# fermentation... airlock bubbling over...



## Lol

Hi folk's I'm new to wine making new to the site and new to smart phones so am on a very steep learning curve. My 1st attempt at wine using home grown damsons seemed to go well . Once in the demijohn I put the airlock in place half full with water and left it. The next morning the water in the airlock was red and there was pinkish foam coming out of yhe top running down the airlock and demijohn. I have wiped this off 3 times in 2 days so am guessing I have done something wrong. All advice welcome..


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## jamesngalveston

first off, you need a bigger container, and next i would remove the air lock and cover with a cloth...yeast needs room and it needs oxygen.
add air lock after you rack to secondary.


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## Turock

Do you mean you're doing the ferment under airlock or that you transfered it to the demijohn and then the airlock won't stay in place?

The reason for this is the wine may not have fermented to dry so there's still a lot of yeast activity producing CO2. Do you have a hydrometer? You don't want to transfer the wine until you get an SG of at least 1.000 or else this is what happens.


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## Lol

Hi folks. Thanks for the replies. I followed the recipe added the yeast and yeast nutritient left it for 3 days in plastic bucket then transfered it to the demijohn. With airlock.thats when the airlock stated to ooze pink frothy stuff However I checked it this morning 2days on and no froth. I changed the airlock and its bubbling away and have just checked it and the water in the sirlock is clear no sign of froth. So I still dont really understand what happened


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## LonelyMassachusetts

A dirty airlock is a common problem with vigorous fermentation. Only three days in the bucket was not enough time to allow the fermentation to slow down. When in a smaller container, the foam can easily reach up into the airlock. This can become especially problematic if the must is pulpy because this pulp can clog the airlock, turning your secondary container into a time-bomb for a big mess. Even though you only filled the container halfway, it is still possible for the fermentation to be vigorous enough to do this. Now that the fermentation has slowed and there is less foam, you won't see this happen again. 
Like Turock and jamesngalveston mentioned, in the future you should allow the must to ferment longer in the primary fermentation bucket. You will know when to transfer it when the specific gravity is low enough or visually when the fermentation seems weaker.


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## garymc

Time in the bucket is not a good guide. I had an elderberry batch that sat 45 hours after I pitched the yeast and did nothing. I was getting ready to pitch another batch of yeast and 3 hours later, at 48 hours after pitching, it started bubbling. That's 2 days of nothing. If I had transferred at 3 days, it would have been way too soon. You can go by the low specific gravity, which would indicate that fermentation should be almost done, as many on here suggest. However, they suggest 1.030, 1.020, 1.010, 1.000, etc, so there are a lot of opinions. You have to make the judgement; A. is the fermentation in the bucket so slow that the CO2 being released might not cover the large surface area of wine in the bucket and protect it from oxidation? and B. is the fermentation so vigorous that it will foam up through the airlock in the carboy if you transfer? There's a pretty wide margin for error as witnessed by the different sg numbers people suggest. Also, when you transfer, you can leave a lot of yeast behind and slow the fermentation even more. But 4, 5, 6, or 7 days might be needed.


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## Lol

Thanks folks theres a lot to take in and most of it is not black and white. I'm sure I will be back with more beginners questions. Cheers


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## BernardSmith

Lol said:


> Thanks folks theres a lot to take in and most of it is not black and white. I'm sure I will be back with more beginners questions. Cheers



That's the beauty of wine making it is both an art and a science.


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## jamesngalveston

ad mr smith said, art and science.
I think in the beginning its more of a science, then once you get about 100 gallons under your belt, and many bottles stored, it starts becoming and art.
for me it did...i started thinking out of the box and what yeast goes with what fruit, what peels give a diffrent color, what would this do with that. etc.


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## redeye61

hi there my names gary and what it is my 5 gallon bin with wine in has been bubling now for 7 days and doesnt look as tho its gonna stop, do i leave it untill it stops.....?


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## Arne

Hello Gary. Welcome to the forum. Your wine will eventually slow down. One thing you have to have is patience when making wine. Another thing you should have is a hydrometer. They are rather inexpensive and tell you where you are starting your wine and how it is coming along as the yeast converts the sugar to alcohol. Without the hydrometer readings all we can do is guess where your wine is at. If your bin is a bucket, I would leave it til it slows way way down, then transfer to the secondary carboy. When the wine goes still and starts to clear it is probably done. Again without the hydrometer we can not say for sure. Good luck with it, Arne.


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## FlavorSeeker

Second the hydrometer AND patience. I've introduced several friends to winemaking and homebrewing and, or the life of me, I don't understand why someone would leave their first visit to the LHBS without a hydrometer. It is the single most-important quality control device available to the WM/HB. Without knowing where one is starting and when they've arrived, there will be no consistency in one's process and, therefore, no way to improve the product. I've had friends say they're planning to rack to secondary or are going to bottle, due to lack of witnessed airlock activity. They airlock is not a fermentation gauge; it is a check valve to permit the release of excess CO(2) and prevent exposure to O(2), wild yeast, insects and other nasties.

One of the reasons I got into hobby fermentation was to improve my patience. Since then, I've become more of a procrastinator, which is very often a beneficial trait in this hobby. Depending on the stage, fermented beverages often benefit by sitting longer than the minimum-recommended period.


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## sour_grapes

Welcome to the forum, Gary. 

Listen to Arne. He is spot on!


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## RegarRenill

Buy 2 hydrometers. They break when least convenient, like Friday at 9pm on a holiday weekend that your LHBS will be closed until Tuesday...


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## WineBaker

Hello, I`m new and trying to learn to navigate lol


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