My small batch overflowed

[Rickybobby17b]

I'm pretty new to brewing, I've been brewing with friends since the spring so I just bought a small batch brew setup so I can change ingredients and fine tune some recipes. I woke up this morning with the yeast doing its thing in the primary but it bubbled up through the airlock and started to run out onto the floor. It was 430 this morning so I figured I would just pour out some to give room for expansion and everything in the small carboy, but I'm just wondering if I poured out my yeast. Ive been reading how to brew and Palmer generalizes that many ale yeasts prefer to ferment on top (which is the yeast I used), so by pouring some out to make room in that little carboy did I inadvertently ditch my yeast. Anyone else have a similar experience and if so how'd it turn out

 

[troy2000]

I'm pretty new to brewing, I've been brewing with friends since the spring so I just bought a small batch brew setup so I can change ingredients and fine tune some recipes. I woke up this morning with the yeast doing its thing in the primary but it bubbled up through the airlock and started to run out onto the floor. It was 430 this morning so I figured I would just pour out some to give room for expansion and everything in the small carboy, but I'm just wondering if I poured out my yeast. Ive been reading how to brew and Palmer generalizes that many ale yeasts prefer to ferment on top (which is the yeast I used), so by pouring some out to make room in that little carboy did I inadvertently ditch my yeast. Anyone else have a similar experience and if so how'd it turn out

I'm far from being an experienced expert, but I'm guessing that if you had that active a fermentation, there's still plenty of yeast left. Top fermenting doesn't mean it all floats on the very top.... it means it hangs around the upper part more than the lower.

 

[Rickybobby17b]

So since that overflow I've yet to see any more bubbles no action in the airlock and no foam or anything really happening at all

 

[RM-MN]

So since that overflow I've yet to see any more bubbles no action in the airlock and no foam or anything really happening at all

That's fairly typical of ale yeast, especially if fermented warm. They get really active eating the easy sugars and excreting alcohol and CO2. When the sugars are gone, there is no more CO2 produced but the yeast are still at work breaking down the intermediate products. Don't rush the yeast, they still need plenty of time as the intermediate products of fermentation are much more difficult for them to digest.

 

[Rickybobby17b]

Ok I had planned on 10 days in primary then 2 weeks secondary should I stick with that or give the yeast some more time in primary

 

[RM-MN]

Ok I had planned on 10 days in primary then 2 weeks secondary should I stick with that or give the yeast some more time in primary

Do you have a good reason to move it to secondary? If not, leave it in the primary. The old bugaboo about off flavors from leaving it on the yeast cake has been disproven and lots of good things happen when the beer has lots of yeast to work on it.

 

[stonecutter2]

Ok I had planned on 10 days in primary then 2 weeks secondary should I stick with that or give the yeast some more time in primary

Stick with the plan. What do you plan to do in secondary? As others said, consider leaving it in primary. You can even dry hop in primary.

Also, I doubt you literally could have poured off all the yeast There's a lot in there. You may have reduced the yeast cell count, but they will reproduce and gain strength so long as they have the sugars they need to eat.

Next time, instead of an airlock, use a "blow off" tube - a ength of aquarium tubing that fits into your bung or plastic screw cap on top of the bottle. Clean and sterilize that tube, and then put one end in your fermenter and the other end into a 1/2 gallon jug that is about half full of sanitizer. You essentially create a huge airlock!

Any blow off foam or junk will travel through the tube, into your jug, and end up in the sanitizer in there. No mess, no fussing, you just wait for the krausen to shrink and then you switch the tube for a regular airlock.

I ferment in small 1 gallon jugs a lot. I use a blow off tube for the first 3-5 days or until the krausen recedes. Then I replace with an airlock.

 

[Rickybobby17b]

Thanks guys I was gonna move to the secondary because my buddy who got me into brewing always did but if its not necessary that's awesome ill brew another batch up and use my secondary as my primary