I did my first batch yesterday, and got it into the primary carboy. Then, when I came home from work the next day my airlock and plug was on the floor and foam everywhere. I did install the blow off tube set in the sanitized solution when I got home and found the issue. My question is, this could have been like this all day. Will this impact the fermentation or taste of the brew?
I came here looking for an answer similar to this. I just got home and found my bubbler spewing beer out of it. I just put it in the fermenting bucket 24 hours ago.
It may have no impact on the outcome of your beer at all if the carboy mouth was stilled plugged. When the krausen is emerging nothing can go in. You lost some yeast and hop debris. If the krausen had subsided it is possible a fly may have investigated. Not to likely though.
Make sure your bucket for catching the blow off material is at the same level or lower than the base of your fermentor. If it is to high suck back is a possibility with temperature or atmospheric pressure changes. Suck back is more of a possibility with short and small diameter hoses than large diameter hoses.
The biggest concern would be fermentation temperature. Very vigorous fermentation can be a sign of wort temperature being to high. This will have an impact on the flavor of your beer.
The blow off may also have occurred because of the lack of sufficient head space in the fermentor. Five gallons of wort in a five gallon fermentor will guarantee the need for a blow off hose.
Unless I’m absolutely certain the strain I’m using won’t need a blowoff hose, as a precaution, I always use a blowoff hose (and that’s with a 6.5 gal carboy).
Better to use it and not need it than the other way around. 
[quote=“Helvetica”]Unless I’m absolutely certain the strain I’m using won’t need a blowoff hose, as a precaution, I always use a blowoff hose (and that’s with a 6.5 gal carboy).
Better to use it and not need it than the other way around. [/quote]
I second this! I have yet to actually need the blow off I put it on as a precaution. I only have a few brews under my belt but would prefer to never learn the agony of cleaning up fermenting beer/krausen. :lol:
Thanks for the thoughts. I appreciate it. The temp of the wort was at about 60 degrees, and stored in an area that I don’t think will have bugs flying around (though, I never thought of that). The plug was completely out of the carboy, and I don’t know how long (probably 4 to 10 hours).
