Beer Forum

My step-son bought me a SNPA clone kit for Christmas, so I brewed it up last week, I used 001 for my yeast and put it nicely in the closet, The house is a little cool so fermenting at 64~. I watched the air lock....I know... I know....should have taken a gravity reading...anyway, after a week, the airlock slowed down so I transfered into a secondary (five gallong carboy) to dry hop and put the carboy under the kitchen sink. Well, to keep a short story short, the transfer kicked up my fermentation, blowing off my airlock, of course SWMBO, found it. I guess the good part of this is my hop pellets made a nice plug in the carboy neck with a small hole for C02 to escape, there's a beautiful white kraeusen head, with healty fermentation. Since I didn't leave much head room in the secondary when I transfered, I put some aluminum foil over the top, when it slows down, I'll put the air lock back on. AAAhhhhhh homebrewing....gotta love it

Last time I had a major blow off like that the airlock actually flew out of the carboy and hit my girlfriend in the face. It actually left a mark too hehehhe

Ugh... where do I start. Ok. Kitchen. It has been mentioned many times on the Session and Jamil shows that the kitchen is often dirtier than the bathroom as far as bacteria is concerned, especially the kitchen sink. Also, I have found that the cabinet under the sink gets HOT when the dishwasher is run. I suspect that it was the higher temps that kicked up the fermentation more so than the racking. I would find a more suitable place to ferment in - like an interior closet that is more temp stable.

Secondly, as you are already aware - airlock activity is not and indication of fermentation being complete. Check the gravity. Then wait a few days and check again. Yeast need the third, often forgot, conditioning phase to clean up after themselves. Use of a "secondary" is not needed unless you are doing special stuff like feeding the yeast again with sugar or fruit, or putting some wood cubes in there - and you want to leave it alone for several weeks. I leave all of my beers on the primary cake for a minimum of a week after I get three stable FG values.

When you rack too soon, you will get estery beer (best case scenario) or bottle bombs (worse case scenario). Welcome to the BN, brotha.


Mylo

I should have just dumped in the hops for dry hopping into my fermentor, oh well... I was using a hall closet until I transfered into the carboy. I don't use the dishwasher, so getting overly hot isn't a problem. Now the clean aspect, I can understand that. My fault for trying to rush it a little. I'm off to Hawaii for a month next week. When I brewed it up, I figured a week in primary, week in secondary for dry hopping, into the keg until I get back. With any luck, it will be drinkable. What the hell, gotta screw up once in a while otherwise JP will think he's the only one who screws up his beer

Chris_J wrote:Last time I had a major blow off like that the airlock actually flew out of the carboy and hit my girlfriend in the face. It actually left a mark too hehehhe

That sucks that it hit your girlfriend in the face, but I laughed out loud when I read it. I guess it's like when we laugh at those bloopers when someone gets hit in the junk...

Phil185 wrote:I should have just dumped in the hops for dry hopping into my fermentor

Agreed

TapItGood wrote:

Chris_J wrote:Last time I had a major blow off like that the airlock actually flew out of the carboy and hit my girlfriend in the face. It actually left a mark too hehehhe

That sucks that it hit your girlfriend in the face, but I laughed out loud when I read it. I guess it's like when we laugh at those bloopers when someone gets hit in the junk...

I had a bit of a chuckle when she told me. It was when she said that cat was soaked in beer gunk that I pissed myself laughing. Though to be honest at first I thought "Man I hope the beer's not infected" "

Wait til you start brewing a porter and wonder why the mash liquor isn't getting dark and realize you forgot to order the black patent. I have a nice tan porter. Is that a style?