What happened to my 2 stage yeast starter....HOLY BLOWOUT!!!

[lcbjr77]

I'm going to make a IPA in the near future with an OG of 1.084 FG of 1.018

I made a yeast starter, decanted it last night when I got home from work and let it sit on the countertop to get to room temperature.

I followed the same routine for the 2nd stage, 1500ml water to 1 cup of Muntons DME, boiled the DME for approx 10 mins cooled it in the sink and got it to approx 70* and pitched into the yeast that was in my 2000ml flask...used some sanitize foil on top to keep the bugs out.

It was on the kitchen table until I went to sleep, It had about an 1/2 of foam on top the entire time but not much going on. Put the flask in my upstairs bathroom that usually has stable temperature. Put a old shirt underneath it and went to sleep.

This morning.... HOLY MOUNT VESUVIUS...there was crap everywhere, thank god for the t shirt. It kept everything from running down the face of my vanity onto the floor. I cleaned off the sludge and gave the flask a swirl or two before I left for work... I have no clue what happened... did I used too much DME? Am I still going to be able to use this for my next batch?

I should have taken pics of this train wreck.

 

[barnaclebob]

Sounds like you just had a blowoff. As long as it was covered you should be fine to use it for your next batch. Even if it wasn't then you are still most likely ok if you use it soon. You will have lost some yeast in the eruption but i wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Foam is proportional to CO2 production rate which is proportional to metabolic rate which is proportional to cell density and gravity.

For a picture of what is going on try this Starter Calculator:
http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2015/02/starter-calculator.html