My fermentor erupted

[Pandaren]

Hey guys! Long story short, I started a new beer yesterday and fermentation took off quick. This morning when I went to check it before work, the airlock was clogged and the lid was blown open! I've never had this happen before, and the batch size was normal: 5 gallons. Well, I quickly rinsed off the lid and airlock, wiped down the sides, and put it all back together with some gin in the airlock (which started bubbling immediately).

I have no clue how long it was open for. Krausen and foam looked normal, though. Is it going to be ok you think? Is there anything I should do when I get home tonight?

Thanks!

 

[JLem]

Should be fine. Nothing would have been able to get in while you had that much CO2 pushing out. RDWHAHB.

 

[Pandaren]

update: when I got home today, the lid had blown off again!!! I cleaned up the mess (once again), put the lid back on, and secured the air lock. Inside, there's still about 9 inches high of foam. The airlock currently (1.5 hours since I cleaned up last) is starting to get dirty again with blowoff crap.

I've never had a fermentation be this frenzied! I'm using safale 04, and my recipe looks like this:

8lb 2 row
.5lb crystal 30
2lbs fresh strawberries, pureed with 2tblsp water & 1tblsp table sugar (in at 5 min)
1lb fresh rhubarb, cut into about 1inch chunks (in at 5 min)
1oz hallertau (60 min)

Is it the fruit thats doing this? I don't wanna be in here checking it ever hour to make sure it hasn't blown again. Should I skim some of the foam off the top?

Thanks again

 

[Waynep005]

make a blow off tube. Use the search function on this site it is easy and will brevent blow offs and the chanced you will have to clean the celling. With the agressive fermentation the chance of an infection is low.

 

[Pandaren]

Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply. I have it set now. I just used the tubing I use for a siphon normally, fit that around the little tube in the airlock, and ran the hose into a bowl of boiled water. Its draining great now, and the bubbles are make a much more "bubbly" sound. My brew cat loves it haha