I dont know whats wrong! Please help!

Hey guys, this is my first time posting on the forums but I though its about time since I dont really know whats going on with my current batch. Im making an oatmeal stout. Well, when after I pitched the yeast and closed up the primary, I did not notice the airlock bubbling and then about a day and a half later I woke up and the stuff had overflowed out of the airlock, and my bucket was covered with the wort. I took the lid and the airlock off for about 2 minutes to clean them and then I replaced them but since then the airlock has not bubbled at all and its been a week. Anyone have an idea as to whats going on ?

Yep. Your bucket didn't form an air tight seal when you replaced it. That's not going to hurt your beer, so don't panic. Look into using a blowoff tube (I always recommend a blowoff for the first 3 days of fermentation) to prevent that from happening again.

Make sure your lid/airlock is on tight and leave it alone for 2 weeks. Then take a hydrometer reading to check the FG. You should be OK. I came home from work one day and my fermentation went crazy, clogged up my air lock and then sprayed junk all over the place.. The airlock was off for who knows how long and the beer turned out great..

Tip.. If you use the 3 piece airlock grind/cut off the bottom part of it to "open" it up some.. just a 1/4 inch will do it.

A blow off tube as llazy_llama said is also a great Idea.

What temps are you fermenting at? I live in Texas so it gets very hot around here. It seems that a lot of the time I have a blow out the temps are higher than they should be...

you should definitely take a gravity reading. it wouldn't be all that surprising if you had finished a good chunk of primary fermentation. as the others said, leave it on the yeast for a while and let them do their thing. after that, secondary it for a bit if you need to clear it up or just bottle it right from the primary.

Meh, I say just leave it for a month, and then take a gravity reading and bottle. Odds are, fermentation isn't done yet, and the more times you pop that lid and start sticking stuff into there, the higher the odds of infection.

Also, unless you're adding fruit, dry hopping, bulk aging for more than 3 months, adding souring cultures, or you simply must free up that fermenter, I wouldn't bother with secondary. I know waiting 4 weeks before bottling is hard, but your beer and your tastebuds will thank you for it.

Thanks for all the info guys, but I just checked and the lid and airlock are definately are there tight. Also I dont have a hydrometer so is there anything else I can do? If I let it sit another couple of weeks and it still never bubbles is there something wrong?

rubi1052 said:

Thanks for all the info guys, but I just checked and the lid and airlock are definately are there tight. Also I dont have a hydrometer so is there anything else I can do? If I let it sit another couple of weeks and it still never bubbles is there something wrong?

Click to expand...

Other than a slight case of noobishness, nope.

I kid, but seriously, just leave it in there for a month, and don't worry about the bubbles. Use that time to order a hydrometer (Austin Homebrew Supply for seven bucks) to make sure it's safe to bottle.

You've got a 90% chance fermentation is complete, but like others said I'd let it sit for another week or so. I own a hydrometer but have only ever used it once. I think for high gravity beers, or where you are trying to ferment as quickly as possible (rarely a good idea), or batches where you have no indication fermentation started (no krausen layer, no airlock activity) it can be beneficial. Other than those circumstances, though, I say just let it sit an extra week and transfer/bottle.

Austin Homebrew has some drops they sell which I will be buying in the near future to prevent a large krausen layer during fermentation. This will prevent what happened to you. In my case I ferment with a 6.5gallon glass primary and had this happen on my last brew (8% IPA). I am VERY lucky I caught it early enough during fermentation because what would have been a mess for you could have been extremely dangerous for me (6.5gallon glass bomb). My fermentation on that batch was so vigorous I lost 1/2-3/4 gallon of beer due to the foam pouring out of the mouth of the fermenter.

about a day and a half later I woke up and the stuff had overflowed out of the airlock, and my bucket was covered with the wort

Click to expand...

LOL - sorry - that is funny! Look up blow off tubes. Happens to many brews.

I own a hydrometer but I've really only used to the measure alcohol, not whether I'm done fermenting.

2 weeks in the primary and 1 week in the secondary and your good to go . . UNLESS you are brewing ij very cool temps (like below 60) or a high alcoholic brew like a Belgian. I have a Belgian that has been active for 18 days now!