Primary Explosion!

[jaytee]

I got home today and checked out my new fermentation chiller (Son of a fermentation chiller to be exact) and found my krausen creeping out of the airlock. "Hmmmmm... ," said I, "I'd best put in a blow-off tube."

I pulled out the airlock and WHHOOOSSSHHHH!!! I was attacked my my day old beer! I cleaned and sanitized everything up and managed to get a blow-off in. The brew is still going crazy in there... gurgling constantly and pushing bits of foam out the blowoff.

Hopefully it will calm down a bit by morning.

Does this make me a full member of the brewing club now??

 

[david_42]

Well, you didn't say if you had to mop the ceiling, but ... Okay, you're in.

 

[jaytee]

Well, you didn't say if you had to mop the ceiling, but ... Okay, you're in.

It's pushing copious amounts of foam out... There's still ceiling possibilities.

 

[Blender]

I guess you were baptized...so to speak.

 

[kevy_kev]

thats funny. Welcome to the club.
They are not kidding about having to mop the ceiling! My last blowoff had kraussen all over the walls and 8-foot high ceilings with the airlock on the other side of the room. I think it would have been pretty interesting to see, and this was with a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon carboy.

 

[david_42]

I had a batch that hit a perfect balance. I came into the kitchen and there was a fine haze of wort in the air. It had filled the airlock and was spraying out of the little holes in the top. No explosion, just beer on everything in the kitchen. I have a forced air furnace, it could have been much worse.

 

[gauthierk]

It must be something in the water... I had to mop the ceiling, kitchen, closet, and two walls this week from an A-BOMB brew... Good luck with your cleaning efforts

 

[homebrewer_99]

I guess you were baptized...so to speak.

...or izzat "beerptized"...

 

[NEPABREWER]

Im brewing huge 5 gal beers in 6.5 gal buckets and not getting the final out put that I desire so the last two batches I pitched on existing yeast cakes I topped up to the 6 gal mark - needles to say they both needed blow-offs and the Hefe sprayed me more than once. I think it might have something to do with % of fermentables as well.

 

[mbreen01]

Are there particular yeast strains that are more likely to spew? I had a WLP300 Hefe strain that was quite eruptive...not quite on the ceiling, but a definite good spray around the carboy and the airlock was about 5 feet away. Is it temp, fermentable sugar, volume of yeast, yeast strain??? What leads to blowoff?

Marc.