my first time...

9 years of brewing behind me and I've finally had my first ever blow-out on a primary fermenter. Luckily, I avoided a mess.

My latest batch of IPA (brewed wednesday) was getting dangerously close to the airlock last night, so I turned the temp on my fridge down 4 degrees to help keep things under control.

This morning, the kraeusen was only a couple inches from the stopper, so I gave SWMBO instructions on how to install a blow-off as I headed out the door for work.

At about 11am, she called to say that the first bubbles had touched the stopper and she put the blow-off in place.

Now, I've got murky sanitizer in a jug from the blow-out and it's still chugging away.

The crazy thing is that I was having trouble getting some calcium deposits off of one of my 6.5 gallon carboys, so I almost put that batch into a 6 gallon carboy instead. That would have DEINFATELY made a mess, b/c I'm sure I would not have caught things in time to take the appropriate action.

-walker

Good thing you had a contingency plan in place. I had my first doublebarreled starter blowoff last weekend with some Wyeast 2124 in two half-gallon growlers...weird.

Wait, I'm confused... you're fermenting the IPA in a fridge? At what temp? I'm planning on doing this recipe, do I have to ferment at less than the regular 70 degrees or so?

Walker-san said:

This morning, the kraeusen was only a couple inches from the stopper, so I gave SWMBO instructions on how to install a blow-off as I headed out the door for work.

At about 11am, she called to say that the first bubbles had touched the stopper and she put the blow-off in place.

Click to expand...

Round of applause for Walker's missus! *clap clap clap*
You can't ask for any better than that...

This after reading earlier in the day how she does all of Walker's post-brew cleanup... if we could all only be so blessed.

Shambolic said:

Round of applause for Walker's missus! *clap clap clap*
You can't ask for any better than that...

Click to expand...

I was going to make a joke here about my wife, blowing off, and a tube, but I think I probably better not do that. I think she reads the forums from time to time to see what I've been up to.

-walker

Well if she does THAT too, you're a REALLY lucky SOB.

the_bird said:

Wait, I'm confused... you're fermenting the IPA in a fridge? At what temp? I'm planning on doing this recipe, do I have to ferment at less than the regular 70 degrees or so?

Click to expand...

70 degrees is fine. I have to keep my fermenters out of the house (little kids and a dog), so I have an old fridge in the garage with an external thermostat attached to it. I keep the thermostat set at about 67 on that thing.

-walker

Cool. I'm blessed with a basement that is being converted into Fermentation Station, so the babe and the dog (the big DAWG) don't get into things.

When it rains, it pours.

I had to patch-up my Wit with some more DME, orange, and corriander last night and. 1 quart water, 1.25 lbs dme, 1/4 orange peel, 1 tsp corriander... boiled and added to the fermenter at about midnight.

WHAMMO

It was bubbling kraeusen through the airlock this morning (no real mess, but nasty water in the arilock).

9 years with no blow-outs, and then two of them in the same week. Never say never....

-walker

I don't have too many batches under my belt, but when I got my kit it came with a blow off tube so I decided to use it on my first two batches, but it never came close to the top of my 6.5 gallon fermentor. My third batch I attached the blow off tubing came downstairs the next morning and there was a slow but steady stream of foam and tiny hop pieces flowing out of the blowoff tubing into the bucket of sanitized water and that lasted for ~10 hours! Wyeast 1098 Smack Pack into a 1.052 ESB wort at 68F. Now my 1.054 Oktoberfest ale is churning away with Wyeast 1338 Smack Pack at 68F and krausen is maybe an inch deep.

It amazes me how different each strain of yeast behaves.

There was a fruit lager (strawberry I think) that got clogged and so when it finally blew it painted a nice spot on the ceiling that remained there at least until after the move.

I had to mop the cieling on my second batch, My family was not impressed with the loud whistling coming from the little holes in the air lock cap.

Not impressed?! How could you not be impressed by whistling holes? Why, once in Thailand...

Never mind.

Brewpastor said:

Not impressed?! How could you not be impressed by whistling holes? Why, once in Thailand...

Never mind.

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You are the most intriguing Pastor I have ever come across.....

What? You see I was in Thailand and there was this carboy sitting there, just bubbling away and its airlock was just whistling away. What do you think I was referring to?

Oh, wait. You didn't think... Oh, my, I better go pray or something.