Ideas for the wife at home w/beer!

So Im fermenting a Hefeweisen for the first time in a glass carboy. It was pretty full so I was a little worried about having enough head room in there. So it appears to be fermenting pretty vigorously because the airlock blew off.

So my wife calls me while Im at work just now and says the airlock blew off and there is Krausen spewing out. I told her to just rinse out the airlock and stick it back on. Anything else she can do till I get home in the next 4 hours and try to rig up a blow off? I dont have any of the thick hose for it, but I figure I can at least use what I have and connect it to the top of the airlock with the lid off.

This is the first time this has happened to me, so Im not sure what else to tell her thats not too overly complicated. She is home with our 7 week old baby..

Thanks everyone!

I used an Ale Pale and had the same issue except without the spewing, I caught it in time and just used the 5\16th hose that I had and stuck it in the grommet instead of the airlock and put it in a jug of water (wine bottles work well). It can be tough to jam in there but it works. If you are using a glass carboy I would expect you'd do the same type of thing with a carboy bung or a drilled stopper that will accommodate your tubing size.

Do you have some kind of container she can set it in or at least an old towel she can put under it? If she can't lift the carboy or isn't comfortable doing so, have her wrap a couple old towels around the base to try and collect some of the blowoff so it doesn't ruin your carpet or soak into the floor. Rig up a blow off when you get home. Also, when you get the chance, take a look at the bottom of the airlock stem and make sure the holes aren't plugged. I generally cut the little star-shaped part off my airlocks just so this doesn't happen. It won't prevent a blowoff but it will prevent excessive pressure from building up in the carboy an sending the airlock flying like a champagne cork on New Years Eve.

Sanitize a piece of foil and cover the mouth of the carboy. It will be fine

so what do you think about just putting the stopper and airlock back on for a few hours until I get home? Im thinking it will probably blow off again but I really cant ask the wife to do anything else right now.

will the foil keep the krausen in?

as far as the carboy right now.. it is in a tupperwear of water and there is a towel under that too. Yeah.. I read a while back about the idea of cutting that plastic piece off the bottom of the airlock stem. That didnt seem to do much in this case..

The foil won't keep the krausen in. She can put the stopper back in (or put a pint glass over the opening) and wrap an old towel around the neck to soak up the foam.

well she called and said its looks ok at the moment. thanks for the feedback guys!

kammee said:

I used an Ale Pale and had the same issue except without the spewing, I caught it in time and just used the 5\16th hose that I had and stuck it in the grommet instead of the airlock and put it in a jug of water (wine bottles work well). It can be tough to jam in there but it works. If you are using a glass carboy I would expect you'd do the same type of thing with a carboy bung or a drilled stopper that will accommodate your tubing size.

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That works well too. With a 3piece airlock on the carboy, you can take the lid and bobber (I don't know if that's what it's really called) off and jam the hose on the stem in the middle and make a blowoff that way as well.Take the other end and stick it in a jug or jar half filled with water.

if its in a tub with some water,she can put a little ice in it,the cooler,the slower...but its all about giving GOD his share of the goods right now...you will laugh about this,she may not.

love the quote by the way eddie! I think Im working my way there! Ha!

The problem with putting the airlock back in is that it can clog and pressure can build and then when it blows off, it can spew krausen up to the ceiling. the sanitized foil lets it leak out while keeping the bugs out.

david_42 said:

The foil won't keep the krausen in. She can put the stopper back in (or put a pint glass over the opening) and wrap an old towel around the neck to soak up the foam.

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Yeah, the foil won't really help any. As long as foam is being pushed out, nothing is going to get in anyway. If I have a freshly sanitized carboy that I have on standby on a brew day, I do cover the neck in foil to keep everything clean, though.