MarkIafrate
Well-Known Member
Hey everyone,
It's a bit of a long story, but bear with me please.
I brewed a chocolate stout and expected some violent activity due to the OG. I was working from the apartment and early this morning I heard the first couple violent bubbles go into the blowoff container. Fifteen or twenty minutes later I notice some relatively loud, violent bubbling and a little bulging on the lid. As time went on it got worse and I started to hear hissing coming from the lid and some krausen was bubbling through the edges. My 3/8 inch blowoff tube (the one that fits right into the pre-made hole in the lid meant for the airlock) wasn't big enough to provide enough of the CO2 to escape and I was worried about the lid blowing off because of all the krausen coming through.
I released some pressure from the carboy (after I removed everything I cared about out of the closet), re-fixed the blowoff tube and made an quick trip to Lowe's to find some 1-inch tubing (of course Monday my LHBS is closed). I swapped lids and I fixed the end of the new tub into a rubber stopper in the 1-inch hold in the new lid. This wasn't perfect and took some brute force, but I finally got a decent seal on it and seemed to be ok. Although I could still see bulging on the lid, enough CO2 (and krausen) was going through that I didn't worry about it popping off (I did keep an eye on it, though).
Now during all this there was a lot of contact with air. From when I originally removed the blowoff tube to when I undid the lid to try and fix the new lid on, etc. There were a few periods where it was exposed for minutes at a time, not to mention coming into contact with my hands and un-sanitized lids.
If that wasn't enough, when I got back from my workout the large mason jar holding the water had tipped over, spilled gunk on the towels I put down, and the tube was just sitting there exposed. I filled up a gallon jug, stuck the blowoff tube into it and cleaned up the mess.
She's bubbling away nicely now and no more krausen is coming through, just CO2 it looks like. I don't know when it tipped but it could have been exposed for a while.
My assumption is with that much activity there was little chance there was airborne contaminants going through the tube into the wort, but I was hoping someone could tell me everything will be hunky dory so I can relax, not worry and have a homebrew.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
Mark
It's a bit of a long story, but bear with me please.
I brewed a chocolate stout and expected some violent activity due to the OG. I was working from the apartment and early this morning I heard the first couple violent bubbles go into the blowoff container. Fifteen or twenty minutes later I notice some relatively loud, violent bubbling and a little bulging on the lid. As time went on it got worse and I started to hear hissing coming from the lid and some krausen was bubbling through the edges. My 3/8 inch blowoff tube (the one that fits right into the pre-made hole in the lid meant for the airlock) wasn't big enough to provide enough of the CO2 to escape and I was worried about the lid blowing off because of all the krausen coming through.
I released some pressure from the carboy (after I removed everything I cared about out of the closet), re-fixed the blowoff tube and made an quick trip to Lowe's to find some 1-inch tubing (of course Monday my LHBS is closed). I swapped lids and I fixed the end of the new tub into a rubber stopper in the 1-inch hold in the new lid. This wasn't perfect and took some brute force, but I finally got a decent seal on it and seemed to be ok. Although I could still see bulging on the lid, enough CO2 (and krausen) was going through that I didn't worry about it popping off (I did keep an eye on it, though).
Now during all this there was a lot of contact with air. From when I originally removed the blowoff tube to when I undid the lid to try and fix the new lid on, etc. There were a few periods where it was exposed for minutes at a time, not to mention coming into contact with my hands and un-sanitized lids.
If that wasn't enough, when I got back from my workout the large mason jar holding the water had tipped over, spilled gunk on the towels I put down, and the tube was just sitting there exposed. I filled up a gallon jug, stuck the blowoff tube into it and cleaned up the mess.
She's bubbling away nicely now and no more krausen is coming through, just CO2 it looks like. I don't know when it tipped but it could have been exposed for a while.
My assumption is with that much activity there was little chance there was airborne contaminants going through the tube into the wort, but I was hoping someone could tell me everything will be hunky dory so I can relax, not worry and have a homebrew.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
Mark
