2can Going Nuts!

[tribalfish]

Hey everyone,

Put down a 2can of Coopers lager ( 2 cans + only 1 of yeast supplied, to 23L) last night and this morning it was bubbling happily away. But this arvo when I got home there is masses of foam at the top of fermenter and pushing out through the airlock.
Healthy fermenting is one thing, but I'm worried about air getting back through the airlock, now that the water has been blown out.
It is hot here today, but house is airconditioned to about 24c and I have the fermenter in a big esky with a frozen 2ltr ice block.

Has anyone had this before? And will it affect my beer?

PS. I only used 1 yeast as I read that Bribie G had problems with his airlock using both yeasts.

Hope someone can help, Thanks TF

 

[buttersd70]

tribal, just pull the airlock out for a minute, rinse it out, sanatise, and refill with cooled boiled water. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but just keep an eye on it so you can keep the airlock clear.

 

[Pollux]

Meet my last two can, and this was 3 minutes after a mop down.....

I figure that the CO2 is racing out fast enough to stop any air getting in, just watch the airlock doesn't get clogged and then pressurise the fermenter....

 

[davidsmith]

Looks like a work of art!!

 

[achy02]

This is one of those of times when you go to type a thread only to find someone has just beaten you to the punch. I have done the exact same brew with the exact same results. I am wondering if the recipe is some kind of setup. Mine is going nuclear, if i corked it it would probably blow the whole house sky high. I am wondering why it is going off so much????

 

[mwd]

I found if I pitch at a lower temperature say 16 C it does not go crazy and also yeast generates internal heat to come up to 18 C within a day or so which is pretty good for doing ales.

 

[achy02]

ps yeah i was stupid enough to use two yeasts. The first one (a US05 I recultured) did nothing in 24hrs so I added the packet yeast. And now......................

 

[davidsmith]

i thought your temperature was quite high for a lager 26c

 

[mynameisrodney]

Does anyone know why this happens with a 2can but not with 1 can + 1.7kg LME?

 

[achy02]

I cant speak for tribal fish but i am using ale yeast and the brew is sitting around 23deg which should be fine. I am only using lager cans because of their low bitterness.

Does anyone know why this happens with a 2can but not with 1 can + 1.7kg LME?

I reckon this is a good question.

 

[buttersd70]

i thought your temperature was quite high for a lager 26c

Most lager kits (not all) actually use an ale yeast, and are brewed at ale temps. Coopers original lager is an example. But 26 is still too high...

edit. Re foaming, it may, possibly, have something to do with the high bitterness. Isomorised alpha acid acts as nucleation sites for co2 as far as head retention is concernced, so maybe the inherrant bitterness of a toucan has something to do with the foaming....but just taking a guess there.

 

[QIK86]

My Coopers Real Ale toucan did the same thing using S-04 yeast. Sounds completely normal. Next toucan I do I might try and rig some sort of blow off tube to help reduce the clean up.

 

[achy02]

Most lager kits (not all) actually use an ale yeast, and are brewed at ale temps. Coopers original lager is an example. But 26 is still too high...

edit. Re foaming, it may, possibly, have something to do with the high bitterness. Isomorised alpha acid acts as nucleation sites for co2 as far as head retention is concernced, so maybe the inherrant bitterness of a toucan has something to do with the foaming....but just taking a guess there.

That would make sense

 

[mwd]

My yeasts are much better behaved last toucan was US-05 with lots of fermentables.
I think initial temperature is the key factor to avoid the foaming mess.

 

[buttersd70]

I'd have to agree with you tropical. combine high temps with higher gravity and you get a super vigorous kick off. Your previous post about pitching low and letting the yeast activity bring the temp up is a good idea. You want it to start vigorously enough for reduction in lag, but at the same time not so vigorously that you get big foamies.
A less rapid ferment will also lead to better yeast health and cleaner flavours.

 

[achy02]

I'd have to agree with you tropical. combine high temps with higher gravity and you get a super vigorous kick off. Your previous post about pitching low and letting the yeast activity bring the temp up is a good idea. You want it to start vigorously enough for reduction in lag, but at the same time not so vigorously that you get big foamies.
A less rapid ferment will also lead to better yeast health and cleaner flavours.

So do you think the fountain of foam going to lead to poor beer/ good beer or will it make no difference? Another thought, because of the up in the down temps in Brissy at the moment I have my brew sitting in a big plastic tub of water. This means the temp has stayed at a constant 23 deg or lower (pretty much) anyway. Would this temp encourage the foaming?

 

[buttersd70]

So do you think the fountain of foam going to lead to poor beer/ good beer or will it make no difference? Another thought, because of the up in the down temps in Brissy at the moment I have my brew sitting in a big plastic tub of water. This means the temp has stayed at a constant 23 deg or lower (pretty much) anyway. Would this temp encourage the foaming?

Don't stress, achy. Temperature would be a factor in foaming, because 23 is towards the higher end of the yeasts range, and yeast work faster and harder when warm. I didn't mean to imply, though, that foaming will cause bad beer. Simply put, the more favourable the environment is for yeast health, the cleaner the flavour profile will be. So one that kicks off too fast might not be in its optimum condition towards the end of fermentation. It doesn't mean the result would be poor, necessarily. Perhaps lower than optimum would be a gentler term.

Temperature stability is an important factor, as well, and this comes back to the issue of yeast health. Yeast don't like fluctuations in temperature, and stability is considered by some to be as important, if not more so, than the actual temperature. A stable 23 will stress the yeast less than continually going up and down between, say, 16-22. All yeasts have an optimum temperature range, and produce different flavours at different temperatures within that range. But for a generic yeast, with a relatively 'neutral' flavour profile, 18-20C as a generalism is normally advised.

But relax, have a home brew. Try and get it cooler on the next one if you can, but don't worry too much about this one. All is cool.

 

[achy02]

Once again. Good advice on all levels Butters :beer: Thanks again

 

[Mantis]

I did a toucan of coopers lager a while ago and my notes said I pitched the packet of US-05 at 26 deg, but the nights were cool then and it would have cooled a lot before the yeast got going properly. I always keep an eye on the temp after pitching ,and if it wasnt going down I would have wrapped the fermenter with a damp towel.
This brew also had 500g of crystal so it had a bit more fermentables in there as well, and it behaved well with no frothing out of the airlock.
Pitching temp and keeping an eye on the temp at the start would help me thinks. Pitching at 24-26 deg and in a warm room where it had no chance of cooling down would make the yeast go bananas.
Hey, nice scuplture in the pic above tho

 

[tribalfish]

Thanks for everyones input. I reckon my temp might have been on the high side at pitching, which probably caused the foam job.
I put in less boiling water to compensate for the 2 cans that were heated to get all of the goodness out of the tins, but it sounds like less is best for pitching temps.

Thanks agsin, TF