Should i be worried about krausen coming thru my airlock?

[McMalty]

I'm fermenting in a 6 gal. carboy....currently in full-on fermentation of a hefty porter. I'm not using a blowoff b/c i've never needed one. My brew is bubbling up thru the airlock (not a lot, but it's hissing at me and at times sounds like a bottle rocket taking off in my bathroom, only a tiny bit of beer in my tub tho).

Should i be concerned? I know the ferm is gonna die down in the coming hours. Should i be worried at all about sterilization since there is now beer in my airlock?

 

[MRbutlertron]

I wouldn't be overly worried about sterilization but I would clean your airlock out if there is beer in it. Also, I would put on a blowoff tube. I know you said you never needed one but in this scenario it sounds like you do, also it's much easier to attach a blowoff tube then to clean beer off your ceiling. Trust me...

 

[McMalty]

also it's much easier to attach a blowoff tube then to clean beer off your ceiling. Trust me...

the worst think about the beer exploding all over my bathroom would be the waste of beer, that bathroom is 70's baby blue all over and i haven't gotten around to destroying it, so for now, it's my fermentation chamber.

Since the CO2 is still getting out, is there really a need for a blowoff? Aren't i keeping more of my beer this way? Blowoffs are more of a way to contain the mess, aren't they? It's in the tub with the curtain drawn....so, whatever mess it makes is going down the drain.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Since the CO2 is still getting out, is there really a need for a blowoff? Aren't i keeping more of my beer this way? Blowoffs are more of a way to contain the mess, aren't they? It's in the tub with the curtain drawn....so, whatever mess it makes is going down the drain.

The potential issue is that if you get enough gunk in your airlock, the CO2 will indeed stop getting out.

 

[mky375]

Take the shower curtain and put it over the carboy/bucket, the less you have to clean the better.

 

[MRbutlertron]

Perhaps you shouldn't use a blowoff tube then...

If CO2 is getting out and you're not concerned about a clog then there isn't really a need for a blowoff, I just like that extra comfort. As far as if you're keeping more beer that all depends on how much beer you lose through your airlock, but I have used blowoffs many times without a mess.

 

[McMalty]

Take the shower curtain and put it over the carboy/bucket, the less you have to clean the better.

it's already covered with a trash bag, no need to take down the curtain

 

[lgoolsby]

Just as a word from the learned, I ran into this with a cream stout a few months ago. I noticed that the airlock had kraussen coming out only 12 hours after pitching, so I new it was going to be a problem. I ran down to the local supply store and picked up some 1 1/4OD vinyl tube and rigged up a blow off tube. I wasn't worried about it too much yet because I still had plenty of bubbles coming out of the airlock. So I went to pop the bung off the carbouy and *fooosh*!! Next thing I know I have hops and trub all in my clothes, my goatee, my face, my eyes, and the ceiling (since the popping of the bung made for a nice arc upwards). Just because there are bubbles doesn't mean that there isn't a clog. The good news is, everything smelled like hops to me for a week, so I really didn't mind until SWMBO handed me a paint brush and a can of white paint.

 

[McMalty]

so I really didn't mind until SWMBO handed me a paint brush and a can of white paint.

Did u in turn hand her a broom and a frying pan?

 

[Stuntman]

My concern doing it this way is the carboy going off like a bomb when the kiddos are taking a wiz!

I always cut the cross off of the airlocks so they won't clog as easy, but they still could clog. Put a rubber bung (you already have) and the main piece of the airlock (you already have) and get a hose. That way little Johnny doesn't have to explain that nasty scar on his butt to his new wife.

 

[erikhild59]

Carboys and buckets can and do explode...blowoff tube highly recomended. I've done some repainting after a plastic bucket blew its lid on my kitchen counter, and I know people who've had glass carboys blow.