what happened? or, how do i avoid this again??

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gator

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hi folks, just posted an intro and won't bore you w/ many details as i'd like to get down to biness.

tried to brew my first batch a couple nights ago, copied palmer's cinci pale ale recipe in his online book.

things actually went pretty well, until the next morning.

check it at 700 a.m. and everything was fine.......was startled out of a shower at 930 by a "mild explosion".......you can guess as to what occured.

anyhow, what did i do wrong? i don't really know enough about all this to really know what you folks would look for as questions to ask me, so just tell me what other details you need to make a fairly accurate assumption.

gator
 
I posted this in your other "howdy" thread...

Aerator? You mean airlock?

Ah, yes, the ol' blowoff. Fun times! Believe me, you're not the first, nor the last.

What you need to do is fix your fermenter with a blowoff tube, which is easy if you're using a carboy. Go to lowes and they have clear vinyl tubing that you can get cut-to-length. You probably need the 1.25" OD tubing (you should measure the inside diameter of the carboy opening), 4 or 5 feet of it. Sanitize it, and instead of using a rubber stopper or carboy cap, you slide the end of the tube just into the opening - not too far, just enough to create a seal. Then you put the other end into a bucket of sanitizer solution. If/when your fermentation blows off, it'll go into the bucket, which you can empty, rather than all of the walls and ceiling.
 
If you are making a high gravity ale, a wheat beer, are pitching onto a yeast cake or you have less than 1.5 gal of head space then you need a blowoff tube. Replace the airlock with a tube and stick the other end in some water with sanitizer.

Craig
 
yeah, airlock, sorry....i've got about 10 things going at once and couldn't find the correct term in my brain.

thanks for the advice!

gator
 
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