Need an answer! Carboy spewing during fermentation.

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Its just a very active fermentation! I suggest you remove the airlock and install a blow-off tube. Basically it just made so much krausen that it pushed it up and out the airlock.
 
Your lucky it didn't paint your ceiling for you. I've done that and now use blow off tubes on every primary fermentation. :)
 
First run yeast i use an airlock. Pitched cake straight to blow off. If you dont have a blow off for ypur carboy 1/2 tubing fits over the center post of the 3 piece airlock.
 
Entirely normal!

The causes are: 1) you filled your carboy a little too much. With ales, you should leave at least 2 or 3 inches for krausen. 2) Too warm. If you found a way to keep that beer at 60-65F, it would not be so active, and you'd plus produce a much better beer.

Ales are gonna blow off sometimes though, especially if you use a lot of healthy yeast, have a high original gravity, or both (!). Easiest blowoff tube is just some vinyl tubing from home depot that fits right into that universal bung there. Don't try to take your airlock out. Just get another universal bung and take it with you to home depot. The other end of the tubing should go into a pitcher of some type of sanitizer (starsan solution). Make sure the pitcher stays LOWER than the carboy, or else when the carboy cools it'll suck all the blowoff and starsan solution back into the beer.

For now, I'd pull that airlock off there and replace with loose foil. Put the carboy into a bag or something to catch the krausen being pushed out of there.
 
Haha it's off the carpet. That was my first worry actually. But glad to know the beer isn't ruined either. Thanks guys, and I'll definitely get a blow off.
 
passedpawn said:
Entirely normal!



The causes are: 1) you filled your carboy a little too much. With ales, you should leave at least 2 or 3 inches for krausen. 2) Too warm. If you found a way to keep that beer at 60-65F, it would not be so active, and you'd plus produce a much better beer.



Ales are gonna blow off sometimes though, especially if you use a lot of healthy yeast, have a high original gravity, or both (!). Easiest blowoff tube is just some vinyl tubing from home depot that fits right into that universal bung there. Don't try to take your airlock out. Just get another universal bung and take it with you to home depot. The other end of the tubing should go into a pitcher of some type of sanitizer (starsan solution). Make sure the pitcher stays LOWER than the carboy, or else when the carboy cools it'll suck all the blowoff and starsan solution back into the beer.



For now, I'd pull that airlock off there and replace with loose foil. Put the carboy into a bag or something to catch the krausen being pushed out of there.
Click to expand...


Sweet. What do mean by loose foil? I'll put it into a trash bag. That is the coolest room in the house, unfortunately. And the house stays at 69-70 degrees. I just covered up the vent in that room and leave the window cracked because it's cool outside (50-65 degrees).
 
passedpawn said:
Entirely normal!



The causes are: 1) you filled your carboy a little too much. With ales, you should leave at least 2 or 3 inches for krausen. 2) Too warm. If you found a way to keep that beer at 60-65F, it would not be so active, and you'd plus produce a much better beer.



Ales are gonna blow off sometimes though, especially if you use a lot of healthy yeast, have a high original gravity, or both (!). Easiest blowoff tube is just some vinyl tubing from home depot that fits right into that universal bung there. Don't try to take your airlock out. Just get another universal bung and take it with you to home depot. The other end of the tubing should go into a pitcher of some type of sanitizer (starsan solution). Make sure the pitcher stays LOWER than the carboy, or else when the carboy cools it'll suck all the blowoff and starsan solution back into the beer.



For now, I'd pull that airlock off there and replace with loose foil. Put the carboy into a bag or something to catch the krausen being pushed out of there.
Click to expand...


Sweet. What do mean by loose foil?

I'll put it into a trash bag. That is the coolest room in the house, unfortunately. And the house stays at 69-70 degrees. I just covered up the vent in that room and leave the window cracked because it's cool outside (50-65 degrees).
 
jsaxon90 said:
Sweet. What do mean by loose foil?

I'll put it into a trash bag. That is the coolest room in the house, unfortunately. And the house stays at 69-70 degrees. I just covered up the vent in that room and leave the window cracked because it's cool outside (50-65 degrees).
Click to expand...

If you leave that airlock in there, it will eventually clog, the pressure will build up, and you'll be cleaning the ceiling tomorrow. If you don't have a piece of tubing to make an airlock, just remove the airlock altogether and put a solo cup or similar over it. Just something to keep any airborne dust or bugs out of there.

Forget the foil idea, that was dumb.

As soon as it settles down, replace the airlock. It'll just take a day or two max.
 
No blowoff tubes = this.

img_9759-65167.jpg


Blowoff tubes = this.

blowoff_city-41491.jpg
 
The coolest place I can move it would be outside right now. It's about 53 degrees tonight. Would that be safe?
 
jsaxon90 said:
The coolest place I can move it would be outside right now. It's about 53 degrees tonight. Would that be safe?
Click to expand...

53 is really too cold for ale yeast (but great for lager yeast). No doubt, you have ale yeast. Fermenting temps are best between 60-65F. Below 70 is fine, but above that and your beer won't be ideal.

Note that fermentation is an exothermic process. The yeast give off heat and the carboy will be several degrees warmer than the surroundings, only during active fermention.

Anyway, if there's a part of your house that is in that range, low 60's, put it there.
 
You need to look up "Swamp Cooler".

It's basically a tub, cooler, pot, or other vessel, even the bath tub, that you can set the carboy in, add a few inches of cold water/ice bottles and a wet towel to cover the carboy. The water will hold a more even temp and the towel will aid in cooling through evaporation. They work great but require a little more attention.
 
Fill that bucket with sanitizer. Honestly, it'd be fine as you have it right now, but typically the other end of the blowoff tube is submerged in sanitized water.
 
Just to chime in, here's my Belgian Strong Dark from the 25th of last month. Put a blowoff tube on it right after this was taken, and let it go for 3 days, then put a regular airlock back on. It's still going right now with bubbles about every 20 sec. I have high hopes for it. BTW, I'm just south of you in Prattville! Happy brewing!

IMG_1463.jpg
 
I would open a window or keep the house under 70F. Fermentation creates heat and it's probably closer to 75 in there with the house set at 70. I would open a window, put this in my garage or fill the tub with cold water and keep the beer in there if it was me. 70 seems like a heat wave to me. It's 65 in my house and low 40s outside.
 
After fermentation is complete, I would like to dry hop it. Should I transfer to a secondary to get it out of the Carboy since it's so nasty now? Or leave it in there?
 
jsaxon90 said:
After fermentation is complete, I would like to dry hop it. Should I transfer to a secondary to get it out of the Carboy since it's so nasty now? Or leave it in there?
Click to expand...

I like to rack mine before dry hopping, generally to a bucket. They are easier to clean the hop crud from when you package the beer.

Just my $.02.

:goat:
 

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