Explosion!!!

[Greekdude]

I’m totally new to this. A couple days ago I started up a hard cider batch and that bubbling away beautifully. Yesterday I made a batch of blackberry wine. Put it in 4 half gallon mason jars with stoppers on top. Woke up to find 3 jars closed with junk in the stopper and one jar completely open with sludge on the ceiling and table.
I’m guessing it’s too violent a reaction in too small a space.
My question is can I save it?! Can I put it in a big bucket with a stopper? Or is it irretrievable now that it’s been unsealed?

 

[madscientist451]

Get some gallon jugs, use stopper with a hole and use an airlock.
The wine in the jar that opened up will be fine.
You can use a bucket is that is all you have, but eventually you'll want to rack it off to jugs to let it settle and age without exposure to air.

 

[Greekdude]

So, I transferred it (after about 10 hours cause I had to go to work) into a 2 gallon fermentation bucket with an airlock attached. It's been about 5 hours now and I see no bubbles. Should I worry?

 

[Greekdude]

It doesn’t bubble at all. Just those tiny ones that stick to the sides. Don’t know what that’s from.

 

[Jag75]

Looking at the the piece inside and it looks like theres co2 coming out because its pushed up. Is your lid on all the way ?

 

[balrog]

DO you smell anything?
I ask because buckets leak if they can. Gas will escape if it can. It's likely still being produced in which case you will smell it around the bucket if not sitting in front of a fan. That smell is the gas escaping from somewhere inside the bucket to outside the bucket, just not going through the airlock.

 

[501irishred]

Also, that first “explosive” fermentation, a day or two before you transferred to the bucket, consumed a large percentage of the sugar. There’s still more to do, but the quantity of co2 begins produced is less, and the head space is more....... all in all, no worries

 

[Greekdude]

Thanks guys. One more thing. Because this is an opaque container, and also because I can’t really tell through the airlock that fermentation is still taking place...how do I know when to rack it when it clears up?

 

[Jag75]

Thanks guys. One more thing. Because this is an opaque container, and also because I can’t really tell through the airlock that fermentation is still taking place...how do I know when to rack it when it clears up?

Check your gravity is the only way to know it's done.

 

[Greekdude]

Forgive me, but being a complete novice, what should the gravity be? I didn’t take one in the beginning

 

[Jag75]

Trying to remember, I haven't done hard cider in a while. I think around 1.010 give or take , but it depends on your OG. Check the gravity after 7 days then again on day 10.

 

[Greekdude]

Is it the same for the blackberry wine?

 

[Jag75]

I couldnt tell you I've never made wine. I imagine it's all the same when it comes to fermentation though. If you check the gravity for few days span and it's the same you should be good to go. It wouldn't hurt to check in the wine section to find out for sure.