Bubbler is overflowing

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Just use a blow off tube. Put a piece of tubing in the hole where the airlock sits, and put the other end in a jug of santizer...

You could ride it out, but you're setting yourself up for a mess. When that gunk dries/occludes the airlock then pressure will build up eventually painting your ceiling with beer when the pressure overcomes your bung.

IMO, transferring or dumping some is just bad advice...
 
NeverDie said:
Why?
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Because the options you provided may have negative/unnecessary consequences that someone new to the hobby may not realize without further explanation. Plus, what you suggested is a lot more work than simply replacing your airlock with a tube.

Why dump any when the excess will push through a blow off tube? Wasting the fruits of your labor for no reason...

Why transfer and risk oxidation/infection when, again, the excess will simply push through a blow off tube?
 
GoeHaarden said:
Because the options you provided may have negative/unnecessary consequences that someone new to the hobby may not realize without further explanation. Plus, what you suggested is a lot more work than simply replacing your airlock with a tube.

Why dump any when the excess will push through a blow off tube? Wasting the fruits of your labor for no reason...

Why transfer and risk oxidation/infection when, again, the excess will simply push through a blow off tube?
Click to expand...
You dont need to get rid of much, easier than sorting tube out imho.
 
Derekmr said:
You dont need to get rid of much, easier than sorting tube out imho.
Click to expand...

It seems illogical to make a certain amount only to pour some off when an easy alternative exists. Pouring some out for fallen homies I guess...

To each their own I suppose, but I choose to prevent waste when it's avoidable.

Cheers!
 
The trade-off there is that you'll end up with a pretty dirty blowout tube full of gunk. But maybe you're fine with cleaning it.

There is no perfect answer that I can see. Just different solutions with different trade-offs.
 
This is why I use the three piece airlocks.
If you have a vigorous primary fermentation going it's easy to fix this problem. Use a blow off by removing the plastic cover and valve inside, then attach food grade tubing. Just slip the tubing inside over the airlock tip and stick the other end of the tubing into a sanitized container of liquid. Orange rubber caps with 1/2" or 3/8" tips work well, too. Just attach a length of tubing to one tip or the other and clean your line as needed.
 
NeverDie said:
But maybe you're fine with cleaning it.
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I'm completely fine with it. Soak it inside the carboy when cleaning it, run a brush through it and wham you're done. You're soaking the fermenter anyways, right?

Sorry, I just refuse to advocate for wasting brew when it's avoidable.
 
The super active fermentation might be finished by now. I'd check first and see. If it's no longer foaming up to the top, you can put a new airlock on. Make sure temperature stays under control. For next time plan ahead. Either start with a blow-off tube or provide extra head space. I use a 7.9 gallon bucket for 5 gallon batches.
 
GoeHaarden said:
Because the options you provided may have negative/unnecessary consequences that someone new to the hobby may not realize without further explanation. Plus, what you suggested is a lot more work than simply replacing your airlock with a tube.

Why dump any when the excess will push through a blow off tube? Wasting the fruits of your labor for no reason...

Why transfer and risk oxidation/infection when, again, the excess will simply push through a blow off tube?
Click to expand...

oxidation is overrated during active fermentation.
 
Not sure if it holds true for ciders, but for meads there's a new school of thought (see BOMM) which says you don't really need or even want an airlock until the second sugar break is reached.
 
Jako said:
oxidation is overrated during active fermentation.
Click to expand...

Its a problem anytime after primary fermentation has started. So in this case, would you rack to another larger vessel full of air dramatically increasing D.O.? Which may or may not cause oxidation? Still doesn't seem like sound advice...doesn't even make sense to risk it if you care about your final product!?
 
Never Die - Yep, not really new, but certainly an ok practice. That is until the grandkids throw a Hot Wheel car into it and they stick their grubby little arm into it up to the elbow to retrieve it.

Not sure thats exactly what happened. However when I asked about the bucket in the basement now without a towel on it the 6 year old with a sticky arm and car in his paw seemed to have no idea what i was talking about. Hmmmm....
 
GoeHaarden said:
It seems illogical to make a certain amount only to pour some off when an easy alternative exists. Pouring some out for fallen homies I guess...

To each their own I suppose, but I choose to prevent waste when it's avoidable.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

It wasn't an unknown historical(or modern) practice to just fill a barrel all the way up with the bung uncovered. And not seal it until the frothy vigorous fermentation was finished.

I kind of agree with you from a 'waste is abhorrent' standpoint. But on the other hand, the amount of volume you lose is pretty trivial. I ferment for lots of reasons, but squeezing out every bottle isn't it. Whether I fill 54 or 57 bottles from a topped off carboy just doesn't bother me all that much. Those 3 bottles don't make or break the experience or economics on the amateur level.

Similarly, I don't understand people fussing about yeast costs. $1-8 cost for 5 gallons is utterly negligible. Unless I feel like playing mad scientist(which, admittedly, sometimes I do!) I'm just not fussed about preserving/reusing yeast all that much.
 
wasully said:
It wasn't an unknown historical(or modern) practice to just fill a barrel all the way up with the bung uncovered. And not seal it until the frothy vigorous fermentation was finished.
Click to expand...

I'm not arguing with the use of such techniques and their relevance when applicable, but is what you currently do? Also, would you advise a beginner (who may not have sound sanitary practices yet) to do this?

wasully said:
Similarly, I don't understand people fussing about yeast costs. $1-8 cost for 5 gallons
Click to expand...

Since we've kind of derailed this thread anyways. We'll take a conservative average of $6 per batch for yeast. I brew between 20-25 batches/year. That's easily $120 a year which is low balling it. Which you could buy 2 sacks of base malt and some hops. I wouldn't call that negligible, but we all have our own opinions.

Cheers!
 
YeastieBoi13 said:
Hey, what do you do when this happens? The brew is spewing out the bubbler!
Click to expand...
Well the fastest fix I would say is to take your airlock off and drain some out of your carboy. The other way would be to lower the temperature. Cooler temps slows yeast down, which makes it produce less CO2. Also, the first 72 hours stirring gently for a few minutes a few times a day will release CO2 and keep your yeast healthy. Think of it like a shaken pop can, when you open it, it blows up all over. Pressure builds if the yeast is super active and saturates the mead and your airlock can't let enough out so it just bubbles out. Hope that helps! I'm from Oshkosh by the way. Wisconsin rules!
 
GoeHaarden said:
I'm not arguing with the use of such techniques and their relevance when applicable, but is what you currently do? Also, would you advise a beginner (who may not have sound sanitary practices yet) to do this?
Click to expand...

Nope and probably not! I just thought it was interesting trivia. Barrels are a pain in the ass, even if they are an appealingly romantic one.

Since we've kind of derailed this thread anyways. We'll take a conservative average of $6 per batch for yeast. I brew between 20-25 batches/year. That's easily $120 a year which is low balling it. Which you could buy 2 sacks of base malt and some hops. I wouldn't call that negligible, but we all have our own opinions.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's enough volume to start worrying about margins. And enough experience to know where you can trim those margins safely, I'm betting.

Let's assume you bottle 48 bottles. Whether you use a $.99 cent pack of dry yeast or $12 of organic imperial yeast, you're changing the cost by a difference of $0.02-$0.25. Is it worth a quarter a bottle to have a better chance at a good product? Yeah, I think so. Not even going to fuss about that extra $11. It's worth it to make sure I enjoy the afternoon and don't regret it. That people enjoy what I share with them. Especially since, at worst, your homebrew probably still costs half of a craft beer or decent wine.

But I don't do anywhere near the volume you do. I suspect I'd be eyeing what corners to cut with that volume too.

I'm also still in the "lets see what different yeasts taste like in the same wort/must" phase, which I'm sure colors my opinion as well. If I knew exactly what I wanted every time, and brewed the volume you do? I'd probably bother with a house culture or three too.
 
wasully said:
Yeah, that's enough volume to start worrying about margins. And enough experience to know where you can trim those margins safely, I'm betting.

Let's assume you bottle 48 bottles. Whether you use a $.99 cent pack of dry yeast or $12 of organic imperial yeast, you're changing the cost by a difference of $0.02-$0.25. Is it worth a quarter a bottle to have a better chance at a good product? Yeah, I think so. Not even going to fuss about that extra $11. It's worth it to make sure I enjoy the afternoon and don't regret it. That people enjoy what I share with them. Especially since, at worst, your homebrew probably still costs half of a craft beer or decent wine.

But I don't do anywhere near the volume you do. I suspect I'd be eyeing what corners to cut with that volume too.

I'm also still in the "lets see what different yeasts taste like in the same wort/must" phase, which I'm sure colors my opinion as well. If I knew exactly what I wanted every time, and brewed the volume you do? I'd probably bother with a house culture or three too.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I still try out a fair share of different yeast but I'll harvest it and re-use it for multiple brews. Literally swirl the yeast cake and collect in a few sanitized mason jars. It's that easy, and you can save it like that up to 6 months in the fridge. Nothing fancy, no washing, just swirl and collect. Or you can dump it if you choose not use it. Cheap recycling. For me, being efficient has become the goal lately. We all have our own targets with this hobby though...

Cheers!
 

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