Bung blowoff

[Lozik]

I checked my primary last night before heading to bed and noticed that the airlock was beginning to fill with wort, so I cleaned out the lock, reattached and went to bed. (I would have gone to the store to buy plastic tubing for a run off, but it was 3 am so the store was closed).

I woke up this morning to find the bung laying on the floor next to the fermenter. I quickly cleaned off the foam buildup, sanitized the bung and lock, then reattached. After reattaching everything I went out to home depot and bought a tube that fit on my airlock, so right now I have a decent blow off setup going on. Do stouts typically ferment this hard? I thought only imperial stouts run this intensely. Aside from that everything seems to be running smoothly. I have no idea how long the bung was off so hopefully the batch hasn't been comprised. It was stored in a closet so it had no airflow going into it.

Edit: Here are some images of the blow off I made. The tubing was starting to weigh down the airlock so I propped it up using to paracord I found.

 

[jsun]

I checked my primary last night before heading to bed and noticed that the airlock was beginning to fill with wort, so I cleaned out the lock, reattached and went to bed. (I would have gone to the store to buy plastic tubing for a run off, but it was 3 am so the store was closed).

I woke up this morning to find the bung laying on the floor next to the fermenter. I quickly cleaned off the foam buildup, sanitized the bung and lock, then reattached. After reattaching everything I went out to home depot and bought a tube that fit on my airlock, so right now I have a decent blow off setup going on. Do stouts typically ferment this hard? I thought only imperial stouts run this intensely. Aside from that everything seems to be running smoothly. I have no idea how long the bung was off so hopefully the batch hasn't been comprised. It was stored in a closet so it had no airflow going into it.

Don't worry, this has happened to everyone. You should be fine. The CO2 produced by the vigorous fermentation usually keeps the beasties out.

What was your OG? Did you make a starter or anything? Lots of sugar + healthy yeast = vigorous fermentation. And how much headspace do you have? Obviously less headspace creates a higher chance of blowoff.

 

[BeerLoverHere]

Temperature also contributes to more vigorous fermentations/more of a chance of a blow-off. I prefer lower temps anyways, but if you ever "top off" your fermenter and have less head space, then I'd suggest lower temps to help prevent this from happening if you don't use a blow-off

 

[Lozik]

Don't worry, this has happened to everyone. You should be fine. The CO2 produced by the vigorous fermentation usually keeps the beasties out.

What was your OG? Did you make a starter or anything? Lots of sugar + healthy yeast = vigorous fermentation. And how much headspace do you have? Obviously less headspace creates a higher chance of blowoff.

OG was around 1.051, which I think is normal for a dry irish stout. I left a decent amount of head space; maybe about 8 inches, it might be hard to judge from the photos. I was able to get a boil on brew day, but not a rolling one, so I'm not sure if that would have had an affect on anything; there wasn't a film on the surface of the wort by the end of the 60 minute boil.

 

[Lozik]

Temperature also contributes to more vigorous fermentations/more of a chance of a blow-off. I prefer lower temps anyways, but if you ever "top off" your fermenter and have less head space, then I'd suggest lower temps to help prevent this from happening if you don't use a blow-off

Temps in our staircase closet are sitting around 67. Is there a sweet spot for dry ale yeast? I used s-04 for this particular batch. The lower portion of our house tends to stay very cool during the winter due to the heat rising to the top of the house.

 

[BeerLoverHere]

I like to target my ale yeast on the lower end: cleaner tasting beer for my palate. Make sure you go cooler with the 04 as the English yeast needs to be a little cooler in my opinion than the chico strain US-05. I ferment both in low 60s as temps will rise 3-5 degrees during fermentation from the friction/movement from yeasts doing their thing. 67 degrees would be perfect for the 05, but since you used the 04 I'd try to get it down a little lower. Just my 2 cents...

 

[pablosbrewing]

Temps in our staircase closet are sitting around 67. Is there a sweet spot for dry ale yeast? I used s-04 for this particular batch. The lower portion of our house tends to stay very cool during the winter due to the heat rising to the top of the house.

Temps in our staircase closet are sitting around 67

Fermentation generates heat, and with that towel insulating it the peak temp will be a bit higher - low to mid 70's very likely.

A swamp cooler is a cheap and easy solution to keep temps down during fermentation - wrap the carboy in a wet towel and place in a plastic tub of water, as water wicks into the towel and evaporates it cools things down.

 

[Lozik]

A swamp cooler is a cheap and easy solution to keep temps down during fermentation - wrap the carboy in a wet towel and place in a plastic tub of water, as water wicks into the towel and evaporates it cools things down.

Just did this. Thanks for the advice! I was totally unaware that the fermentation process would increase the temps that much.

 

[aprichman]

Just did this. Thanks for the advice! I was totally unaware that the fermentation process would increase the temps that much.

Yeah, it's a pretty amazing process! Not only does fermentation generate a good amount of heat but it also generates a ton of kinetic movement inside the fermentation vessel. Breweries that brew many barrels worth at a time have fermentation so vigorous that it creates cyclone behavior in the tank!

Even my modest 2.5 gallon batches ferment with an impressive amount of force. I use glass carboys for primary (infact I don't do secondary at all) and it's always so a ton of fun to watch the particles swirling around like crazy during peak fermentation. There are always a few currents that are directed towards the walls of the carboy and you can see everything slamming against the glass with a ton of force

One of my favorite parts of making beer is watching the yeast do it's magic!

 

[Esmitee]

Is that a 6 or 6.5 gal carboy? Not a 5 gal right. If it's 6 or even 6.5 gal, to me it looks like you only have maybe 4 gal of beer in that carboy? and either a really hot fermentation going on inside that big jar? or some high test yeast and alot of sugar to chew up? Ahhh Either way, You will make some beer!

 

[Lozik]

One of my favorite parts of making beer is watching the yeast do it's magic!

Agreed, I feel like a kid playing with a chemistry set. I was actually pretty surprised how hard it fermented; I thought only imperial stouts went this hard!

Is that a 6 or 6.5 gal carboy? Not a 5 gal right. If it's 6 or even 6.5 gal, to me it looks like you only have maybe 4 gal of beer in that carboy? and either a really hot fermentation going on inside that big jar? or some high test yeast and alot of sugar to chew up? Ahhh Either way, You will make some beer!

It's actually a 6 gallon. To be honest, I was afraid I didn't put in enough water; the pitcher I used to fill it up seemed kind of off. The kit I used was meant for a 5 gallon batch. My bottling bucket has measurements on the side so I'll know how much priming sugar to put in when the time comes. Should I be cautious of anything?

 

[Esmitee]

Agreed, I feel like a kid playing with a chemistry set. I was actually pretty surprised how hard it fermented; I thought only imperial stouts went this hard!



It's actually a 6 gallon. To be honest, I was afraid I didn't put in enough water; the pitcher I used to fill it up seemed kind of off. The kit I used was meant for a 5 gallon batch. My bottling bucket has measurements on the side so I'll know how much priming sugar to put in when the time comes. Should I be cautious of anything?

Not really, except using to much sugar. You don't want any bottle bombs!

 

[kh54s10]

The question was asked if a stout would be that active. IMO ANY but the very lowest gravity brews have the potential to blow off. So, I start every fermentation with a blow off tube installed.

I have had very different amounts of krausen from very similar recipes using the same yeast.... There is no telling for sure.

 

[Lozik]

I start every fermentation with a blow off tube installed.

Do you suggest leaving the tube on for the duration of the fermentation, or should I revert back to the airlock once activity subsides?

 

[northcal]

Do you suggest leaving the tube on for the duration of the fermentation, or should I revert back to the airlock once activity subsides?

You can do either, but I always put an airlock on after vigorous fermentation is over. If you leave the blow off tube on and the beer cools quite a lot, it can suck up whatever the end of the tube is sitting in.

You might want to pick up one of the stick on thermometers from a lhbs, that way you can see the temp of your fermentation.

 

[kh54s10]

Do you suggest leaving the tube on for the duration of the fermentation, or should I revert back to the airlock once activity subsides?

I use a fermentation chamber so the temperature is stable. I use the blow off tube for 14 to 21 days then keg. If I leave it longer or need the blow off tube, I will change it out. But that is rare nowadays.