brew overflowing during fermentation

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JBrew

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Help needed!

This is my fourth brew attempt and i decided to try utilise all 30L of my fermenter. Its been brewing for 48 hours and its now overflowing through the small hole on top of the lid where the airlock sits. Have bubbles foaming out of the airlock.

Lid is covered with about a litre of brew. Is the batch doomed? SHould i reduce volume through the tap, carefully remove brew from top of lid with clean cloth and hope that the impending infection doesn't eventuate??

And advice appreciated.

Cheers,

Jay
 
You could sponge off the excess and give it a spray with some sanitiser...but it might continue pushing more beer out the airlock during the night.

I'd carefully take the lid off and replace with glad wrap using the big lid o-ring to keep it in place.
Would be a shame to have to drain some out...depends how full it is.

Good luck!!
 
Leave the lid on. Clean up the outside and airlock, sanitise and replace. No the brew is not doomed but you may have to repeat this while the brew is actively fermenting.

Consider glad wrap for your next brew and fill the fermenter a bit less.
 
Hook up a blow off tube or let it run and clean it up when it dies back, look a bit lower on the latest threads for the "show us your krausen" thread... It's not uncommon
 
Commonly known as a krausplosion.

If you ferment in cubes then it will be a regular feature in your brewery.

Nothing to worry about at all.
 
Cheers all for the advice.

Just cleaned it up and sanitised the f**k out of everything. Airlock now bubbling away as it should...
 
JBrew said:
Help needed!

This is my fourth brew attempt and i decided to try utilise all 30L of my fermenter. Its been brewing for 48 hours and its now overflowing through the small hole on top of the lid where the airlock sits. Have bubbles foaming out of the airlock.

Lid is covered with about a litre of brew. Is the batch doomed? SHould i reduce volume through the tap, carefully remove brew from top of lid with clean cloth and hope that the impending infection doesn't eventuate??

And advice appreciated.

Cheers,

Jay
Could you just briefly explain to me how your wife feels about all this... I can remember mine's reaction and am curious..
 
Brew fridge is in backyard and away from the prying eyes of Wifey.....
 
Fitting a blow off can save you much cleaning effort and is also a good way to collect good viable healthy yeast..

Blow Off.JPG

Schematic

Diagram.JPG

The little cut off bit of funnel through the grommet hole is the trick to my blow off tube as it.. well... funnels the explosive krausen into the tube, when it dies down, remove the tube and lid and replace with gladwrap.

Simple Really
 
manticle said:
Leave the lid on. Clean up the outside and airlock, sanitise and replace. No the brew is not doomed but you may have to repeat this while the brew is actively fermenting.

Consider glad wrap for your next brew and fill the fermenter a bit less.
manticle said:
Leave the lid on. Clean up the outside and airlock, sanitise and replace. No the brew is not doomed but you may have to repeat this while the brew is actively fermenting.

Consider glad wrap for your next brew and fill the fermenter a bit less.
+1 for this approach. Started trying to prevent this recently by swirling the fermenter twice a day to reduce the krausen. Has worked well on two batches so far both with German ale.
What I am wondering though is whether there could be flavor I,pacts from this technique?
 
Wolfman said:
I can also recommend the use of a blow off. You do however have to crack the seal on your blow off bottle to let the Co2 escape.

attachicon.gif
trim.rnfaOh.MOV

One of my recent ferments.
Put an airlock in the blow off bottle
 
As long as you're not swirling hard enough to add extra air/oxygen after the initial oxygen uptake in the yeast cycle,I can't see any issues.
 
I like the swirl idea, today i had a splosion, first in my brewery. Cleaned up and all good now.
 
I seem to get 'Krausplosions' when I use the Bunnings fermenters with the red lid, not as much head space as the traditional 30L fv

I like the blow off tube idea, Thanks Yob for the explanitory drawing
 
Glad wrap is pretty good as well for krausen crowd-control - I've never had one blow off, just a few leaks oozing down the sides.


RIS explosion.jpg
 
helles said:
Put an airlock in the blow off bottle
airlocks aren't really necessary are they? i don't see the need for them.
 
breakbeer said:
I seem to get 'Krausplosions' when I use the Bunnings fermenters with the red lid, not as much head space as the traditional 30L fv

I like the blow off tube idea, Thanks Yob for the explanitory drawing
it's what i use too mate. i just drilled a hole in the lid and squeezed tubing through. have the other end sitting in a 1.25L coke bottle with a small amount of diluted starsan (or sterile water).

photo 2.JPG
 
I use cling wrap on a willow jerry stuck held on with an elastic band. It has not come off though as Bribie shows sometimes you have some cleaning up to do :)
 
Bribie G said:
Glad wrap is pretty good as well for krausen crowd-control - I've never had one blow off, just a few leaks oozing down the sides.

attachicon.gif
RIS explosion.jpg
I've got my first splosion fermenting at the moment and it's an RIS that looks almost identical to this pic of yours Bribie (except my fermenter is round).
My question is, should I clean up the mess in the bottom of my fermenting fridge now and possibly have to do it over and over, or is it safe to just wait and clean it at the end of high krausen? I haven't touched the glad wrap seal. Is it safe to assume the positive pressure form inside should keep the nasties out?
 

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