Too Active Fermentation??

[rkohman]

Hello,

I'm fairly new to home brewing. I've done 8 5gallon batches and with 3 of them the krausen has bubbled over right out of the airlock... on the top of the bucket and onto the floor. Two of those batches were a Heifweizen and one was an EPA.

I really need to figure out how to stop that from happening.

Is there a natural way without using those drops?

Am I doing something wrong? I only fill the bucket to the 5gallon mark.

Any help you could provide would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Richard

 

[freisste]

Control fermentation temps and increase headspace.

Re: fermentation temps, chill wort to the bottom of the manufacturer'a recommended range and slowly let it warm through the range, ending fermentation near the high end.

Re: headspace, get a bigger bucket.

Also, you could use a blowoff tube so it isn't an issue and the mess is contained.

 

[Pappers_]

Freisste's suggestion about a blowoff tube is a good one. You can put a cut off racking cane through the grommet in the bucket lid, then a tube on the piece of racking cane, with the other end of the tube in a jar of water.

 

[rkohman]

Perfect!

Thank you very much!

Richard

 

[freisste]

No problem, we are all here to help. Just keep in mind that a blowoff tube (while always a good idea) may be symptom management. If you are fermenting too hot your fermentations will be more vigorous which is more likely to result in a blowoff (and off flavors).

If you are fermenting at the "correct" temperature and still getting blowoffs, a blowoff tube (or just a bigger fermenter) are your best bet.

 

[rkohman]

No problem, we are all here to help. Just keep in mind that a blowoff tube (while always a good idea) may be symptom management. If you are fermenting too hot your fermentations will be more vigorous which is more likely to result in a blowoff (and off flavors).

If you are fermenting at the "correct" temperature and still getting blowoffs, a blowoff tube (or just a bigger fermenter) are your best bet.

Thanks again.... I'm using a special type of water that's known for super active fermentation. ... or at any rate, that has been the observation of some of the micro breweries using this filtration system. I am definately going to keep my eye on temperature though and shoot for the middle of the range where possible.

 

[charliehorse]

Thanks again.... I'm using a special type of water that's known for super active fermentation. ... or at any rate, that has been the observation of some of the micro breweries using this filtration system. I am definately going to keep my eye on temperature though and shoot for the middle of the range where possible.

Seriously? I'm skeptical. The water that you've boiled for an hour? Unless you live in a universe where the laws of Physics are different than they are here, somebody sold you a bill of good.

 

[rkohman]

Seriously? I'm skeptical. The water that you've boiled for an hour? Unless you live in a universe where the laws of Physics are different than they are here, somebody sold you a bill of good.

I can appreciate that as well. I've been using water from a company called Mineva that has done case studies with microbreweries using their water. I don;t know the tecinical side behind it.... but one of the findings on a side by side comparison was hyper-active fermentation.

http://mineva.com/Home/0/0/0/0

 

[Falcon3]

Seriously? I'm skeptical. The water that you've boiled for an hour? Unless you live in a universe where the laws of Physics are different than they are here, somebody sold you a bill of good.

I'm interested in this as well......

 

[freisste]

Is it just the mineral content? My first thought was skepticism, but if their comparisons were between mineral-enriched water vs distilled, for example, the mineral-enhanced would win.

 

[ncbrewer]

I'm also skeptical about this water and super active fermentations, but I'll offer the opinion that if you're doing extract beer, tap water is almost always fine (note the "almost"). Campden tablets can be used to eliminate the effect of the chlorine in the water.

 

[Falcon3]

Looking over that site makes me.......more skeptical. It's full of typos, gives no real scientific info except really vague descriptions or processes.....

Reminds me of the microwave water "experiment" that was viral a while back http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave/plants.asp

Maybe one of our microbiologist homebrew friends can shed some more light on this?

 

[Falcon3]

Ok, my curiosity/skepticism is seriously piqued. I've started a new thread in Brewing Science section to hopefully bring in more of our science-guru colleagues. It can be found here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/esil-water-482981/#post6250847