Still Good??

[MMessenger79]

So I came home today to find out that my blow off hose on a Belgian Dubbel that I am fermenting (2 days old) blew today. There was krausen/beer all over my living room. Guess I need a bigger hose as the current one was plugged solid. There is also about a gallon and 1/2 of liquid missing out of the fermenter now. My question is, Is this going to be okay? Obviously I will have to adjust my sugar for bottling, but what about the flavor, abv %, ect? Will this reduced volume ruin my beer?

 

[duboman]

Everything will be fine as there is enough CO2 pushing out that would prevent anything from getting in. As far as the ABV, flavor, etc I would imagine there may be a little difference but who knows, it will still be great beer!

 

[cheezydemon3]

Ruined!!! RUINED I SAY!!!!!!

well, actually it is probably fine.

 

[krahm]

You know, I've read the posts warning against this, but I've always been skeptical that it actually happens. Sorry to hear that it happened to you, but I'm going to be more careful about this now....

Just curious, though--what size hose were you using?

As for your actual question, personally, I don't see why losing volume would affect the composition of what's still left in the carboy. You may have lost more yeast than you'd really like to, I suppose, depending on the strain (some varieties are more concentrated in the krausen, after all. But maybe one of the more experienced hands will correct me on this. You're running some risk of infection, of course, with the open container, but then again, it could easily be fine. I don't see anything to do but to clean it up, reattach an airlock of some kind and let it run its course.

 

[MMessenger79]

It was a 5 gallon glass carboy with a 7 1/2 stopper with a 3/8 inch blow off hose ( I now realize that it is too small). I cleaned out the hose and put it back in and it instantly began bubbling again. I was bummed out because it was my first try at all grain brewing and all seemed to be going well until I came home and found a mess. I now know why people use 6.5 gallon carboys!!!

 

[carlisle_bob]

... I now know why people use 6.5 gallon carboys!!!

Hi

... and why some people put the fermenter in the bath tub if they are going to be gone all day.

Bob