Overflow! foaming FV - Coopers Canadian Blonde

[philip5660]

So, First brew started on Friday night, coopers canadian blonde.

I followed the instructions to the letter and pitched the yeast at about 24 degrees. The kit recommends a temp of 21-27 so I went somewhere in the middle at 24.

Saturday morning - no activity (still early days)
Saturday night - Loads of Foam and the lid was raised by the pressure.

Sunday morning - Lid was raised, pushing off and leaking some foam. Foam had also pushed it's way through the airlock and displaced all the water and overflowed little.

Maybe everything is fine but I did not expect quite so much drama and foam to push it's way through the airlock.
I've taken the temp down to 22 now.
Did I make things too warm? or do these things just happen?

 

[gsidford]

The same thing happened with my first extract brew when it got fermenting. That was in the kitchen, not particularly warm and it was certainly alive. A couple of days later it had subsided and the brew is no worse for wear.

I would think this is actually a sign of a very healthy fermentation, but more vigorous then my previous brews.

 

[philip5660]

yeah i'd certainly rather have this than no action at all.
Well I cleaned up, relieved the pressure, fitted a clean airlock and bung, and knocked the temperature back a bit.
Just have to wait and see now!

 

[philip5660]

This is still going strong , more foaming and overflowing! I guess I just sit it out until it settles down. Can't believe its pushing all the water out of the airlock

 

[Bjorn Toulouse]

mine did the same thing, I thought it was the extra sugar I added. Moved it to a cooler location and it settled down. Its been brewing for 7 days now and is starting to slow down.
will have to take a reading tonight.

 

[philip5660]

yeah mines settled down too - I had to keep cleaning and refilling the airlock but it's alot less dramatic now, so i think i'll put the temperature back to where it was and let it do it's stuff

 

[medlington]

I've read a couple of posts about overflowing foam from the FV and it sounds like its a good sign. This has me worried as I've just put a batch of Coopers European Lager on on Friday night and it foamed alot initially before Id put the yeast in but then the foam subsided and while its been fermenting there has been very little head on it. I can clearly see the top of the lager with the odd little patch of foam on top but it is bubbling.

Is my lager fermenting enough?

I've done a hydrometer reading on it and it seems to have dropped from 1.038 to 1.004 so it appears to be working but Im just a little concerned about the lack of foam after reading these posts

 

[Aleman]

I've done a hydrometer reading on it and it seems to have dropped from 1.038 to 1.004 so it appears to be working but Im just a little concerned about the lack of foam after reading these posts

RDWHAHB - It's finished fermenting, leave it somewhere cool, for a couple of days for the yeast to settle out then cask or bottle it.

 

[philip5660]

[/quote]
RDWHAHB - It's finished fermenting, leave it somewhere cool, for a couple of days for the yeast to settle out then cask or bottle it.[/quote]

Useful info - I was just going to start bottling when the yeast stopped working - When you say "cool" what kind of temperature?

 

[medlington]

This is the first lager Ive done and only the second brew in total so Im still trying to figure out the best advice to follow.

I've read a few posts saying to ignore the instructions and leave the lager fermenting for upto 10 days so that it starts to clear abit before bottling. This has only been fermenting for 4 days now so I was expecting to leave it for another 5 days. Would this do any harm?

Also I think its still fermenting as its still bubbling and the hydrometer reading only dropped to 1.004 today from 1.010 yesterday so should I wait until this reading has been the same for a few days first and then bottle?

Also what does cooling it before bottling do?

Thanks

 

[Aleman]

Cooling the beer before bottling encourages the yeast to fall out of suspension, leading to faster clearing in the bottle/cask.

By cool . . . as cool as you can get it, if you are fermenting it at room temperature then just putting it somewhere outside (covered) will help. . . . I crash cool to 2C if I can

 

[Cussword]

RDWHAHB

:wha: :wha:

 

[medlington]

Relax, Dont worry have a home brew!

must admit I had to google it though

 

[Cussword]

:thumb: Thanks for that, it's my age y'know :lol:

 

[Baz Chaz]

Must admit maving recenlty stepped over to the dark side have noticed that the AG brews certainly are more 'active' shall we say

 

[philip5660]

well 1 week later and it's sitting at 1008 so shouldn't be too far off bottling - i'll take another reading tomorrow then cool it down to 2 degrees if ready

 

[philip5660]

I'm cooling it now with an intention of bottling tomorrow night - although it looks a bit red in colour - hope it's ok

 

[philip5660]

So I crashed at 2 degrees for about a day and half, I bottled last night.
My concerns are now - How long before the bottles should be carbonating and getting firmer? (they're PET bottles).
I've been reading more on crash cooling and I'm afraid that I 've removed too much yeast...

I'm currently storing the bottles at about 20 degrees