Using an airlock, but really needed a blowout tube

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bhughes

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I usually brew IPAs that have a start gravity of about 1.070 or so and ferment in a 6.5 gallon plastic carboy with a blowout tube and I usually get a lot of blowout stuff.

This weekend I wanted to go ahead and brew 2 batches but I only have 1 carboy so I used my old 6.5 gallon plastic bucket which uses an airlock for the 2nd batch. As expected, this batch is fermenting vigorously and the airlock has so much krausen stuff in it, it looks like a mini batch of beer inside it.

I was just wondering if not having a blowout tube for all that krausen to blow out of is bad for the beer or has any affects on it, or does it all just sink to the bottom once it settles down?
 
The one time that I had that happen to me, I wound up with an acetobacter infection in my beer. From what I figured...is that the crud in the airlock gave the bacteria/wild yeast/mold something to munch on before it got into the beer. Could have been from suck back when I moved the carboy...not 100% sure, but that's been my experience with being lazy and not cleaning the air lock after it gets all gunkified.
 
Be forewarned, if your airlock gets clogged, you have made a wort bomb. At the very least remove the airlock and clean it...I would trim the "cross" out of the tip to help avoid clogging. If you hear something go boom in the night, don't be alarmed.
 
I'll check it out tonight when I get home, maybe rinse it out and sanitize it again. Hopefully the fermentation has already peaked by now so it won't be that big of a risk of exploding.
 

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