Krausen going beserk, why?

[SupraSPL]

I'm on my 9th 5 gallon batch of brew in 6 gallon better bottles and I have never had a krausen reach my airlock until now. There are 3 variables that I changed, can anyone clue me in on what is causing the overflow? Will all these yeast escaping the fermenter degrade my brew?

1. My first time steeping grain. Steep 1 lb crushed caramunich + 1 oz crushed black malt

2. First time using Wyeast 3655 Belgian Schelde

3. First time using all DME wheat instead of all LME wheat

 

[chemman14]

what is your OG? did you aerate? did you use a starter? what are your temps at?

 

[Beernik]

Could be the yeast. Could be better aeration. Could be more FAN because you are using DME and steeping grains instead of straight LME.

Welcome to the wonderful world of blowoff tubes.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I would guess the Belgian yeast really know how to do the nasty and caused more krausen.

 

[shortyjacobs]

I get blowoff randomly...I've given up trying to predict it...

 

[pompeiisneaks]

+1 to shortyjacobs, some days, the yeast really like your wort, and GO TO TOWN not much you can do but put in blowoff tubes

 

[wonderbread23]

Temperature is a huge factor. Before I had fermentation control I routinely had blowoff when I fermented at ambient (low 70's). Now that I'm keeping it in the low to mid sixties, things have calmed down quite a bit (plus the beer is way better).

 

[SupraSPL]

Thanks for all the input. All of my batches have been Belgian style so far. I do partial boils (~2 gals) and then top off with R/O. I aerate the R/O just before pitching by violently shaking 3 gallons in the jug for 2 or 3 minutes. I shake it up more after adding the wort. In this case I did not use a starter because the Wyeast packet was from January and I let if puff up for 24 hours @65-70f before pitching. I see airlock activity within a few hours using this method and a full krausen within 12-24 hours.

I have a hydrometer but I stopped measuring gravity after my first batch came out good. Since I use extract malts and top off to exactly 5 gallons every time, it seemed like it would be just as easy to estimate the OG. (I do recognize that partial boils can leave a significant portion of sugars behind in the kettle cold break, so I got a nylon hop bag and now I can recover almost every bit of wort from the kettle.) Anyway taking the readings also seemed like another chance for contamination, so I just ferment in the primary for 3 weeks and bottle it. I am still in the process of trying different malts, yeasts and hops but once I settle on a few recipes I will take some readings so I know the alcohol content more closely.

I recently studied up on yeast quite a bit and paid close attention to what White Labs and Wyeast have to say about fermentation temps. I decided that my winter ferm temps were colder and swinging more than what is ideal. Now I start by placing the jug in a 65-68f area and then move it to a 70f area after a day or two. I am trying to brew as energy efficient as possible so I avoid active temp control. This out of control Krausen is fermenting in an area that has ~65f air temps.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

You don't need to worry about this. Relax, as they say. Beers blowoff sometimes. I've never had a problem from it.

 

[SupraSPL]

I woke up this morning and found gobs of gooey yeast had built up outside the jug. It smelled really good, like apple cake I'd say.

I have another 5 gallon batch made with 6lbs wheat DME but using a different yeast strain. The Krausen is just forming now we'll see if that one misbehaves also. EDIT turns out it is the Wheat DME causing the higher krausen. If not, I'll blame it on the yeast strain 3655 and if I decide to use that strain again maybe I can withhold a gallon of R/O to give more headspace and add it after the krausen drops?

Either way I'm not worried about it this beer will get drank every drop.

Since I'm making a mess anyway might as well get some video

 

[MattHollingsworth]

You shouldn't just let it foam over. You should add a blowoff setup.

 

[pompeiisneaks]

yeah the foam over can occasionally block the bottom of the airlock and make it blow out completely BOOM Go get a hose, and a bucket and fill the bucket w/ sanitized water and slide the hose over the inside post of the airlock and put the other end in the water.

 

[mithion]

BOOM

Yep, just when I thought I'd seen every thing, I had to pull the mop out to mop the wort off the ceiling. Good ol' days! Extreme blowoffs haven't been issue since I've been fermenting in the mid 60s. The last time it happened, I was fermenting a 10% ABV old ale around 75-80F. The thing was vomiting foam for almost 24 hours so I had to take the airlock off. It turned out to be a great beer.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

Some yeasts just blow off more even if you ferment cooler. As long as you have a blow off, it doesn't cause any problems. I had White Labs WLP023 blowoff a lot even at 67 and the beer came out great. No worries.