First time - fermentation questions

paradox · Oct 11, 2016

I'm brewing two batches of cider. Within 24 hours one was really active and the other one had next to no activity so I repitched the one on the right. Woke up to this today:

http://i.imgur.com/mXxYsuQ.jpg

Theres gunk in the airlock. What are the odds the airlock is going to fail and it's going to spray all over?

Double_D · Oct 11, 2016

It usually only sprays out through the airlock at my house.

I have had a couple just slide out when the stoppers got wet. The foam just kinda bubbles over.

paradox · Oct 11, 2016

Double_D said:
It usually only sprays out through the airlock at my house. I have had a couple just slide out when the stoppers got wet. The foam just kinda bubbles over.

Should I clean the airlock once the bubbling dies down a bit or just leave it be until the end of primary fermentation?

jamorgan3777 · Oct 11, 2016

Either way. If you clean it be sure to resanitize it. If you leave it and its not blown all the liquid out, you should be fine to just wipe off the outside.

Double_D · Oct 11, 2016

I second that^^

bernardsmith · Oct 11, 2016

I would clean the airlock. The cost to cleaning it out is zero. Active fermentation produces so much CO2 that nothing will contaminate your cider. The price of not cleaning it out is if the airlock gets blocked with gunk then you will have an exploding fermenter with all your cider painting the ceiling and floor and - worse case scenario - flying shards of glass. That is why many (most?) wine makers use a plastic bucket as their primary and cover the top with a cloth, transferring the fermented cider or wine or mead to a glass carboy sealed with bung and airlock only when the active fermentation has ended...

thespiff · Oct 12, 2016

If the airlock clogs it'll pop the cork and expose the cider to the air, which could lead to infection. If it were me, and I thought fermentation was active enough that a blown top is likely, I'd remove the cork and cover the top with sanitized aluminum foil for for a day or two until fermentation settles down. Then I'd return the cork+airlock to the jug.