Primary explosion while away

[bossbrews]

Hey folks,

I am currently fermenting a 5.5 gallon batch of Allagash White. I used the Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier yeast that says you need about 33% headspace as it is a "cropping yeast." Have no idea what that means. I made a starter for it too.

In any case, I saw that and decided to add a blow off tube to the 6.5 glass carboy I used. In less than a day activity was aggressive and the blow off tube was definitely a good idea. In about 36 hours, the activity died down quite a bit, so I decided to yank off the tube and replaced it with a sanitized airlock. I then agitated the carboy a bit and was off on my trip.

I was out of town for the weekend and got word from my girlfriend earlier today (as I brew at her place) that the beer was exploding. I got in late tonight, so I won't be able to see the actual damage until tomorrow, but I guess the airlock lid and the cap part flew off and struck the ceiling. I have no idea how long the beer could've been exposed to air. I just told her to clean up the cap and top and just put them back on.

Should I be worried about anything? I know this has happened to me in the past, but not for as long as 3 days, so I'm not totally sure.

Also, why would this happen when it appears the initial aggressive fermentation had subdued? Could it have been the yeast strain? I should note that there was a significant temperature rise over the weekend towards the warm side, but it was stored in a mostly temperature controlled apartment. Could temperature catalyze that sort of activity by the yeast?

Any of your insights, comments or assessments would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Golddiggie]

Why, in all that's brew holy, did you agitate the brew the second time??? You should ONLY do that before you add yeast, so that you get air/oxygen within the wort for the yeast to reproduce in a healthy way. Once fermentation starts, you don't do it again. You risk oxidizing the brew when you do it a second time. This is why people are careful when racking brews, even if it's only one time to either the bottling bucket, or corny keg.

 

[GuldTuborg]

I used the Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier yeast that says you need about 33% headspace as it is a "cropping yeast."

It's a "top cropping" yeast. Unfortunately, you missed the most important detail of that description. That means it actually works and settles primarily on the top of the wort/beer, not on the bottom as most yeasts do (even most ale yeasts). These yeasts tend to produce a s*** ton of kräusen, hence the warning for plenty of headspace. My darling 1318 is another one of these, though it's not too bad/crazy in the kräusen department. I hope all is well with your beer. Given all the junk moving out of the fermentor, there was probably not much chance anything nasty got in. Cleanup, though, may be a nightmare. Good luck!

 

[bossbrews]

Ah I see. Curses. Thankfully, I put my carboys in a decently sized stand-in shower, so shouldn't be that hard to clean.

 

[jtakacs]

3944 is a beast. One of my favorites.

 

[chicagobrew]

We need pics!

 

[beergolf]

3944 is a beast. One of my favorites.

That is what I have been using for my wheat beers also. Works great but it can get a little wild at times. Blow off tubes are definitely required.

 

[bossbrews]

Golddiggie - I've heard from several threads that giving 3944 beers a swirl can be effective given how long it usually tends to ferment.

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=24407&start=0

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wyeast-3944-experience-129600/

 

[eastoak]

rousing yeast and agitating the carboy might be two different things. maybe the CO2 in the carboy would protect the beer from oxidation? maybe not. a sanitized racking cane swirled in the carboy would rouse your yeast with less worry about oxidation.