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Author Topic: First time brew last night!  (Read 1164 times)

Offline Poe Kerbuddons

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First time brew last night!
« on: December 25, 2014, 06:55:00 am »
And I come out to check this morning and I see the wort has overflowed just a bit from the carboy and through the airlock through the night.  Not much, mind you.  Maybe a half cup's worth; MAYBE.  Is this bad?  Is there something I need to adjust immediately or will it still properly ferment?

Secondarily, was my mistake adding too much fluid volume to the carboy?  I suspect so, but I'm new to this.

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: First time brew last night!
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2014, 07:58:34 am »
Relax all is well. Once it subsides you might clean and resanitize the airlock. Maybe next time use a blowoff tube, basically a chunk of tubing attached to the bung with the other end in a jug submerged in a few inches of starsan. This allows the blowoff to accumulate in the jug instead of all over the floor.

Welcome to the obsession by the way

Offline HobsonDrake

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Re: First time brew last night!
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2014, 01:39:39 pm »
Congratulations! You are part of the club. Mess number one in the books. If you are lucky this will be the only time you have to clean up a overflow. Learn from it and go forward. Head space needed for fermentation foam is more than you first think.

Welcome to the forum. Welcome to home brewing. Let us know how it turns out. 
Check out my brew history and recipes at http://www.hobsondrake.com/BrewList.html

John D.

Offline Lazy Ant Brewing

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Re: First time brew last night!
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2014, 11:50:50 am »
My method for containing the occasional overflow is to place the fermenting container -- In my case a plastic bucket with lid or 5-gal large-mouth bubbler-- in a large rectangular plastic container with relatively high sides, cover it with both a black plastic garbage bag and a heavy dark-colored bath towel with the excess portion of both the bag and towel tucked inside the plastic tub. 

The reason I go to this length is I have hardwood floors through much of my house, and would not want spilled wort seeping into cracks between the boards.  Therefore, I ferment in a corner of my kitchen over a linoleum  floor and use the black garbage bag and dark towel to prevent light incursion into the fermenting wort.

I am on my 10th brew and so far I haven't had any overflow that has reached the surface of the kitchen floor or the walls in the corner.
It's easier to read brewing books and get information from the forum than to sacrifice virgins to appease the brewing gods when bad beer happens!

Offline JT

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Re: First time brew last night!
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2014, 01:49:24 pm »
Before using a chest freezer, I used to cover my carboy with a thermal shirt to block light, but it was trapping heat.  I'd imagine your trash bag would be doing the same.  Could lead to high ferm temps. 

Offline Slowbrew

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Re: First time brew last night!
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2014, 02:22:59 pm »
I would get a tub that my bucket/carboy could sit in.  Use a t-shirt to block out the light and act as a swamp chiller if the temps are getting too high.  That way you catch the overflow and have some options too.

Paul
Where the heck are we going?  And what's with this hand basket?