Foaming Airlock

[Sydneybrewer]

hi guys,

i am new to brewing and i am about 4 days in to my first homebrew fermenting, well last night i decided to check on my beer and foam was spewing out of the airlock, so i have put it in the tub and left it overnight and the foam is still spewing out an alarming rate this morning. please help what should i do if anything.

 

[Renegade]

Just clean the airlock & lid and reinstall it, no big deal.

Did you happen to use more yeast than recommended, or is your brew loaded with sugar ? These factors might start a volcano.

But if you're worried about mess in the future, chuck the airlock, install a vinyl tube into the grommet and put the other end in a jug of water, then into another container. It serves the same purpose as an airlock, but the mess will be easier to clean up.

There's every chance your beer is NOT ruined, but you can rest assured its definatly fermenting

 

[Sydneybrewer]

i used 2 cans of coopers lager, and half kilo of dextrose, and 1 packet of the yeast inside the lid of the coopers can.
i saw the step by step recipe on youtube and thought i would try it, except that guys didn't foam up.

 

[brettprevans]

you mean like this post 16.

It just means the yeast has gone nuts. healthy healthy yeast. what temp were you fermenting at?

edit
although reading now that it was a coopers standard yeast, id say it was more down to the amount of sugars available to it (ie a toucan + dex). im assuning you fermented at around 20C.

also what volume did you make it up to and how big is your fermentor.

 

[mwd]

Also check your temperatures high temps will cause fast ferments.

Coopers kit yeast does have a habit of going ballistic though especially if you are above 20C and doing toucans. It will die down after a few days.

Clean up and refill your airlock with a bit of sanitizing fluid or cooled boiled water when it all dies down.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

i made the standard 23 litres and sitting at a stable 21 degrees

also its the standard coopers micro-brew kit which can hold 27-28 litres filled to the brim i am guessing since the readings stop at 25 litres and a fair bit of space after that.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

also thanks for the advice guys

so i am guessing this can be quite normal then and doesn't necessarily mean i have an infection.

 

[brettprevans]

healthy ale yeast isnt uncommon to get a good couple inches of kraussen (foam) so add in a little more heat and lots of fermentables and you get more kraussen. if theres not enough head space then it will climb out of the fermentor.

no issues at all.

 

[Renegade]

so i am guessing this can be quite normal then and doesn't necessarily mean i have an infection.

Not 'normal', but not unknown (there's plenty of members here with experience that still get gushing airlocks - I'm looking at you, BribieG )

I wouldnt be worried about infection just yet - this is not a sign of beer gone bad at all, it's just a vigourous healthy yeast activity as citymorgue said.

 

[manticle]

Only worry about infection when your beer tastes infected. If it doesn't taste infected then it's probably not infected and if your palate can't detect infection then it probably doesn't matter.


Obviously if you drink the beer and die then it matters but I'm not sure when I actually last heard of that happening.

Crazy krausen in a high gravity brew (eg a toucan) is not an immediate cause for concern.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

thanks guys the foaming has since died down and not much gas even coming out of the airlock now, about to take a reading

 

[Bribie G]

i used 2 cans of coopers lager, and half kilo of dextrose, and 1 packet of the yeast inside the lid of the coopers can.
i saw the step by step recipe on youtube and thought i would try it, except that guys didn't foam up.

I've made two Coopers Lager toucans in my career and they do that every time :icon_cheers: And that's only with using one sachet of yeast. No panic.