FV Foam explosion

[Deanboy]

Hi guys,
I have done about 5 all grain recipes BIAB (Crown Urn) to find the one I like best and all have fermented and reacted differently each time. I have followed Dr Smurtos golden ale grain bill but changed the hops on all occasions to get a taste of flavour differences. Some came out with a lot lighter ABV than others. Is this common to get mixed results every time?
The latest one I have in the fridge fermenting is an english bitter
4.5 kg BB ale
.5 kg munich 1
.25 kg crystal
Danstar english yeast
I looked in the fridge the next morning and it had spewed foam all out and over the lid and the airlock was on the bottom of the fridge.
This was the first time I had rehydrated the yeast in water before pitching. My questions are
1. Why has the yeast reacted so violently, is this yeast so much different to Safale 05
2. With gunk stuck to the underside of the FV lid and not having an airlock lid on it for quite a while will it be infected?
3. Are hydrometers reliable after 5 years?
I had been extract brewing for 5 years without a problem.

 

[malt junkie]

Sounds fine, this is why I use a blow off tube for the first 3 days of ferment, and when adding candy to belgians. You haven't stated pitch temp, or what your regular pitch temp is, temperature especially at pitch and the first 24 hours of ferment is important.

 

[Deanboy]

Pitch temp was around 25c mark on all the brews.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

You should only get variations if you vary the mash technique or the grain bill basically. Different yeasts can finish differently but if your brewing GA consistently then different hop choices wont make for any variation of ABV, only flavour.

1. Why has the yeast reacted so violently, is this yeast so much different to Safale 05. Haven't tried it but higher yeast count can have violent ferments. Yeast can vary how vigorous they are and attenuation etc.
2. With gunk stuck to the underside of the FV lid and not having an airlock lid on it for quite a while will it be infected? It should be fine because its releasing Co2 while fermenting strong so its unlikely anything could enter.
3. Are hydrometers reliable after 5 years? Sorry, don't know if they can deteriorate after time. Test it in water it should read 1.000.

 

[Bribie G]

25 degrees sounds like the culprit.

Do you have temperature control?

 

[Danscraftbeer]

:huh: I missed that post. Yeah 25c is too high. Aim for 18c ideally.

 

[manticle]

25 was pitch, not necessarily ferment temp

While I prefer pitching cool, pitching slightly high and cooling is common enough.

 

[Deanboy]

I have a fridge the FV sits in with the temp controlled to 18c. I add the yeast then whack it into the fridge, Is usually at 18 by the next morning. There is gunk all dried up and stuck to the air lock on top I'm praying it doesn't have an infection the wort smelt so good. lotsa East Kent Goldings in it.

 

[Droopy Brew]

You say 25C is constant across all brews too so probably not the issue. I would say a combination of a different yeast (I find US05 doesnt throw a hell of a lot of krausen) and the fact you rehydrated meaning you had happier more vibrant yeast.

A big krausen and overflowing airlock is a good sign generally. Clean up what you can with starsan, replace the airlock and let it do its thing.

 

[Bribie G]

Temperature looks ok then. I always find that S-05 is a "leisurely'' yeast compared to some of them that take off quicker and are done and dusted in just a few days. Depending on what fermenter you have, clingwrap is a good option, using the O ring that comes with the lid to pin it down, and can usually contain vigorous fermentations by balooning out and saving your fridge from being sprayed from the inside.

This is a photo of the best explosion I've ever had and the good old clingo wasn't defeated.

 

[Deanboy]

Just some feed back, the brew turned out all good. It smelt ok and is bottling nicely, I can only wait to see if the abv is in there as it finished a bit high.