my first brew is now fermenting.. VIOLENTLY

[animus_divinus]

well.. ive finally finished my wee heavy, caramelized beautifully too... heres the recipe i used

(for 1 gallon)

3lbs golden promise
2.5 ounces roasted barley
.25 ounces fuggles hops
half vial of white labs edinburgh yeast

i steeped the grains for an hour to mash.. rinsed them off as usual, first three cups of runoff i poured into a sauce pan and started a violent boil, meanwhile i started the main wort boil with the fuggles added

about 40 minutes into boiling, i poured the caramelized mixture from the sauce pan in with the main wort, and let it boil for 20 minutes more

after cooling, i poured half a vial of the yeast in

at this point.. i was worried.. i had actually forgotten to rinse the fermentatino vessel after sterilyzing with iodine.. so i was worried it wouldnt ferment

this morning i went down and it was bubbling out.. bubbling all over the place.. i didnt even fill my gallon container all the way up, and its just bubbling everywhere.. the airlock was NO help

at this point i took my syphon hose and shoved it into the top of my rubber stopper where the airlock went.. it fits snug with no leaks.. fed the rest of the hose into an empty 1 gallon container of spring water and filled it half way up... this new setup is bubbling beautifully, and the runoff is comfortably draining into the gallon jug.. i believe im in the clear now

is there anything i should watch out for?.. or do y'all think im clear too with my runoff setup?

ill let everyone know how this simple, practically SMASH wee heavy turns out.

 

[Shaneoco1981]

You are fine... Some beers do that. My first batch did that. Unfortunately for me, I discovered it was fermenting VIOLENTLY on the day that my LHBS was closed so I couldn't get a blow off tube. Which lead to my air lock gumming up and blowing off the next morning when I went to my LHBS to get the blow off tube. You are fine. Congrats on getting it done!

 

[jollytim]

is there anything i should watch out for?

Aye, watch out for the Beer Gnomes! They'll run off with ya wee Heavy. Other than that, you should be golden.

 

[rambler]

I know all about those violent Wee Heavies. My last one blew out almost 2 Gallons, Damned shame too because it is PERFECT. It's gonna be hard to let this one condition long enough.

 

[animus_divinus]

hey... i have a question for anyone that may read this.. just checked my hydrometer readings.. comes out to about 1.5-1.8% alcohol by volume after 1 week, does this sound about right?

 

[raybroach]

Hi . new to this. I was reading your old thread . I wish to brew a simple strong Scottish barley ale.
All my ingediants are local ( Broach area N/E Scotland.)
I have lots of Barley grown for the scottish whiskey industry. Heather flowers from my own land.
Spring water again my own land. I have local heather honey. Irish Moss from a location only 3 miles away. I will malt my own barley and toast batches
with peat and beech chippings all local. I am trying to achive a 9/10 ABV with low impact ingredients.
So far no joy finding a recipe with one barley only. The yeast factor is also a complex question. Can you share your findings in succes or failings as any information would be greatly recieved. Slàinte mhath.