Crazy Fermentation - What do I do?

Brewed an IPA yesterday. OG 1.074. Pitched 2 packets of Nottingham. No issues with my packets. Ther fermentation is crazy. I got it just before it blew up. This is with a blow off tube (5/8 I think). I ferment in a bucket so I pulled lid off an rested it on top. Now it is pushing the lid off and abot to run down the sides. Only place I can ferment is in the house. Can I pull some krausen off w/ a sanitized spoon to keep it off the floor. Would this have bad effect? Only othe option is to put it in a trash bag. Thanks. Jamie.

Dunno about the spoon, but do you have a spare tub/shower you can stick it in? Or rubbermaid container?

And why isn't your blow off tube working? You should be able to use that to channel all the blowoff into another container.

That would be my question too. A blow off tube should work fine. Is your seal legit? Given what you have going on now, I would probably put the fermenter in a bathtub or a trash bag until it calms down.

It sounds to me like he took the top off before he gave the blow off tube a chance to work. Put the lid back on, and let the blow off tube do its job. 5/8" is big enough so RDWHAHB

Agreed. What's the deal with the blow-off? Why have one if you're just going to pop the top?

Blowoff was getting clogged and CO2 stopped going into jug (maybe clogged w/ some hops gunk that got in). I've never seen a lid so swelled up. Had to remove lid or I would have had wort coving my ceiling.

I think I'll just let it run out the sides into a trash bag and seal it up when it falls a bit. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, please let me know. Thanks

Forbein11 said:

Blowoff was getting clogged and CO2 stopped going into jug (maybe clogged w/ some hops gunk that got in). I've never seen a lid so swelled up. Had to remove lid or I would have had wort coving my ceiling.

I think I'll just let it run out the sides into a trash bag and seal it up when it falls a bit. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, please let me know. Thanks

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That'll be fine. The only thing that concerns me is the temperature now. If it's blowing that hard, it really sounds like a hot fermentation. Nottingham tastes really bad if the fermenting temperature gets about 70/72 degrees. It sounds like it's furious, which leads me to believe it's also way too hot.

If it is, you could use a water bath to get it down slowly. You really want the primary fermentation to be in the mid-60s, upper-60s at the top limit.

at least put something over the top ie: clean cloth, or just rest the lid on it

Do you have an LHBS nearby that sells Fermcap?

I have Fermcap. I use in the boil. Use a couple drops.

Forbein11 said:

I have Fermcap. I use in the boil. Use a couple drops.

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Add a couple drops to your fermenter, (if you want to stop the blowoff), and the krausen will die down quickly, (it works the same way it works in your boil).

It will sink down into the trub once fermentation subsides, just like it sinks into the hot/cold break from your boil.

Thanks all for the help. Thanks Yooper for pointing out the temp thing. I put it in a water bath and threw a couple ice bottles in. House was 66 but I know it was hotter in the bucket. Should be ok now. It had settled down by the time I left for work this morning. It actually smells great even fermenting right now. Can't wait to pull a few back.