HELP!! Airlock blew off and lost a gallon of liquid

[astinson]

So I got my first brew in fermentation last night; True Brew Belgian Ale kit. Put it into a five gallon glass carboy put the stopper in and airlock assembly. Everything was fine this morning at 7am (roughly 8 hours after I added the yeast) however around 9am I stopped home and checked it - the airlock had blown off (broken into pieces) and I lost about a gallon of liquid in the carboy. So I re-sanitized the stopper and hooked up a blow-off tube setup into about a quarter gallon of sanitizer.... my question is should I add more water to bring the mixture back up to 5 gallons??

Please help!! This is my first batch and I'm just learning.... hopefully it still turns out good!!

 

[Clonefarmer]

Don't add anything at this point. You may have lost some, but diluting it will just mess up the rest. Try and get a 6.5 gallon bucket or carboy to ferment in.

 

[Ace_Club]

1. Relax
2. Don't worry
3. It's only 10 am, so don't have a homebrew, yet.
4. Take and post a picture if the mess is still around (especially of the shattered airlock!)
5. Just leave the beer alone. The loss is minimal. Remember next time to hook up a blow off tube.

 

[wildwest450]

So I got my first brew in fermentation last night; True Brew Belgian Ale kit. Put it into a five gallon glass carboy put the stopper in and airlock assembly. Everything was fine this morning at 7am (roughly 8 hours after I added the yeast) however around 9am I stopped home and checked it - the airlock had blown off (broken into pieces) and I lost about a gallon of liquid in the carboy. So I re-sanitized the stopper and hooked up a blow-off tube setup into about a quarter gallon of sanitizer.... my question is should I add more water to bring the mixture back up to 5 gallons??

Please help!! This is my first batch and I'm just learning.... hopefully it still turns out good!!

Don't dilute your beer. Learn from it and be ready with a blowoff tube next time.

4 gallons of good beer is far better than 5 gallons of thin watery beer. Also get a 6 gallon carboy or a bucket, a 5 gallon fermenter is far to small for a 5 gallon batch.


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[bwomp313]

What temp is it fermenting at?

 

[Brewkowski]

Oh snap, I hate it when that happens. You did right by sanitizing and hooking up the blow off tube. I wouldn't add water, it will throw of the brew and make it too light. Are you sure you lost 1 gal of wort, or was it just the bubbling krausen? I've never had an eruption where I actually, but if I read that correct you put 5 gal of wort into a 5 gal carboy? That will probably happen alot unless you get a 6 gal carboy or bucket, keep the 5 for smaller batches or as a secondary vessel. Your brew should be fine, you'll just have to start another batch soon to make up for the loss.

 

[astinson]

Thanks for the suggestions and answering my question! I talked to a guy here at work and consensus is to not dilute the 4 gallons of wort left in the carboy. Pretty certain I lost a gallon as I measured out 1 gallon increments on the side of the carboy... and I mis-typed earlier it's a 6.5 Gallon Carboy with 5 gallons of wort... none the less I've moved to a blow off tube and we'll run that way with the remaining 4 gallons.

I'll be heading to the homebrew store tonight and getting a bucket.... reserve the carboy for secondary fermentation and aging from now on.

 

[HexKrak]

Some brews will do that to ya. I've only had to hook up an airlock on 2 of mine so far, but I always check before and after work when I've brewed in the last couple days. If there's a mess in the airlock, it's time to hook up the blowoff.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

My advice your fermentation vessel should have at lease 1-1.5 gallons of headspace for krausen and to avoid these problems. All 5gal batches should really be in a 6.5 gal pail or carboy. Your 5gal could be used for appflwein or as a secondary. If you insist on using it, rig up a blow off tube, but you'll still lost quite a bit of liquid imo.