Today I started my first batch (1 gallon - white house honey).
about 4 hours after setting the fermentation jug in the closet i checked to see how it was doing…i’m impatient! 
I was glad i did because the foam had bubbled out the top of the airlock and made a big mess.
so my real question is…after cleaning the floor, i notice i am left with about 80% of the liquid portion in the fermentation jug. is it ruined? can this still be a successful, but smaller, batch.
any assistance is appreciated.
thanks,
First off, welcome to the forum. Great place for info.
Your batch is not ruined. Just clean and sanitize the airlock and top of jug. Put the airlock back in (or blowoff tube if you have one). you’ll just end up with a little less beer.
If you continue to make one gallon batches, try to find a bigger fermenting vessel. There’s just not enough head space to accommodate the krausen in your current situation.
Also, look into controlling your fermentation temperature. Most folks here will agree that your beer temp (for most ales) should be in the low 60’s to produce the best beer, plus it will help in controlling blowoffs. Just google swamp cooler–super easy for a one gallon batch.
Good luck and be patient-and maybe get another batch going asap!
:cheers:
Ron
thanks for the reply. i guess it doesn’t default to emailing when someone does. i just logged back in and saw you answered.
bottled it tonight, hoping it all goes well.
now it is time to start a new batch.
another question though…if it goes BAD…like not sanitized properly bad, at what point can you tell?
the beer smelled and looked good today as i was bottling, and i am just wondering at what point you can tell that things have gone south. is it that first swig?
thanks,
I usually give mine at least a week in the bottle before I try one, knowing that a week is usually not enough. I then try one at two weeks, which is usually my minimum for good carbonatiion.
Try to keep the bottles at around 70* or a little higher. I would also keep them in a plastic container–you bottled a little early probably–7 days is pretty quick, although fermentation could have been complete. Most folks on this forum tend to like 2-3 weeks minimum in the fermentor to allow for optimum attenuation and allowing the yeast to clean up by products that are not tasty in beer. You should get a hydrometer to test gravity–only way to know if the yeast is truly done. If you bottle before the yeast is done, you can end up with bottle bombs, since you would be adding priming sugar to a beer that still had fermentable sugar in it.
When you sample one, make sure you put it in the fridge for at least 24 hours first so the co2 can be reabsorbed into the beer.
I don’t have any experience with beer going bad because of unsanitary conditions, but I would guess that after a week in the bottle, you would probably be able to detect a problem.
Google “how to brew” by John Palmer. There is a free version (not updated) on the web that is a good place to start when learning to brew.
Good luck at get brewing again!
:cheers:
Ron
Hi - I’ve been reading this thread which has been super helpful but have a few other questions. I just brewed my first batch ever over yesterday (Caribou Slobber) and this morning I noticed a bit of bubble overflow coming out of the airlock and the sanitized liquid I had in there is now brownish. Right now its being kept somewhere that stays anywhere from 65-69degrees.
1 - Should I move it to ferment somewhere a little colder? My basement stays in the low 60s.
2 - Should I clean the airlock and put more water/sanitized liquid in there?
3 - is it possible I put too much yeast in there?
[quote=“JuanitaLou”]Hi - I’ve been reading this thread which has been super helpful but have a few other questions. I just brewed my first batch ever over yesterday (Caribou Slobber) and this morning I noticed a bit of bubble overflow coming out of the airlock and the sanitized liquid I had in there is now brownish. Right now its being kept somewhere that stays anywhere from 65-69degrees.
1 - Should I move it to ferment somewhere a little colder? My basement stays in the low 60s.
2 - Should I clean the airlock and put more water/sanitized liquid in there?
3 - is it possible I put too much yeast in there?[/quote]
1 - Low 60’s is perfect for just about all ales, so I’d go with that.
2 - Yep, wipe everything down with sanitizer, clean out the gunk, and consider using a blow-off hose if the krausen is still high.
3 - Did you make a 1-gallon kit as well? An entire pack of yeast would be overkill, which could cause an agressive fermentation, but most likely it was too hot. What yeast did you use?
Thank you for such a quick response! I think I used a half packet of yeast but am afraid I may have put in more than half by accident. Its a 1-gallon kit. I’m not entirely sure about the type of yeast. I still have the package at home so I can check
Thank you again for helping out a newbie. I just cleaned/re-sanitized and put in the basement. There was a ton of gunk right at the top of the fermentation jug. I scooped some out via sanitized spoon. Can I assume that was gross trube that got in there? The yeast is Windsor British style beer yeast
It was probably just krausen. Having warmer temperatures and a large amount of yeast can make for some significant krausen and blow-off. Shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Once fermentation slows, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let it warm up again to help clean up any fermentation by-products from the warm start. But all in all, sounds completely normal.
[quote=“porkchop”][quote=“JuanitaLou”]Hi - I’ve been reading this thread which has been super helpful but have a few other questions. I just brewed my first batch ever over yesterday (Caribou Slobber) and this morning I noticed a bit of bubble overflow coming out of the airlock and the sanitized liquid I had in there is now brownish. Right now its being kept somewhere that stays anywhere from 65-69degrees.
1 - Should I move it to ferment somewhere a little colder? My basement stays in the low 60s.
2 - Should I clean the airlock and put more water/sanitized liquid in there?
3 - is it possible I put too much yeast in there?[/quote]
1 - Low 60’s is perfect for just about all ales, so I’d go with that.
2 - Yep, wipe everything down with sanitizer, clean out the gunk, and consider using a blow-off hose if the krausen is still high.
3 - Did you make a 1-gallon kit as well? An entire pack of yeast would be overkill, which could cause an agressive fermentation, but most likely it was too hot. What yeast did you use?[/quote]
I have to agree with the temp control. My first Slobber made a huge mess because I let it go in the 70s, since that single batch I got a freezer and temp controller and every batch since hasn’t had an issue, including the second batch of Slobber. I was actually worried with the second batch because my marks on my buckets were off for the 5 gallon the first time and it overflowed figured this time with almost another inch of wort it would as well but not issues because I can keep it closer to 60.
