my airlock is foaming over

[elbastardo]

Im on my first batch of (stout). This morning the beer temp was around 65, so i put a small heater in the room and brought it back to 76 degrees later in the day. My batch was about 5" from the top of the carboy, but now its foaming out of the airlock. Is this OK? I followed the directions per the extracts directions (metric/standard).

Thanks

 

[mavandeh]

I brewed Brian Rezac's Chai Ale and I had the same problem. A lot of people that do their primary fermentation in a carboy use a blowoff tube into a bucket of water. I just let it foam and cleaned and replaced the airlock when it stopped. We'll see how it turns out I guess!

 

[Yooper]

Turn the heater off! Most ales use yeast that is best in the mid- upper 60s. In the mid 70s is probably way too high for your yeast. What kind of yeast is it?

Foaming out is ok. You can take off the airlock (be careful- it'll probably spray all over you) and put in a "blow off tube". That's simply some tubing that is sanitized. One end goes into your fermenter, in place of the airlock, and the other end goes into a jug of water. It's simply a big airlock.

 

[goose1873]

Im on my first batch of (stout). This morning the beer temp was around 65, so i put a small heater in the room and brought it back to 76 degrees later in the day. My batch was about 5" from the top of the carboy, but now its foaming out of the airlock. Is this OK? I followed the directions per the extracts directions (metric/standard).

Thanks

what yeast? 76F is very warm and might cause off flavors. Most ale yeast is happy in the lower 60s and 70+ is too warm...

as far as the airlock, you need to attach a blow off as the previous post stated.

 

[goose1873]

Turn the heater off! Most ales use yeast that is best in the mid- upper 60s. In the mid 70s is probably way too high for your yeast. What kind of yeast is it?

Foaming out is ok. You can take off the airlock (be careful- it'll probably spray all over you) and put in a "blow off tube". That's simply some tubing that is sanitized. One end goes into your fermenter, in place of the airlock, and the other end goes into a jug of water. It's simply a big airlock.

...you beat my to it

 

[elbastardo]

I didnt realise that 62 would be OK. I was concerned that it would get to cold. I have never done this before. Thanks for the help:rockin:

 

[Yooper]

I didnt realise that 62 would be OK. I was concerned that it would get to cold. I have never done this before. Thanks for the help:rockin:

It really depends on the yeast strain. Each strain has specific temperature needs, and slightly different optimum temperatures. The yeast manufacturer's have the information right on their website, and I like to ferment at the cool end of the yeast's optimum temperature. Many of my ales are fermented at 60-65 degrees, for the best flavor. High temperatures, especially with yeast strains like Nottingham, can cause some unpleasant fruitiness (called esters) that kind of taste like bananas or even bubblegum. In a stout, that might not be terribly noticeable, and so your beer will still be very drinkable. In a really high temperature ferment, the beer can get "fusel" alcohols as well, which tastes solventy and can cause headaches.

What yeast strain are you using? That's what determines the temperature you want to choose for fermentation.

 

[goose1873]

Also...If when you taste your gravity sample in a week or 2, if it's a little fruity (b/c of high temp). Try letting it age a couple extra weeks to allow the yeastys to clean up the off flavors. It doesn't always work, but always helps and has fixed a couple of my high temp ferments!

All yeasts are a little different but you typically want to stay toward the lower/middle of the temp range. Ex: Safeale US-05 will ferment from 59-70+ but most people will ferment between 60-65F.


...again yooper beat me to it

 

[david_42]

Any worse than this?