My first mead... Problems...

So, I went out bought a carboy and airlock and some sweet mead yeast basically made malkores ancient orange mead but with plums and prunes, the guy at the brew store told me to use the whole packet for three gallons.

So I did, now here's my issue, I made it left three inches from the top and everything was sterilized. After storage last night I get off work and apparently it overflowed, there's a strong yeast smell and the top of the carboy and the airlock is full of foam and brown goo and it looks like it might of splashed around it, now it's just gently bubbling should I leave it? Or pour some out and clean the airlock?

Why did this happen? too much yeast honey or perhaps because the prunes are so sugary? Or maybe not enough space in the carboy?

Thanks so much!

Sounds like normal krausen formation. U needed more headspace. Clean up your mess, resanitize the airlock and you should be good to go.

first off welcome to the hobby/obsession and forum. What just happened to you is all too common and everything will be OK.
this was caused by not enough space in your carboy. most of us use ferment buckets 1.5-2x larger then our brew just for this problem. If possible run out and get one, sterilize and rack over to it, or split into 2 carboys. in a couple weeks when activity has slowed transfer back to a single clean carboy.

roadymi said:

Sounds like normal krausen formation. U needed more headspace. Clean up your mess, resanitize the airlock and you should be good to go.

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Good advice. It's over now, so clean up and leave it. It needed more headspace. It made itself more headspace.

Awesome, thanks guys!

Well if you took a gravity reading at the start i.e. before pitching the yeast, then you'll know roughly where the 1/3rd sugar break is.

You wouldn't be diverting from the recipe too far, if you aerate it by stirring gently for 5 to 10 minutes at least once daily, until it hits the 1/3rd break.

At that point, it should be fine to top it back up to the bottom of the neck of the carboy and let it finish......

regards

fatbloke

p.s. and the stirring does have to be gentle, at least to start with, because otherwise, if there's lots of CO2 to get out, it can erupt in the same way...

I'm letting it bubble bubble bubble down there, and I think it's going well, my only concern is the brown stuff that's caked around the top, could I use it to make a cider?