Bradbrewer
Member
I am fermenting my first Hefeweizen to pour Easter Sunday. I read that the yeast I am using has a very active fermentation, WLP380. Yep, it is active. 24 hours after pitching it (last night), my lock was bubbling like crazy. I woke up at 1:30am to use the bathroom and I could hear a whistling sound. I went to check out the fermenter and it was starting to get plugged. I don't really have a regular blowoff tube, but I was able to fashion one using a siphon hose that fit into the same hole as my bubbler fermentation lock (5/16" hose). I put the other end in a bucket of water. It worked great overnight. The next morning I noticed the temperature was way up, 78 degrees while room temp was below 68 degrees. I put a wet t-shirt over the carboy and put a fan on it. The temp came down to 74 degrees, but I am having a tough time getting it lower. I then went to work, when I came home for lunch, the rubber stopper and my skinny hose had blown off. The top of the carboy was exposed for at most 4 hours and smelled like bananas. I sanitized the stopper and hose and re-attached it. Really hoping I dont get banana bread, but I am worried about the temp fluctuation and the open fermenter. Also have a nice little mess to clean up when I get home. Even got the cat who sleeps nearby.