Beermergency?!?!?

[fightguy]

Okay, so here's the back story

Well, this might have been a stupid idea but today I made a 2.5 gallon batch of lager out of a 5 gallon extract kit. I basically just made it according to the directions but only used half the water. The OG was 1.100!! It’s probably going to taste like a bucket of turkey rectums, but I’ll at least give it a try.

Do you guys think I need to do anything different when bottling/carbonating it? I don’t want my bottles to explode on me.

I apologize up front for my ignorance, as I am extremely new to brewing and really don’t have a clue what I am doing. All I know is that I really enjoy strong beers.

If this batch turns out okay I’m going to go ahead and try to make the Double IPA the same way, except I am going to add a substantial amount of hops to the recipe.

Here's the problem: I am making this 2.5 gallon batch in a Mr Beer keg and now my beer is producing so much CO2 that it is shooting foam out of the notched lid!! Is this going to ruin my beer or is the mess going to be my biggest concern? Is there anything I can do at this point? I have a larger fermenter with an airlock but transferring it now would be a recipe for disaster, I think. Any suggestions or consolation would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Brewsmith]

Right now the mess is your biggest problem. As long as the airlock does not get clogged you're fine. Next time use the bigger fermenter.

 

[fightguy]

Thank you for the quick reply!

So losing all of the foam won't negatively impact the beer in any way?

 

[Brewsmith]

Is the foam beer and yeast, or just what was in the airlock?

 

[fightguy]

The Mr Beer kegs don't have an "airlock" per se, but they have a notched lid that allows for some ventilation. The foam itself is very thick and I can't really tell what all it is composed of. I'm praying that the yeast is staying in the beer

It just looks like extremely carbonated foam. The keg itself is not full to the top so I assume it is just the CO2 bubbles escaping

 

[Brewsmith]

There's plenty of yeast in the beer. As long as it doesnt get clogged your fine. If it clogs up it could have a problem from CO2 build-up. The only thing that will be a bit of a downside is that your final volume will be a little less from all of the blow-off coming out.

 

[fightguy]

I can live with that. Thank you again for your quick response. I was starting to freak out a little bit and was hoping that I wouldn't have to throw it out. Those bubbles were going crazy! I'm just glad my wife noticed the beer smell before it got too out of hand. I already had quite a mess to clean up

 

[Brewsmith]

If you have some large pot, bucket, pan, tub or something that is bigger than the keg, that will save you having to sop up the mess.

 

[DeathBrewer]

just clean it off as best you can...it'll be fine

i'd suggest getting a fermentation bucket or carboy before your next batch...then you could do your whole 5 gallons, as well.

for high gravity beers and hefeweizens you should always have a blow-off tube

 

[simplecj]

If you have some large pot, bucket, pan, tub or something that is bigger than the keg, that will save you having to sop up the mess.

I think that is a good idea! I just had a 3 gal batch of AppleBerry Wine go crazy for about 24 hours. Thank goodness I had the foresight of sticking it inside a wide bucket! It still sprayed a sugary mess from the airlock, but at least the bulk of it was caught by the bucket.

Seems to me it's probably a good idea to at least wrap a towel around the fermenter or put it inside a larger container for at least the first couple days until you trust it's not going to blow. Oh and always leave enough headspace in the primary!!

 

[fightguy]

If you have some large pot, bucket, pan, tub or something that is bigger than the keg, that will save you having to sop up the mess.

I'm one step ahead of you. I have some towels laid out and the keg is sitting in a large pan to catch the overflow. I appreciate the suggestion though

just clean it off as best you can...it'll be fine

i'd suggest getting a fermentation bucket or carboy before your next batch...then you could do your whole 5 gallons, as well.

for high gravity beers and hefeweizens you should always have a blow-off tube

I've already gotten the whole 5 gallon setup, but I didn't use it since I was only making a 2.5 gallon batch. In the future, I will be using the larger one though.

Question though, when you say "blowoff" do you really mean like an airlock? Again, forgive me because I don't quite know the names of all the equipment having never used most of them

 

[Brewsmith]

A blow off tube is a tube that you connect to the lid of the bucket or fermenter to vent off the foamy yeast that pours out, which is happening in your case. You can't do that with your Mr. Beer setup, but is possible with the bucket. This happens with beers, especially high gravity ones and hefeweizens when the yeast decide to go a little crazy.

 

[Orfy]

You got blow off.

 

[DeathBrewer]

a blow off tube should go into a small container of water with sanitizer in it. it's basically a giant airlock

 

[PseudoChef]

Are you lagering the lager?

 

[Evan!]

Are you lagering the lager?

hehe, that's like saying "are you paving the pavement"? It ain't pavement unless it's paved, and it ain't lager unless it's lagered. Unlagered bottom-fermenting beer is Steam Beer.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's amazing to me that you went through the effort of getting a 5 gallon kit and are still trying to hang on to the Mr Beer fermenter. For another $10, you could have had a 6.5g bucket and lid (or free if you ask a resturant or bakery).

 

[Orfy]

this is worth a read.

www.howtobrew.com

and this

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Beer_Brewing_Process

 

[fightguy]

Hmmm.....as a matter of fact I am not lagering it. Amazingly, the directions included with the kit didn't mention anything about it. Even a homebrewing n00b like me should have assumed that it needed lagering though. I am a poor excuse for a homebrewer and should be sentenced to death via maggots!

This beer must not have meant to be.

The good news is that it has stopped foaming like crazy and is now down to a controlled rate.

 

[fightguy]

It's amazing to me that you went through the effort of getting a 5 gallon kit and are still trying to hang on to the Mr Beer fermenter. For another $10, you could have had a 6.5g bucket and lid (or free if you ask a resturant or bakery).

I'm not "trying to hang onto the Mr Beer fermenter", but I had planned on trying a double batch anyways. Since I am not a huge lager fan anyways, I figured the best way to test out the "double batch theory" would be to try it on a smaller scale and with something I'm not particularly fond of, since the lager came with my 5 gallon setup anyways and I probably wouldn't have drank it anyways, rather that waste the $$ on buying two IPA kits. This was mainly just a test run. I don't think I will probably ever use the Mr Beer kit again

 

[Orfy]

Mr Beer kits :rockin:

They probably pull more new brewers in then any other source.

We all have to start somewhere........

Just make sure it's not hoochmaking with 10lb of sugar.

 

[PseudoChef]

I use my Mr. Beer fermenter to make cider for the lady-friend.

 

[Orfy]

I use mine at parties to bulk serve HB wine.