Airlock explosion!

[calvin]

I went down to the winery tonight to check on my creations and found my airlock was full of wine. There was spray over 3 ft away. I racked it yesterday sg 1.000. Temperature had changed only 1 or 2 degrees. However fermentation seemed to be very active. This has never happened to me before.

What caused this?

 

[spaniel]

Your carboy was too full for such an active fermentation. Foam entered the airlock and this is the result. You have to wait for it to calm down before racking so full.

 

[acorn]

Happened to me once as well. It might be that you didn't see as much activity when your wine was still in the primary as in the first several days, so you measured S.G. and decided it was low enough to transfer it to carboy. However, as you say, the fermentation was still quite active, and that tiny neck of the carboy certainly has a much smaller surface area on which to dissipate the gasses that cause foaming. In other words, all the gas from the ongoing fermentation now had to be expelled from a much smaller opening than the one in the primary, whereby the increased flux of CO2 started generating foam. The foam then rose up to the airlock and condensed back into wine with the help of water or solution that you had in it.

I figured that in such instances it is better to either wait another day or, if transferring to carboy, attach a blow off tube for a day, just to prevent any possible mess.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Happens all the time - Thats why I use the 3 piece air locks during the primary fermentation as they are easier to clean

 

[buffalofrenchy]

I did a mead once that required fruit during the whole fermentation (primary + secondary) so I decided to do the whole fermentation in a jug (1 gallon recipe) i.e. no primary bucket. I saw it coming... so I placed the jug in the utility sink. Back from work the next day, the bung and airlock were in the sink and foam was coming out of the jug like lava out of volcano...

 

[francois_du_nord]

Calvin,

i have 2 carboys that are bigger than 6 gallons, and I go from primary into those. That way I've got headspace to avoid the problem you experienced but more importantly, I have the excess capacity to allow me to stir vigorously to de-gas. I add my finishing and clarification additions in the 6.5, and then rack to 6.0 for bulk storage.

Your mileage may vary.

Best, Fran

 

[Putterrr]

If you rack this quantity again, just put some in a bottle for a few days till the activity slows down then add it back in

cheers

 

[Floandgary]

A lot of folks simply do a total ferment in a primary bucket. Very little activity in secondary carboy unless you're experimenting!

 

[Arne]

My thoughts, the reason you get it to foam up so bad after racking, you add a bunch of oxygen to it when it is racked. Think how it foams sometimes when you stir it. When racked and into a container with small headspace, almost instant foam. Gives you time to go away before it blows, tho. Arne.

 

[calvin]

Thanks everyone. I will be leaving my wine in the primary bucket a little longer from now on.

 

[JohnT]

This happened to me back in the early 90's, only with a 500 liter tank of chardonnay! POOOOOOF, the whole lid popped off! This was how I learned the lesson about open fermentation.

BIG OLD "LIKE" for this one. This thread is a great example of exactly how a winemaker progresses. Mistakes happen, we learn from them, then move on.

(OK, stepping off of the soapbox now)

 

[Boatboy24]

Surprised you had that much of a reaction at 1.000 SG. You must've really made that yeast angry!

 

[richmke]

Surprised you had that much of a reaction at 1.000 SG. You must've really made that yeast angry!

It could also be just degassing with minimal fermentation.

 

[bstnh1]

I did a WE California Chardonnay a few days ago. Left it in primary for 5 days until SG was .998 - no noticeable fermentation. Transferred it to secondary (carboy) and 12 hours later had a mess with must pushing up through airlock. That's the last time I'll transfer before SG gets down to .994. Never had this problem before!

 

[Putterrr]

If you are going to do that, you might as well snap the lid down on your primary around 1.010 and let it finish there. That is assuming you can also attach an airlock.

cheers