Help! Brew Has Bubbled Out Airlock

[the_purple_dragon]

Hi all,

I've just had my brew blow out the airlock. It's been going fine for 2 days and it's in an esky modified to take fermenter and ice bottles for temp control.
The brew is a Coopers Dark Ale, supplied yeast (i know gotta get a better yeast) with 1 kg dextrose running at 22 deg.

Advice appreciated.
TPD

 

[albrews]

Hi all,

I've just had my brew blow out the airlock. It's been going fine for 2 days and it's in an esky modified to take fermenter and ice bottles for temp control.
The brew is a Coopers Dark Ale, supplied yeast (i know gotta get a better yeast) with 1 kg dextrose running at 22 deg.

Advice appreciated.
TPD

hi, is it frothing out of the airlock, or has the pressure build up to eject the airlock out of the grommet?

you could take the lid off and open ferment until the vigorous yeast activity has subsided, and then use the closed system with the fitted airlock.

cheers, alan

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Not a problem, just a nuisance. Keep cleaning the mess up - it will settle down soon. If you really, really don't like the occasional spill, use a blowoff tube. Insert about a metre or 3 of tube where the airlock goes and put other end into a 3l coke bottle a quarter of sterile water (or same a what goes ito your fermenter). This means you have a real BIG airlock and will contain all spills. Someone with a nice picture of same might post it for you noobies.

Good brewing :beerbang:

 

[mckenry]

Hi all,

I've just had my brew blow out the airlock. It's been going fine for 2 days and it's in an esky modified to take fermenter and ice bottles for temp control.
The brew is a Coopers Dark Ale, supplied yeast (i know gotta get a better yeast) with 1 kg dextrose running at 22 deg.

Advice appreciated.
TPD

Coopers yeast is well known for this. Just clean up and add water to the airlock, clean up again, add water to the airlock etc etc. 22deg is ok, but keep it down. High ferment temps produce high activity. There is no harm done to your beer whilst the CO2 is being produced. Some people even ferment without a lid - not a personal habit mind you...
If you wanna keep the mess down, you can replace your airlock with a tube (that fits in the grommet snuggly) about 1m long and run it to a big bottle with water in it. This still acts as an airlock, but will take all the crap that is fermenting out of your airlock at the moment.

 

[the_purple_dragon]

Thanks fellas,

This is my third Coopers mix and the previous 2 were done at 26 deg with no problems. Mop and fill method sounds easy.

Cheers for the prompt response.
TPD

 

[wyatt_girth]

I took the airlock out today to pour enough for a SG reading and seen that the airlock was caked up with crud on the bottom. I'm not worried about the airlock not working but I gave it a quick spray with sanitiser (brewshield) and stuck it back where it came from. Afterwards I thought maybe this was not a good idea if the remaining crud washed/dripped back into the beer because of the sanitiser. Any thoughts?

 

[white.grant]

Probably best to just crack the fermenter lid a turn rather than to remove the airlock.

 

[Tony]

3 different messes and the fix!

cheers

 

[sponge]

May be an amateur question... but what is that grey probe thing next to the airlock??


Cheers, Sponge

 

[Tony]

Oh forgat to add.

26 deg

Do you like fruit punch cordial?

Try firmenting cooler and slower........... say 19 to 20 deg.

YEs it takes a week.... not 3 days but the beer will be better.

Also..... invest in some SO-4 or US-05 and keep it to 19 deg. THe beer will be better.

THe 3 airlock breaches above....... 2 were decoction mashed 60 to 70% wheat beers brewed ar 19 to 20 deg and the stout was 1.072 dumped on 2 liters of active yeast at 30 deg. The airlock becane blocked with a hop flower that made it out of the kettle and almost ruptured the firmenter........... it was hissing like a snake on speed! never did that again!

High protein wheat beers are buggers for escaping the airlock but most others is usually an indication its a bit warm of not enough head space in the firmenter.

cheers

 

[Tony]

PT100 temperatire probe. IT monitors the temp of the firmenting wort and switches my fridge/elecy blanky on and off to hold firmentation temp within 0.1 dec c

 

[Cocko]

PT100 temperatire probe. IT monitors the temp of the firmenting wort and switches my fridge/elecy blanky on and off to hold firmentation temp within 0.1 dec c

OK, give it up - PT1000? done the google thang and I am thinkin you have a better answer... where do I get one? how does it work? Pretty new to the game but obviously temp control is the desired.. SO.... how? where? and what does it do?

 

[the_purple_dragon]

OK, give it up - PT1000? done the google thang and I am thinkin you have a better answer... where do I get one? how does it work? Pretty new to the game but obviously temp control is the desired.. SO.... how? where? and what does it do?

Don't quote me but from data acquisition experience the PT is Precision Transducers (maybe Pico Tech). I think you will get the same results by sticking your Fridgemate probe against your fermenter and attaching to a Fridgemate controller.

Does someone agree?

 

[Koikaze]

Hey sorry for reviving an old topic, but i might get yelled at for not using the ominous search button...

What are the chances of a brew becoming infected from such an encounter. My stout just bubbled out of the air lock nicely.... and ive cleaned as best i can... its still a bit sticky but i got no time to clean properly it till monday!

 

[white.grant]

Hey sorry for reviving an old topic, but i might get yelled at for not using the ominous search button...

What are the chances of a brew becoming infected from such an encounter. My stout just bubbled out of the air lock nicely.... and ive cleaned as best i can... its still a bit sticky but i got no time to clean properly it till monday!

Infection is possible, but you obviously have a vigorous yeast going about its work of making beer, so its going to offer pretty stiff competition to any passing yeast that might want a look in. Clean up the mess as best you can, watch out for insects that may like to sup at the sticky goodness and relax. There's not much you can do about it now.

Plenty of guys use a blowoff tube for vigorous firmentations. You shoud be able to find some beta on that in the annals.

cheers

Grant

 

[maca22]

PT stand for platinum
100 is the resistance (in Ohms) at 0degC

It is a resistance temperature detector(RTD), Ie. an electronic thermometer.

The big silver looking thing is just a case that either holds a set of terminal blocks or a transmitter.

For more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistance_temperature_detector
or
http://au.farnell.com/7255421/industrial-c...cility-010007td

The RTD will be wired to a process controller that controls the fridge and blanket.