Help!!

[stuknkrvl]

This is my first time using a starter and I wasn't prepared for this craziness. This is only twelve hours in and for some reason it keeps blowing the lid off my bucket instead of going through my blow off tube. Unfortunately this is the only tube I have that fits in the grommet in top this bucket.

What can I do???

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[cooper]

looks like you fixed it! Just make sure the other end is inserted into water so it bubbles. What temp are you fermenting at? Might want to try to cool things down a little bit (search swamp cooler method if you dont have a fermentation chamber), especially during the first three days of active fermentation and then you can let it rise up a bit and you wont have those blowoff issues.

 

[stuknkrvl]

I'm not quite where I want to be in terms of temperature control, only have a little temp strip on the side of my bucket. It's reading 68-70. I'll put it in my cold bucket for a bit. Thanks for the advice, cooper.

 

[flars]

The type of air lock you are using has a taper at the bottom, with an "x" cross hatch cut into it. You can cut the taper off to create a larger diameter tube for the krausen to flow through.

Do you have a siphon hose that will fit over the vertical part of air lock, under the floating cover? Slip your hose over this and put the other end in a bucket to carry the blow off away. Have some sanitizer solution in the bucket to prevent fruit flies, bacteria, etc. from entering the hose.

A blow off tube can also be fit into the air lock bung or into the lid by removing the air lock grommet. Just depends on what outside diameter hoses you have.

If all else fails remove the air lock and set an inverted glass bowl over the vent hole. Let the krausen flow out until fermentation slows, and the air lock can be replaced. Good to have the bucket in a tub to contain over flow.

Is your fermentation over active because of uncontrolled fermentation temperature? Is your bucket to small for the volume of the recipe, eliminating head space for the krausen?

edit: Sanitize anything used.

 

[Gavin C]

Take the lid off while its going crazy and get the temperature cooled a bit.

If you're concerned with dust falling into it you could loosely cover it with aluminum foil when the lid is off.

 

[stuknkrvl]

The type of air lock you are using has a taper at the bottom, with an "x" cross hatch cut into it. You can cut the taper off to create a larger diameter tube for the krausen to flow through.

Do you have a siphon hose that will fit over the vertical part of air lock, under the floating cover? Slip your hose over this and put the other end in a bucket to carry the blow off away. Have some sanitizer solution in the bucket to prevent fruit flies, bacteria, etc. from entering the hose.

A blow off tube can also be fit into the air lock bung or into the lid by removing the air lock grommet. Just depends on what outside diameter hoses you have.

If all else fails remove the air lock and set an inverted glass bowl over the vent hole. Let the krausen flow out until fermentation slows, and the air lock can be replaced. Good to have the bucket in a tub to contain over flow.

Is your fermentation over active because of uncontrolled fermentation temperature? Is your bucket to small for the volume of the recipe, eliminating head space for the krausen?

edit: Sanitize anything used.

It's a five gallon recipe in an eight gallon bucket, easily six or seven inches of head space. Using WLP004 with a 1.75 L starter as recommended by BeerSmith. It's the first time I've ever used a starter and I just wasn't expecting it to kick off like this! Honestly I'm excited as all hell but I'm worried it's gonna blow the lid on this thing while I'm at work.

I think cooper is right about the temp. I put it in a large tote and surrounded it with some frozen 1 L water bottles to try and get the temp down a few degrees.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks!

 

[stuknkrvl]

Take the lid off while its going crazy and get the temperature cooled a bit.

If you're concerned with dust falling into it you could loosely cover it with aluminum foil when the lid is off.

I would try that, but between three cats, two dogs, and a 20 month old who absolutely has to touch everything, something will go very bad.

 

[Subdivisions]

Pull the lid off and lay it on top of the bucket. That'll relieve enough pressure that it should stay there. You could also try prying one side up. Mine fit pretty tight and I can pull it up on one side but it's still stuck to the bucket

 

[stuknkrvl]

Here's what I set up. I guess I'll just let it go for the rest of the day and see if it calms down enough to put the lid back on tonight.

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[stuknkrvl]

Thing is the blanket is touching the krausen. Should I be worried about infection? Should I put something else over it?

 

[Gavin C]

I wouldn't want anything that has not been sanitized touching the krausen. I'm not liking your blanket setup.

 

[stuknkrvl]

Okay... The blanket is just to keep it insulated so it cools down a bit. I took it off and covered the whole thing with some sanitized foil and then put the blanket back on. Thanks!

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[m00ps]

If anything, wouldnt the blanket keep it warmer by trapping the heat of fermentation in the airpspace surrounding the bucket?

 

[stuknkrvl]

If anything, wouldnt the blanket keep it warmer by trapping the heat of fermentation in the airpspace surrounding the bucket?

I keep my thermostat set to 68 and this is the coolest place in the house, routinely keeps my brews between 66 and 68. There's four frozen 1 L water bottles intl there and the bucket is lined (sort of) with Styrofoam. The blanket is to trap the cold from the frozen bottles.

Is that bad? That's how I've done it every time so far.

 

[Gavin C]

Yea -1 on the blanket

 

[stuknkrvl]

Yea -1 on the blanket

Should I take the blanket off and just leave the foil over the top then?

 

[Gavin C]

I would think adding anything that is going to trap heat is not really a good idea but I see where your coming from as you are trying to keep the heat from getting in. Rooms are hot in TX for sure.

I would leave it off. If it's worked well for you in the past though, who could argue against you. I'm sure your judgement will be the best guide on this one.

 

[stuknkrvl]

This is crazy. This is only my fifth solo batch and my first using a starter. I've never had a fermentation kick off in less than twenty four hours and to be so strong it's blowing the lid off my bucket... I'm completely in uncharted territory here!

I'm just hoping I haven't messed something up already. I know... RDWHAHB. I'm still reeling from having to toss 15 gallons of what was supposed to be an IPA down the drain. My nerves are shot.

 

[stuknkrvl]

I have no idea what I did wrong, but it just would not blow through the tube I had in there. This is at 28 hours, threw in an airlock and everything seems to be going just fine now.

Thanks again for all the advice, everybody!

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[Subdivisions]

Flars had a good idea in an earlier post. Cut the X off the bottom of the airlock and get some tubing that fits over the stem that the bobber sits on. The grommet hole is pretty small and tubing is going to have some wall thickness giving you a pretty small diameter blow off.

Your idea with putting the fermenter in a plastic tub is good but fill it with water. The mass of the water will suck away much more heat and you can chill it with the frozen water bottles.

Looks like the worst is over. Good luck with it.

 

[stuknkrvl]

Flars had a good idea in an earlier post. Cut the X off the bottom of the airlock and get some tubing that fits over the stem that the bobber sits on. The grommet hole is pretty small and tubing is going to have some wall thickness giving you a pretty small diameter blow off.

Your idea with putting the fermenter in a plastic tub is good but fill it with water. The mass of the water will suck away much more heat and you can chill it with the frozen water bottles.

Looks like the worst is over. Good luck with it.

Yeah, took the advice from flars and cut the end off that airlock. The krausen had fallen quite a bit so I'm not worried about it blowing out any more.

Thanks for the tip about the water. Never thought of that.

 

[kh54s10]

The water is the important part of a "swamp cooler" Look it up and use one especially in the first few days.

What did you do wrong? Nothing as far as the amount of krausen.

not keeping it cool enough and having a bigger blow off tube are the only mistakes here. You can get a tube that will fit tight in the hole without the rubber grommet. Or use a tube that will fit over the center post of the airlock.

Where does the exit end of the tube go? If you have that other bucket filled with starsan you are risking a dramatic reverse siphon.

Put the exit end of the blowoff tube in a small margarine tub with only about an inch of starsan in it. Place that in the bottom of the bucket in case it overflows with krausen. You only need to keep the end of the tube submerged.

 

[lolcats]

I would keep the lid totally off during those 3 first days or just use Glad wrap to keep any bugs out.

 

[Gavin C]

OP

I missed that earlier, I thought there was water in the plastic tote. Looking at the images again I see there was not. Sorry for the bad advice/omission on my part.

 

[stuknkrvl]

OP

I missed that earlier, I thought there was water in the plastic tote. Looking at the images again I see there was not. Sorry for the bad advice/omission on my part.

No worries! You've been a huge help!

 

[stuknkrvl]

After three days. Already right at 10%, smells like cocoa, tastes like espresso and cream. Another couple days and I'll rack it over to bulk age for a couple months before I bottle it.

Thanks again to everybody for all the advice!

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[Gavin C]

All that heat sure did ferment it out fast.

Another option is to bottle once it's done and age it in the bottles while it's carbing up. A big beer like that is going to take longer to carb so getting it into the bottles earlier to age will also mean the yeast is more viable than after a long bulk aging.

You can avoid the secondary altogether that way and be able to test things as it ages much easier. I would give it a minimum of 2 months aging in the bottle before trying one.

Anyway, just a thought. I'm sure you're going to have a heck of a RIS on your hands there. Nice.

 

[flars]

Your sample looks fairly cloudy yet. I would give it a couple more weeks in the primary to clear. Less sediment going into the bottle.

 

[stuknkrvl]

Your sample looks fairly cloudy yet. I would give it a couple more weeks in the primary to clear. Less sediment going into the bottle.

Will it be okay to sit on the yeast cake that long before I bottle it?

 

[Gavin C]

For sure. I didn't mean to suggest it was ready for bottling yet. A couple of weeks should be plenty before bottling. Let them age at room temps in a nice quiet forgettable place. Thanksgiving or Christmas time open one up and check on the fruits of your labors. Out of sight out of mind.