Such thing as "too much" activity?

[brewmarshall]

Yesterday I finished brewing an APA with a OG of 1.053. I pitched a 2L starter of yeast harvested from 2 bottles of AleSmith XPA (guessing it's WLP001). Within 3 hrs of pitching there were small bubbles in the blow off vessel. The bubbles have become constant- like an aquarium pump is running in there. Occasionally there is a larger bubble more characteristic of the activity I usually get from my fermentor.

I am concerned that through the 5 days of harvesting yeast there was an infection- I have not had one before. Does mold, wild yeast, or bacterial produce CO2 like that?

Is this a symptom of too much yeast?

I guess my problems could be worse. Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Yooper]

That sounds fine! The only thing I'd be concerned about is the temperature- sometimes if you pitch warm, and fermentation kicks off like that, the temperature of the fermenting beer can easily get too high (like 10 degrees above ambient!). But if you have a stick-on thermometer and the beer is under 70 degrees, you're absolutely fine!

 

[brewmarshall]

Hmm, thanks, Yooper. It's still bubbling away... It smells a bit peachy. Is that weird?

I know its a bit premature but does anyone have some reliable sources on how to tell when a batch is ruined? I will be super pissed (I may cry too), but I would rather dump and re-brew than sit around waiting

 

[coryforsenate]

It's only too much activity when it overflows your fermenter or gets too hot.

 

[kanzimonson]

Here's how to tell if it's ruined: you taste it. Does it taste ruined? If yes, then it is ruined.

 

[RM-MN]

When you pitch your yeast the first thing it does is multiply which it continues until it uses up the oxygen. Then it begins its anaerobic processes where the major byproducts are alcohol and CO2. The rate it does these processes is dependent on the temperature and the higher the temp (to the limit of what the yeast can stand) the faster the process, which is an exothermic reaction (it gives off heat as it eats the sugars) that further raises the temperature which speeds up the process.

I tend to like the results better when the process is slower so I pitch when the wort is cooler and keep it in a cooler environment to keep the process slower.

 

[brewmarshall]

It has finally slowed down to normal activity. Thanks for all the advice. I have decided that things just got too hot in the closet- getting a chamber for the garage tomorrow.

I love the advice about how to test for ruined-ness.

"just taste it"
Brilliant

The warmer temp has already done the damage would it be helpful to being down the temp for the remainder of the two weeks or so?