New brewer, big issue

I purchased the big mouth bubbler deluxe kit with primary and secondary fermenter. Read all the instructions. Brewed my first batch of caribou slobber and finished at about 9pm last night. Woke up at 6am to find it all over my floor. I filled it to the 5 gallon line as instructed, it blew the bung and airlock right out. It’s sitting at about 65 degrees. I guess it’s very active, but, I lost a half gallon. Did it get contaminated? Is something wrong? I ended up pumping more out afterward because it started to do it again, even with the blowoff hose on it. Any help is appreciated.

It happens… especially early on, fermentations can get a little rambunctious. The good news is that if stuff was spewing out, that means positive pressure- more stuff got out than got in. So I wouldn’t worry too much about contamination. The blowoff tube is the right move… I’m sure it will settle down within another day or so, at which point you can put in the airlock and carry on.

Your temp looks okay… I’m assuming you’re using one of the more standard ale yeasts. Most folks like to have an ambient temp around sixty or maybe a bit lower, since the fermenting beer will be a tad warmer than your ambient. 65 is maybe a little warm, but not so much that I’d worry. Also, I’ve heard CS is notorious for a big beastly fermentation.

Carry on, replace the airlock once things settle down, and maybe aim for a bit cooler next time. And start with the blowoff tube for the first couple of days.

When you say it’s sitting at 65 are you talking about room temp or wort temp?

Did you use the primary 6.5 gallon bubbler? I did the CS kit and fermented in a 6 gallon carboy. It did need a blow off tube on the second day but didn’t lose any wort. Don’t worry too much, most fermentations are nowhere near as violent as the CS. Get yourself some Fermcap, NB sells it. It’s an anti foaming agent that will keep the foam in check during fermentation. It’s also great in the kettle during the boil, stops all that foam wanting to boil over.

Paul

Thanks for the info guys, I’m more at ease now. The wort temp is around 68 now. I used the bubbler for my fermentation. Luckily I have a couple people who gave me tips prior to starting this and I didn’t have a boil over issue on my first batch. I know I’m going to be hooked on this hobby so I will be back with more questions and hopefully answers one day. I’m a big IPA drinker so I certainly want to try one of those soon. I purchased 3 extra glass carboys and have my secondary fermenter Bubbler so I can continue to make more while I’m waiting. I did buy a yeast starter, it seams like it is just a sensible thing to have. I have many pounds of centennial and nugget leaf hops coming to me during the harvest this year so I have to plan for those. I’m fortunate to have a friend who grows organic hops. Thanks again for all the info! I’m located in Michigan so for now I think I will just bounce between my favorite taprooms and hope my beer tastes good when she’s ready!