Boom Goes the Ale Pail

[bbrammer]

So, I am laying in bed this morning with my girlfriend and we both her a low thud followed by what sounds like something hitting the ground. I jump ou of bed and run out to quite the mess! That's right the air lock had clogged and blew the top off my ale pail. After surveying the carnage, I'm a bit worried about my beer.

I'm about 24 hours into fermentation and worried about the beer getting off flavors and contamination. I rigged up and sanitized a blow off for it. Am I going to be ok? Is there any way to tell if I have issues?

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[BrewingGunner]

You are probably alright. Primary fermentation is pushing stuff out and not allowing stuff in. Clean and sanitize the lid and put it back on.

 

[Pratzie]

This thread needs moar pictures

Its alright, everybodys been there. As long as u sanitized anything would come in contact with the INSIDE of the FV before you put it all back together u should be good.

 

[hunter_le five]

You're probably fine, you'll just have to wait and see.

I've had the lid blow off a couple times, both time the beer came out fine.

 

[The_Mad_Scientist]

Had it happen to me as well.......at least yours only sounded like a low thud......I had one that was so loud sounded like a bomb went off in the spare room....woke me up at 2am dead asleep. Pretty much now I only use a blow off tube for the first 48 hrs or so until the fermentation calms down.

 

[bbrammer]

Thanks for all the replies! I did sanitize everything before putting it back together. Girlfriend wasn't too impressed with the bits of yeast and beer all over the walls.

Looked at it this morning and it is still chugging along!

 

[adiochiro3]

Pix would be great -- esp. of GF's reaction to "the bits of yeast and beer all over the walls."

Haven't had a blow-off yet thanks to some great advice here on HBT. I always use blow-off tubes through primary fermentation -- regardless of the OG.

I also cut of the tip of the airlock bubblers and get rid of those 4 tiny little holes that look so easy to clog even when I use them for late primary or secondary fermentation & lagering. They just look like trouble to me and seem unnecessary. A straight shot tube into the airlock is peace of mind to me.

 

[MuddyCreek]

I always use blow-off tubes through primary fermentation -- regardless of the OG.

shrewd dude!

 

[Token]

The first thing you should always do whenever this happens is TAKE PICTURES! Ha!

Ya, your beer will be fine. (sure would like to see pics of the mess though..)

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for all the replies! I did sanitize everything before putting it back together. Girlfriend wasn't too impressed with the bits of yeast and beer all over the walls.

Looked at it this morning and it is still chugging along!

The first thing you should always do whenever this happens is TAKE PICTURES! Ha!

Ya, your beer will be fine. (sure would like to see pics of the mess though..)

Yep- that's a rule around here! Pictures before clean up! I love to see photos of ceilings that need to be mopped and white carpeting covered with stout. It makes me all warm and fuzzy. (and I will run off to check a 3 gallon carboy that has been on the verge of losing it most of the day, and I forgot about it!)

 

[bbrammer]

I will remember the pics in the future. I was barely awake when it happened. Going to my secondary in a couple more days should be interesting to see how it comes out.

 

[Sudstud]

My first batch did this as well, no issues at all.

Since then I have started using better bottles with a Better Bottle Big Blow Closure for every batch, especially ones with lots of hops. Before this setup I was using a smaller diameter tube and still had some explosions. This setup uses 3/4" PVC as a blowoff and is almost bomb proof.

 

[glenn514]

Two good bits of advice have already been mentioned: a blow-off tube for the initial violent fermentation, and cut off the four little plastic prongs on the three-piece airlock.

glenn514