What type of vessel are you fermenting in? Did you have an airlock on it or did you have a blow off tube going into a bowl of sanitizer? If you have a blowoff tube, and there is crusty foam residue in it, then you had a blow off, which is completely normal. The "beer" in the bowl of sanitizer is not really beer, it's the nasty foam blowoff. There is some beer wasted when you have a blow off, but it's not a concern. The only concern is to make sure that the tube does not get clogged or pressure can build up and blow the cap off and make a big mess.