blow off tube for precaution.

In regards to the sediment, it was a partial mash BIAB of 2-row and real pumpkin. Crazy Krausen right now, trub on bottom and beer looks thick. Maybe I'm over analyzing?

Johnnyhitch1 said:

Have a BDSA in primary now that i KNEW was going to cause me trouble. I always put any beer over .060 in a blow off just to avoid this situation.

Healthy yeast, correct pitch and temperature should almost always cause a blow off IMO ( w/ 3 piece airlocks)

Leave it untill you see activity slow. dont be afraid with switched air locks/blow offs. Its very hard to infect a batch while still fermenting so active and with regards to your sediment comment, was it all grain? Ive had a couple batchs where i drained a lil to much break material in the FV. Just make sure you cold crash or let it sit for 2-3 weeks after vigorous fermentation settles and you hit your FG, you should be fine.

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What are the benefits to cold crash? This is only my second batch so sorry for the rookie question

MinnesnowtaBrew said:

What are the benefits to cold crash? This is only my second batch so sorry for the rookie question

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just realized you used real pumpkin. Ive never done it but ive heard it causes A LOT of smaller material in the bucket if not used in a strainer/hop bag.

Cold crashing is bringing the vessel down to 35* to essentially bring all trub and pumpkin (in your case) out of suspension, also most dead non-active yeast cells. if you dont have a chest freezer or any way of doing this, let your bucket sit for atleast 2 weeks after fermentation stops and FG is reached to let all break material to settle.

I had an IPA that was quiet for 3 days - got suckered and put in the airlock (replaced the blow off). Then it exploded out through the airlock and I frantically added back the blow off. God I love yeast!

MinnesnowtaBrew said:

Thanks Johnnyhitch! I feel better now about my situation, I'm gonna put all OG's > 1.060 started in a blow off tube for precaution.

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Forget 1.060. Just do it. Or try a 1.050 with Wyeast 1007 without a blowoff tube and you'll find out.

Mongrel said:

Forget 1.060. Just do it. Or try a 1.050 with Wyeast 1007 without a blowoff tube and you'll find out.

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Lol. I agree.. I don't want to deal with that mess and BS again..

MinnesnowtaBrew said:

Just got home from work and my 2nd day of pumpkin ale (with real pumpkin) is exploding out the airlock from my 6 gallon glass primary carboy... What a sticky mess this is. What should I do? I'm afraid to take the cap off the airlock or take the airlock off. I don't want an infection or pumpkin ale everywhere. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Click to expand...

Blow off hose is a way to go for sure ( I got mine from lowes, dont remember the exact size) but dont worry about taking off airlock, when its at the peak of fermentation its pretty safe.

S-05 always fakes me out. I watch the airlock for a few days and everything seems calm, then I let my guard down and suddenly there's foam spouting out the top.

I've been trying not to use a blowoff tube for too long because they get cloudy and I can't get the yeast crud out after a couple days then I have to buy new tubing.

neophilus said:

S-05 always fakes me out. I watch the airlock for a few days and everything seems calm, then I let my guard down and suddenly there's foam spouting out the top.

I've been trying not to use a blowoff tube for too long because they get cloudy and I can't get the yeast crud out after a couple days then I have to buy new tubing.

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What I do to clean the junk out of my blow off tube is pretty simple and works really well for me. First I submerge the tube for a day or so in water so all the material is pretty well soaked. Then I take a length of bailing wire about a foot longer than the blow off tube. I make small loop on one end of the bailing wire and tie some yarn to the loop. I wrap the yarn around the loop and about a 2" section up the wire until the thickness is just about the same diameter as the inside of the blow off tube. Essentially making a big cotton swab on one end of the wire. Feed the non wrapped end through the tube, pull the wrapped end all the way through and it pulls all the left over gunk out. Rinse the tube out and the cotton swab end off and repeat if needed. It gets pretty much all the stuff out and it's ready to be soaked in sanitizer and reused the next time you need it.

That's what is great about home brewing there is a DIY solution for every problem!

Johnnyhitch1 said:

Cold crashing is bringing the vessel down to 35* to essentially bring all trub and pumpkin (in your case) out of suspension, also most dead non-active yeast cells. if you dont have a chest freezer or any way of doing this, let your bucket sit for atleast 2 weeks after fermentation stops and FG is reached to let all break material to settle.

Click to expand...

I have a fridge in my garage I can use to cold crash. It easily gets down to 35. Just brewed my first beer today and only have a primary fermentation bucket. Once fermentation is finished, how long should I cold crash at 35 F before bottling?