Overflow 2nd day fermentation... huge problem?

Hey everyone what's happenin? I started a blonde ale the other day and when i woke up this morning to check on my baby, the stopper and airlock in my carboy were on the floor and there was a huge mess... What am i doing wrong?????!!!

Sounds like you had an pretty active fermentation. Do a search for "blowoff tube" and you'll find tons of info. Basically it's a hose that replaces the airlock and feeds to a contained of sanitizer. Keeps you from having those messes.

Hunster87 said:

What am i doing wrong?????!!!

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You, sir, are guilty of not doing your homework before brewing. You should always use a blowoff tube for the first few days of fermentation.

Do a quick search for blow off, if you don't already know what I'm talking about.

Set up a blow-off tube. Place one end on air lock or in lid hole, and the other end in sanitized water.

This hapened because you had rigiorous fermentation. Were you using a 5 gal or 6.5 gal?

If I had a pic I would post it, Im sure someone will post one in a few mintues.

Hey llazy, i thought i did my homework but apparently you had to have an ego and point out that i didn't for humility's sake. This was an honest mistake, yes i know what a blow off tube is and i will gladly invest in one. Thank you for the advice. oh and histo im using a 5gallon

i don't mean to sound like a jerk

Hunster87 said:

Hey llazy, i thought i did my homework but apparently you had to have an ego and point out that i didn't for humility's sake. This was an honest mistake, yes i know what a blow off tube is and i will gladly invest in one. Thank you for the advice. oh and histo im using a 5gallon

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It's not an ego thing by any stretch of the imagination. The majority of my time on HBT is spent answering questions from newer brewers, which I enjoy doing. The reason I said you didn't do your homework is because 10 seconds of searching (or a day or two of lurking) would have answered that question and not required an additional thread.

Honestly, I just figured you'd be able to handle a bit of good natured ribbing. There's a good deal of that around here. But hey, if you're upset about it then I apologize.

As for your 5 gallon fermenter, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone around here that would recommend a 5 gallon fermenter for use as a primary (at least not for beer) as 5 gallons of rapidly expanding liquid stored in a 5 gallon vessel is a recipe for.... well, you've already seen it first hand. Personally, I'd recommend a few 6-6.5 gallon buckets, carboys, or Better Bottles for use as your primary fermenter. I still say you should always use a blowoff for the first few days of active fermentation, but a larger vessel will cut down on the amount of beer you lose in the event of explosive fermentation.

o no i can definately handle it lol and yes i do greatly appreciate the advice but i do have one more question. i think the stopper was out of it for a few hours before i discovered it. is this batch good and ruined?

Probably not. It's a lot harder to ruin a batch of beer than most people believe. Either way, you'll know for sure in a few weeks if your beer tastes like someone died, was resurrected, died a second time, was resurrected a second time, evacuted their bowels into your carboy, then died a third and final time and was liquified into your beer.

o man that would be bad!!! especially the evacuating bowels part lol thanks again

llazy_llama said:

Probably not. It's a lot harder to ruin a batch of beer than most people believe. Either way, you'll know for sure in a few weeks if your beer tastes like someone died, was resurrected, died a second time, was resurrected a second time, evacuted their bowels into your carboy, then died a third and final time and was liquified into your beer.

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I have some in a keg now if you care to taste.

I have blown off an airlock more times than I can count. If u are using this type of airlock
File:Fermentation lock.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U can switch to a blowoff tube (as reccomended by others), or use this type of airlock:
File:Airlock2.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The second type doesnt get cloged as easlily as the first type.

Iv'e been brewing for some years now, I stopped brewing beer and recently got back into it. I was making meads for a while. I've had this happen with ciders, meads but never, beer until last night. I put 5gal Irish Red in a 6 gallon carboy(primary) and this morning,,,, a mess . I immediatly found the stuff to rig a blow-off tube, and started cleaning b4 the wife found out. So this happens alot to some of us?

I've only got a few brews under my belt. Can someone with more experience confirm that it would also be a good idea to reduce the temps a bit to calm the fermentation down?

GabrielKnight said:

I've only got a few brews under my belt. Can someone with more experience confirm that it would also be a good idea to reduce the temps a bit to calm the fermentation down?

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If you're in the appropriate range for the yeast strain you're using, fermenting at the lower range of that is fine. Lowering the temperature just to slow the fermentation might backfire for you- you may stop the fermentation completely. If it's in the optimum range for the yeast, then leave it alone. Just put on a blow off tube if you need it, an airlock if you don't.

There's nothing quite like coming home to the smell of a brewery and spending the next 30 minutes cleaning hops and krausen off your ceiling...

Blow-off tube, 1 inch at least FTW!!!

Guybrush3pwood said:

There's nothing quite like coming home to the smell of a brewery and spending the next 30 minutes cleaning hops and krausen off your ceiling...

Blow-off tube, 1 inch at least FTW!!!

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Have to totally agree. A vigorous, healthy fermentation is a great sign for your beer, so don't freak out about it, enjoy the magic of yeasties getting it on.

I've been mostly into mead, too, and a friend got me thinking about beer.

The one thing I did do right was select a place to ferment my beers that was easy to clean up.