My First Go at It.....

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new2brew1221

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so, yesterday i brewed my fifrst batch. last night there wasn't any signs of fermentation. this morning when i got up, the lid had blown off the ferment bucket and the air lock was blown out. i cleaned things up, and placed the lid back on. this afternoon after i got home from work, i checked on it again, and there was krausen in the air lock. i took it out and cleaned it in sanitizer, and place it back in the bucket. i just went and checked on it again, and there seems to be air bubbles at the rate of 1 every 7 to 7 seconds. does this seem like everything will be ok, given the mishaps i have had so far? and does anyone know why the lid may have busted off overnight? thanks for all the information.
 
Krausen clogs up the airlock and pressure builds up until the lid blows off = big mess. Everyone has it happen to them at least once. I made a 1.084 imperial stout and pitched a whole yeast cake from a 1.040 pale ale. The next morning I had krausen goo all over the walls of the room. Now I use a blow-off tube- lesson learned. Your beer will be fine just make sure you sanitize the airlock before you stick it back on.
 
Sounds like a vigorous fermentation!! My guess is you're keeping it fairly warm, above 70F? If so, that's the reason. Only potential downside is a beer with high fusel alcohols, but otherwise you'll be fine. Congrats!
 
thanks for the reassurance. my goal is to keg it this coming saturday and do force carb and set it and forget it for a couple of days.
 
new2brew1221 said:
thanks for the reassurance. my goal is to keg it this coming saturday and do force carb and set it and forget it for a couple of days.

More like a week ;)
 
Whoa, you brewed yesterday and want to keg on Saturday? If the beer was under 1.040 og you could be in good shape, but you really risk some of flavors if you don't let them clean up their mess.

If it were me if wait a week or two after I had stable gravity readings and then bottle or keg. But as always, its your beer- do with it as you will!
 
Congrats on your first Brew!! :)

I also brewed a week ago for the first time. :rockin: That was my biggest fear - the flowing off the airlock and causing a huge mess in my fermentation fridge! :eek: Luckily, nothing like that happened our first brew! Your beer must be happy! :D Keep on Brewin'!! :ban:

Good Luck to you!!



Peace. Love. & Beer.
:mug: CHEERS! :mug:
 
Being new to this, I did not take a big enough sample to get the og, so I was basing the week time frame for fermentation on the instructions that were in the kit. If it won't hurt things to let it sit longer than 6 days, and may actually clear it up then I have no problem waiting a few days longer. I was under the impression that when it stops bubbling then the fermentation was complete, and was ready to be bottled or kegged.
 
new2brew1221 said:
Being new to this, I did not take a big enough sample to get the og, so I was basing the week time frame for fermentation on the instructions that were in the kit. If it won't hurt things to let it sit longer than 6 days, and may actually clear it up then I have no problem waiting a few days longer. I was under the impression that when it stops bubbling then the fermentation was complete, and was ready to be bottled or kegged.

Bubbling in the airlock is generally a poor indicator of fermentation activity. A stable FG is probably the best way to go. Either way, I let all of my ales, regardless of OG, sit in primary for 14 days, at which point I keg and carb. I'll pour the first drinkable pint 5-7 days later. 3 weeks from grain to glass... oh yeah! Cheers.
 
Krausen clogs up the airlock and pressure builds up until the lid blows off = big mess. Everyone has it happen to them at least once.

True, that. I was lucky when it first happened to me (in our previous house) - I had set the ferment bucket in the guest shower, which was tiled from floor to ceiling. When the lid blew it only sprayed the tile and so it was easy to clean.

So now you know what they mean when they say "You know you're a homebrewer if you've ever mopped your ceiling".
 
So, if i take reading Friday and Saturday and they're the same, would I be safe to assume that fermentation is complete and the beer is ready for the keg? Or, should I wait a few more days to let it settle some and clear up? This is an American wheat beer that was put in the bucket Sunday afternoon. Thank you for the help and advice.
 
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