Second Day of Fermentation - Airlock Issues

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crs1089

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This is my 10th or so brew, so I'm beginning to feel like I know what I'm doing. I had a first today, though. It's the second day of fermentation on my IPA. I went in and checked yesterday and it had a nice slow bubble, and went in and checked this morning but there had been some overflow.

The airlock was still in the top of the carboy (it's a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket type), but there was maybe a tablespoon or two of overflow on the lid and the water in the airlock was orangey brown like some beer had gotten into it.

I just took the airlock out and went and cleaned it and put fresh water in and stuck it back in. Right thing to do? Is there anything else I need to take care of? The batch isn't ruined is it?
 
In the future use vodka or star san solution in your airlock. The beer is fine, you've just got a really active fermentation. The pressure is flowing out of the bucket, there is little chance of contamination. Some brewers even do an open fermentation... Regardless, everything is fine, the beer will be great, I'd suggest a blow off tube for this one unless you want to clean up after it for the next couple of days.
 
crs1089 said:
This is my 10th or so brew, so I'm beginning to feel like I know what I'm doing. I had a first today, though. It's the second day of fermentation on my IPA. I went in and checked yesterday and it had a nice slow bubble, and went in and checked this morning but there had been some overflow.

The airlock was still in the top of the carboy (it's a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket type), but there was maybe a tablespoon or two of overflow on the lid and the water in the airlock was orangey brown like some beer had gotten into it.

I just took the airlock out and went and cleaned it and put fresh water in and stuck it back in. Right thing to do? Is there anything else I need to take care of? The batch isn't ruined is it?
Click to expand...
The batch isn't ruined, and there's no need to worry. I've had this happen a few times and I just clean the airlock, re-sanitize it, and put it back on. You should re-sanitize it if you didn't already ... do so as soon as you can. But don't worry.

You may also want to look into a blowoff hose for your next brew, just as a precaution against this in the future. It'll save some mess.
 
Definitely not ruined. Just keep things sanitary. Once fermentation kicks in the aggressive part usually only last a few days. You could stick a blow off tube on it or just monitor closely over the next few days. After that fermentation is pretty mellow and an airlock works just fine. The current trend seems say a blow off tube is a must. I've brewed quite a few batches over the last few years and only used a blow off tube a couple times though. Your mileage may vary (YMMV)
 
Your beer its not ruined in any capacity. Basically the fermentation was strong and the krausen got up into the airlock. If that happens worse it can cause a pressure buildup and literally blow the airlock out of the fermenter.

The first thing I would suggest is using vodka or diluted star san in the airlock to prevent any contamination from being sucked back into the fermenter. Even better would be to use a blow off tube for the most active portion of fermentation.
 

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