Hi everyone, I brewed an IPA on Sunday. I ended up with ~6 gallons in a 6.5 gallon primary ferm bucket. I used Imperial A38 Juice yeast. I originally placed the bucket in my basement under the stairs but when I checked on it a few hours later, the air temp was reading around 63 degrees so I moved it in the basement bathroom which is insulated and has an air temp closer to 70. Anyway, on Monday afternoon I noticed a few oz of liquid on top of the lid but it otherwise looked normal. This morning (Tuesday am) I noticed quite a a bit of krausen on the lid and on the floor. I had covered the bucket with a tarp to keep it dark so luckily I didn't end up with krausen on the walls. The lid was still secure but was protruding up. I removed the airlock and let some of the co2 out and put the air lock back as I had to leave for work. The krausen that was on the floor was very thick almost like a liquid soap or cake batter. It was different from the liquid I saw on the lid yesterday. I've never seen krausen so thick but then again I've never had a blow off like this so I don't know if this is abnormal. Is there anything wrong with this batch? I can think of 3 things that may have caused this: 1) put too much wort in too small of a bucket; 2) overly aerated the wort resulting in an vigorous fermentation; 3) the increase in ferm temp from ~63 to ~70 caused in change in fermentation. Any comments would be helpful but I'm mainly concerned with whether this is still a good batch. Thanks, Mike
The batch should be fine. I've had several batches do this, and one of them ended up being one of the tastiest goses I've brewed. Before the end of fermentation, you're going to want to get the lid attached firmly and the airlock properly positioned to protect your beer from oxygen. (A little oxygen exposure during peak fermentation is not a big deal in my view.) This will probably require washing the lid and the airlock, after which you'll want to sanitize them. You also might need to wipe down the rim of the bucket so that the lid can form a good seal (I would use a paper towel soaked in a little vodka). In the process, you're going to want to take care not to drip anything into your beer (other than a no-rinse sanitizer like StarSan or vodka). But don't worry too much about contamination, the beer is now a hostile environment for microbes and this is a style you won't be aging. Focus on protecting it from oxygen, which is the bigger threat in my opinion. The big problem here was insufficient headspace in the fermenter. The other factors you cited would affect the vigor of the fermentation, so in a pinch you could use them to make a blowoff less likely (also, for what it's worth, 63°F is a pretty good ambient room temperature for many beer styles). But really the headspace is the issue, and that's what you'll want to pay attention to for future batches. [edited for clarity]
^ ^ ^ Agree this is probably the culprit ^ ^ ^ FWIW, I’ve moved away from an airlock during the first week of fermentation and use a blow-off tube stuck in a half-gallon glass cider jug with about a quart of sanitizer. The jug goes in a bowl, keeping the small amount that bubbles out from getting on the floor. The tube is 3/8" ID clear tubing and fits snugly in the lid hole. How do you measure the fermenting temperature?
Thank you both for the tips. Tonight when I get home I will sanitize and replace the airlock. If there is more blow off when I check on it then I will replace the airlock with the tubing from my siphon (I think that will fit). I was referring to the air temp, not the actual temp of the fermenting wort. I just used a digital thermometer in room where I was fermenting. Perhaps after cleaning and replacing the airlock/lid I will move the bucket back under the stairs where it is a few degrees cooler.
If you decide to go the blow-off tube route, tapering the end and lubing it with sanitizer will help if it's tight.....mine's pretty snug. Considering your limited headspace, which has now presumably increased somewhat, don't push the tube in too far; that might push young beer through your rig.
Exact thing happened to me yesterday, only I’m using a carboy. Bubbles right through he airlock, so i inserted a blow-off hose and clamped it to a bucket of StarSan. I guess he clamp was too strong because it pinched the hose eventually causing a back-up and blew the lid off the carboy. Krause everywhere! Lol Just sanitize everything and hopefully you’ll be fine. From what I’ve read the odds of infection are slim at this stage, but you can only do what you can at this point. Just sanitize and try to fix the blow-off problem. Funny thing, I keep mine in the basement under the stairs too. It’s a great spot!
