New to Homebrewing

Careful with fermentation temps in an apartment. I know my apartment goes through big temp swings during all seasons. This can have a big impact on fermentation. If you have issues maintaining fermentation temp, it would be best to invest in a used mini fridge and convert it to a carboy cooler.

 

Fermenting on all of the trub is not ideal, and you'll see why pretty soon since you are using a carboy and can see what happens inside while the yeast are having lunch. It's like a lava lamp on steroids. All of that stuff will be in suspension and you'll have to wait for it to settle out once fermentation is complete. Once you think fermentation is done, if you can chill the carboy, the trub will settle more quickly.

I'd put a thermometer in the closet to see for sure. The fermentation process itself gives off heat, and fermenting too warm could cause the yeast to release phenols that may or may not get cleaned up by the yeast after they are done with their lunch. If it's over 70 near the floor in that closet, if you can find a place for the carboy that is closer to 65 degrees you'll be doing your beer a flavor favor.

 

I just looked back to your post of what it is that you're brewing. A DIPA probably has a high enough OG so that it can potentially give off a huge krausen, especially if it is fermenting a bit too warm. Is there a lot of head space in your carboy? If not you should hook up a blow-off tube right away.

And since you only have a small fermentor, if you can't find a place to ferment around 65 degrees you can easily set up a swamp cooler to keep the ambient temp around the fermentor around that that 65 temp. Google 'swamp cooler' to see all of the options, or YouTube has some videos too (I think). It can be as simple as keeping some frozen water bottles around your fermentor.

 

I suspect you meant to say fusels rather than phenols. Yeast derived phenols are strain dependent and not generally associated with high temps.

 

Oh yeah, I knew it was a 'ph' word. That's phusels with a 'ph.'

 

Dont fear the trub*


http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/
http://brulosophy.com/2015/03/22/the-impact-of-kettle-trub-part-2-exbeeriment-results/







* At least as long as the rest of your brewing practices are up to scratch

 

It's a tube that replaces the airlock. One end goes into the neck of your fermenter or else over the stem in the airlock (without the bell or lid). In the latter case, cut the narrow tip (which is prone to clogging) off of the airlock. The other end of the tube goes into a container of sanitzer solution. It's really just a big airlock, but it's much less prone to clogging. Here's more...

http://www.love2brew.com/Articles.asp?ID=279

 

yeah... can be a prob with either less head space or adding fermentable sugars to the fermenting process... very common when adding fruit in particular to fermentation... it's unlikely that it'll cause any sanitization issues if not done(think of Matt Damon Getting hurt in Martian theory), but it sure is a lot less messy for the wife... and the long term benefits of that are immeasurable.

 

the first couple of batches of "Magical Chloroform Candy(Cherry Flavor) used a pound of organic dark cherries per gallon of beer and left a beautiful pink foam all the across the floor...

 

It usually slows down and quits getting into the airlock after a day or so, but can be a little longer.

What type of airlock do you use, and do you have some quarter inch tubing to adapt the airlock to a blow off tube if it is the three piece airlock?

 

Your fermentation occurred at a warmish temp that probably accelerated the process, thus fermentation is now winding down. Not all blow-offs cause debris to reach the container of water, and your krausen activity probably peaked before you got the blow-off tube attached. I think that you're clear to put the air lock back on and clean your tube.