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I went to check on my stout this morning cause I didnt hear my airlock bubbling. It is totally flowing up through the airlock and fermenting like crazy. Any advice on what to do now? I have never had big fermentation like this before -- is my beer at risk of being infected due to the foam coming right through the lock? Any advice is appreciated

Heh, this is a very common problem.

You need to used a blow off tube that leads to another vessel like a jug or mason jar of sanitary solution. A quick search should get you the details, it's a common point of discussion.

Clean up the mess, mop the ceiling if necessary. Sanitize the airlock again and RDWHAHB (Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew). Better yet, use a blow-off tube instead of an airlock.

If stuff is flowing out, nothing is flowing in --> your beer is fine.

akr71 wrote:Clean up the mess, mop the ceiling if necessary. Sanitize the airlock again and RDWHAHB (Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew). Better yet, use a blow-off tube instead of an airlock.

If stuff is flowing out, nothing is flowing in --> your beer is fine.

Yep. I have started to ferment on a plastic potting tray to catch any over flow. I still have to clean the walls on occasion.

Sandy

I would try to score a clean lid and do a swap for peace of mind and a quick fix. You may be beyond that now.

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Be careful, this can happen with a clogged airlock. I just saw this one on Reddit:

I have a pic like that, except it's with Imperial Porter on light green carpet. That room now has laminate flooring.

I had a stout do that the fall... On the bright side I learned a valuable lesson in that mr clean magic erasers work like a charm

I'm still looking into how to get the stout out of the plaster in my ceiling from almost a year ago....

Years ago I had a glass carboy explode from a plugged airlock, it was a bloody mess and crying shame.

When I first got back into brewing last year, NG's instructions advised just placing the lid loosely on the bucket rather than sealing it. I was skeptical, but I tried it. I no longer follow NG's instructions, but I have continued to primary without sealing the bucket and haven't had a problem yet. I like the idea that it doesn't have the potential to explode like that, and so far I've been quite happy with everything I've made this way. Other than the risk of losing a batch due to contamination, would I notice a big difference in overall quality by sealing the primary and using a blow-off?

I heard Chris White (white labs) interviewed and he strongly suggests open fermentation for the first few days. I think his comment was more about O2 but still it would help with this too.

I seal my primary because I leave the wort in there for up to 3 weeks to let everything drop and clear out.

If I left the lid opened on top I'd likely have contamination issues.

Graham - That's interesting. Was Chris White suggesting that it is actually good to allow as much c02 as possible to escape early in the fermentation? Is c02 bad for the yeast?

Jamie - If I were kegging I would definitely do the same as you. I like the secondary because sometimes my beer sits for a couple of months before I get around to bottling.

Graham.C wrote:I heard Chris White (white labs) interviewed and he strongly suggests open fermentation for the first few days. I think his comment was more about O2 but still it would help with this too.

I do this on my english style ales, not completly open but I don't snap the lid down at all once it gets going.

I can't recall exactly. I'll listen to it again and report back when I get a free moment. It was on the Jamil Show, the Saison episode. I think he walks into the studio half way though the episode and they just go off an a tangent with Jamil picking Whites brain... I can't recall if they even finish up with Saisons.

Sorry to hijack but, I read a thing about Ringwood where they talk about the necessity of open fermentation (in this particular operation anyway....) because the conversion sucking enough O2 out the room that you'd pass out. Also, as per Rubbertoe's Reddit post, I find this hilarious and I don't know why:

I like Shane's solution best...use a bigger bucket! WineKitz has the clear ones, and they hold ~30L.
Ive only had once where I needed a blowoff (with only 20L in it!), and the bonus is theyre marked in 1L increments.

LiverDance wrote:

Graham.C wrote:I heard Chris White (white labs) interviewed and he strongly suggests open fermentation for the first few days. I think his comment was more about O2 but still it would help with this too.

I do this on my english style ales, not completly open but I don't snap the lid down at all once it gets going.

Same here

Just an update. I cleaned up the bucket and cleaned and sanitized the airlock/bung and popped it back in. It bubbled pretty strong for another day or 2 but no more overflows. Thanks for all the tips -- looks like the crisis has been averted