Good or bad?

[rickj]

I am having some foam coming out of the fermenter. Good or a bad thing? This is the second day of fermenting.

 

[freisste]

Like out of the airlock? That is good for fermenting, but bad for you when it dries itself to a clog and builds pressure until the top blows off in a sticky mess.

Search blow off tube. Then proceed to install a blow off tube.

 

[Hex23]

It's good that you are fermenting vs. not, but blowoff isn't necessarily a good thing if it's caused by higher temperature and isn't intended based on the style. It could lead to fruity esters and fusel alcohols. If that's the case, there's not a ton you can do about that now. You'll have to see how it tastes and go from there. Longer conditioning can fix some of that.

 

[Travestian]

The other option for you (for future brews) is to put some FermcapS in your fermenter. It minimizes the krausen but aids in head retention from the finished beer. Blow off tubes are a good idea also.

 

[rickj]

It wasn't a lot but cleaned it up. In my first batch I didn't see anything happen. This is my second batch and I am seeing a lot of action going on inside.

 

[Yooper]

The only worry I'd have (besides a huge mess!) is that the fermenting beer can get very warm very fast when it's active like that.

If you have a "stick on" thermometer, check to make sure the beer is at 70 degrees or under. If it's too warm, you can get some bad off flavors from a too high fermentation temperature.

If you don't have a stick on thermometer, you can get one for aquariums at places like Wal-Mart. I'd just be really concerned about temperature at this time of year in an explosive fermentation.

 

[freisste]

It's good that you are fermenting vs. not, but blowoff isn't necessarily a good thing if it's caused by higher temperature and isn't intended based on the style. It could lead to fruity esters and fusel alcohols. If that's the case, there's not a ton you can do about that now. You'll have to see how it tastes and go from there. Longer conditioning can fix some of that.

Agreed, thanks for clarifying. Yes, fermenting is better than not fermenting, but I'd rather have a slow start and fermentation because of good temp control than a wild fermentation from lack thereof.

 

[rickj]

I am just doing it at my house. If I put dome cold rags or towels on it will it bring down the temp?

 

[freisste]

I am just doing it at my house. If I put dome cold rags or towels on it will it bring down the temp?

Yes. Search also for swamp cooler. Although the damage may be done.

 

[kh54s10]

It is neither good nor bad unless the cause is high fermentation temperatures as mentioned by Yooper.
I used to use Fermcap and a couple of times I still had a blow off. I stopped using it because it is silicon and it is recommended that you filter it out. I don't really worry about the small amount, and it should be left behind in the trub, but decided that a little blow off is better than ingesting silicon.

 

[rickj]

Only my second try and I am using not the best gear ( equipment ). Just doing it at the house can't keep the perfect temp. I want to slowly learn and get the needed gear. Thanks for the help.

 

[Travestian]

You'll still make beer. And potentially good beer to boot. The esters may be exactly what you are looking for. Or the esters might not really be noticeable in the first place. All depends on the fermentation temps (what they actually are) and the type of yeast. RDWHAHB.

 

[rickj]

Used a liquid yeast that was recommended for the beer that I was making. Can you use to much yeast?

 

[brewkinger]

Used a liquid yeast that was recommended for the beer that I was making. Can you use to much yeast?

You can use too much yeast, it is called over pitching. No need to be concerned about that right now though.
Work on temp control and getting basics down.
Eventually you will progress to making adequately sized yeast starters if you want.
There is enough yeast in a liquid pack or vial to ferment an average OG batch (up to 1.055 or so).
Note that I said ENOUGH yeast.
A starter lets you build up a better amount for a specific batch of beer and it prepares the yeast to work better.

Have fun and learn along the way by asking questions and searching on this forum.

 

[freisste]

Used a liquid yeast that was recommended for the beer that I was making. Can you use to much yeast?

Absolutely. But I highly doubt that you did. Over pitching can cause issues, but (generally) not as much as under pitching. You more likely under pitched, but it is tough to say for sure without more info (yeast manufacture date, OG, batch size, etc.).

I wouldn't worry too much about the state of things. If you cleaned up any mess that was created, attached a blowoff tube, and kept things sanitary, there isn't much to do but play the waiting game and RDWHAHB.