Air Lock overflow, what would you do, Picture included

[CamG]

Hi,
I have brewed this beer many times but this time I filled the fermentor up a little to much and it overflowed the airlock while it was at it's peak of performance....

I am over 24hrs at this point and don't think its going to get any worse so I am not concerned about using a blow off tube at this point.

My question is after the foam settles down, should I remove the air lock sanitize everything and replace it for the remainder of its time ?

Or just leave it and clean it up after it is racked into the keg ?

I have starsan in the air lock.



Thanks,
Cam

P.S this is my first picture here on HBT.... I hope it works....

 

[Double_D]

Put a fresh one on and clean that one.

 

[SilverZero]

False: You have sugary partially-fermented wort in the airlock. I'd sanitize it now. You're much less likely to get a few bugs in during the 5 minutes the airlock is out, but you could cover with a piece of star-san-sprayed foil if you really want. I'd say the risk is minimal, but if you care about sanitation in the first place you should clean up the mess ASAP.

 

[Revvy]

Take that one off, sanitize some paper towels and clean up the mess, then either clean and re sanitize that airlock, add a new one, or probably better if it's still going that active, rig up a blowoff tube.

 

[dordelli]

I would spray the airlock with starsan, especially the part where the airlock meets your carboy. I would not want that liquid to drip into the fermenter so I would wipe away as much excess liquid as I could and spray with starsan again. Remove the Bung/airlock and clean/sanitize then replace, or if you have a spare bung and airlock, sanitize and just replace the dirty one. I would not think that waiting to clean it is a good idea as you can get an infection on the airlock that may drip into your fermenter at some point.

 

[CamG]

Wow Thank you for all the quick replies !
I have extra air locks so I will make up some fresh starsan in my spray bottle and get to work on the clean up.

Thanks again,

Cam

 

[brewcat]

You'll probably have to replace the new one after you replace this one. I've had to do it multiple times with my current brew. I thought it was done this morning...nope. Also don't look over the bung when removing it, you might be sprayed with beer.

If you have a blowoff setup on hand just use that for the next day or so. It would probably save some hassle.

 

[CUrchin]

If you value the ceiling in your fermenting space, replace air lock with blowoff tube. NOW.

 

[pshankstar]

If you value the ceiling in your fermenting space, replace air lock with blowoff tube. NOW.

I agree! It's a ticking time bomb!! [emoji378] LOL

Replace it with a blow off tube. I purchased extra airlocks to have on hand so that I can quickly swap out a new one and then clean the clogged one.

 

[kh54s10]

Blow off tube at the start of EVERY fermentation......

For that one, clean it up, sanitize and install a blow off tube. Or if you don't have one, clean, sanitize, reinstall and when it fills up again repeat - repeat - repeat until it does not come up into the airlock.

 

[PADave]

Blow off tube at the start of EVERY fermentation......

+2 I usually leave my blow off tube on for a week, only because I need my setup for my next brew. Then switch to an airlock if I move the fermenter to a different location. Why deal with a mess like that if you don't have to?

 

[unionrdr]

I use 3/8" ID tubing, then cut the stem off an old airlock & insert the cut end into one end of the tubing. Then rig that into a 1/2 gallon plastic vodka jug 1/3 full of Starsan. Leave it until the ferment has a tough time burping. Then sanitize an airlock & switch to that.

 

[Natdavis777]

Anytime that happens to my airlocks, I just run it inside, flush with hot water, re-sanitize, and place back on the fermentor. Never had any issues. I really need to re-invest in blow off tubes again. I got rid of my previous setup because it was more tailored to my previous ferm chamber.

 

[Gavin C]

Blow off tubes are your friend

 

[kh54s10]

I use 3/8" ID tubing, then cut the stem off an old airlock & insert the cut end into one end of the tubing. Then rig that into a 1/2 gallon plastic vodka jug 1/3 full of Starsan. Leave it until the ferment has a tough time burping. Then sanitize an airlock & switch to that.

I put Starsan in a margarine cup with about 1/2 cup liquid in it. Just enough to keep the end of the tube submerged. That goes in an old stew pot in case of overflow. That way, if there is any suck back only a small amount would go into the beer. Most of the time I never put an airlock on at all.

 

[unionrdr]

Since mt brewery is also my man cave, I can keep an eye on things while on the computer with y'all. If it starts to suck back, I can deal with it then & there. Besides, a 1/2 gallon jug 1/4 to 1/3 full of sanitizer isn't much in the grand scheme of things.