My First Explosioin. Thoughts?

[aMillionDreams]

I had been using a blow off on my "big brews" but I didn't use one on the Oatmeal Stout I just brewed. I guess making a starter helped as it blew off the airlock less than 12 hours after I pitched.

I've lost a lot of wort. Should I do anything like add water, wort, and/or yeast to make up for what's been lost? Or should I be happy with what I left?

This batch was also the first time I did a full boil, is that just a coincidence?

 

[Walker]

adding water will thin the beer out and make it come out differently that you expected (lighter color, less flavor, lower alcohol content, lower bitterness, etc). I wouldn't do that.

I wouldn't add any yeast either. CLEARLY there is plenty there already.

Just let it ride. You'll have less finished product than you intended, but it will taste like you intended.

 

[brrman]

Once it's lost it's lost. Don't add anything. You are just going to have to settle for less beer.

My very first batch (hard to remember now, its been so many since)went kinda like that - only I added water to make up the difference of what I though I was "supposed" to end up with after boil... All I did was thin the beer and lower the abv.

 

[Tamarack]

Agree with previous posters... don't add anything.
On a separate note, it might continue slowly since since it blew some of the yeast out when the airlock went airborne. I wouldn't worry about it but don't be surprised.

 

[Walker]

Agree with previous posters... don't add anything.
On a separate note, it might continue slowly since since it blew some of the yeast out when the airlock went airborne. I wouldn't worry about it but don't be surprised.

He started this brew at the end of July, so I would be worried if it was still fermenting at this point in December.

 

[shamrockdoc]

He started this brew at the end of July, so I would be worried if it was still fermenting at this point in December.

.........................

 

[Tamarack]

touche

 

[brewser09]

I've been brewing for almost 2 years and I just now started full boils for my last 2 batches, needless to say the activity in both of them was inpressive. For my stout i had activity within an hour, and my IPA I brewed saturday needed a blowoff tube by sunday afternoon. I definetly think a full boil is behind it, i'm never going back to partial boils again!

 

[Tamarack]

hmm. anyone else have any ideas/experience on this? I usually do partial boils (for speed) so I can't really speak to it.

 

[superjunior]

hmm. anyone else have any ideas/experience on this? I usually do partial boils (for speed) so I can't really speak to it.

the volume of wort boiled affects hop utilization. If your doing a partial boil for a 5 gallon batch for example, boiling more than 2.5 g. will increase your ibu's.

 

[Tamarack]

the volume of wort boiled affects hop utilization. If your doing a partial boil for a 5 gallon batch for example, boiling more than 2.5 g. will increase your ibu's.

He's asking about partial/full boil in relation to blowoff...

 

[superjunior]

He's asking about partial/full boil in relation to blowoff...[/Q
guess I was getting side tracked, my mind wonders..

 

[BrewDocND]

From a practical standpoint, I don't think full vs. partial boil would matter as far as yeast activity. I think you just have a just a small sample size of explosions and some very excited yeast.

 

[Sujeto]

Now, before I comment, I realize the OP has probably drank this brew along time ago and I hope it was good

Everyone did a great job about leaving the beer alone. Give yerselves a hand! :rockin:
But I'm curious about the OPs first and last queries. Was it the combination of the starter and full boil that caused the blow off? Are each of them on their own more prone to blow off? Or is it when their powers combine!that things get messy?

And sorry about the thread jack but...

I have a Belgium strong dark ale with an OG of 1.093 at the end of its second week fermenting in a bucket. It was a partial extract, WLP 500, didn't use a starter, and unknowingly under pitched it. Five days in I pitched another vial. Now, at that point the krausen was pretty substantial and I wonder if I would have had a blow off had a pitched two vials of yeast at once, used a starter, etc. That sentence made me feel a little dirty. Are some methods more common to a blow off than others and what about ways to predict them, prepare for them? I guess you could even include the fermenting vessel itself.

I have other issues, questions, concerns about this brew (RDWHHB) so I'll leave it at that. What do y'all think?:fro: