Airlock vigorously bubbling and blowing water out

[1d10t]

If you are using a 3 piece air lock then leave the top cover off. The holes aren't big enough to allow much gas out. Still, I don't snap my lid down until fermentation slows down a bit. I may still need to leave that top cover off for awhile.

 

[Backyardbrewer]

Hi its my 1st home brew and need some advice mh air lock is bubbling vigorously and keeps blowing majority of the water out is that normal???

I’m having the same issue on my first try. I followed the instructions from the Master Vintner Cab Sav kit, which said to do the primary fermentation under airlock. On the second morning, it’s bubbling through the airlock and making a little bit of a mess. Thanks for the advice on this thread - going to go replace the lid and airlock with a cheesecloth covering. My only question is, if vigorous fermentation is to be expected, why would the instructions say to use an airlock at this stage? Sounds like the experienced folks around here know that isn’t necessary and can be messy.

 

[Rembee]

A loose fitting cover or a damp towel is what I use.

 

[montanarick]

I've been fermenting for years with fermenter lid just laying on top of fermenter with no problems - no air lock

 

[Scooter68]

I've been fermenting for years with fermenter lid just laying on top of fermenter with no problems - no air lock

Yup. I use a cloth cover Keeps out fruit flies) and that lets plenty of gas and and even IF the foam rises to the cloth, The cloth gets wet, but a spill out is unlikely. An airlock is ONLY needed when a wine is aging and not producing enough CO2 to self protect.

 

[hounddawg]

Same here,,,
Dawg

 

[winemaker81]

My only question is, if vigorous fermentation is to be expected, why would the instructions say to use an airlock at this stage?

Kit instructions are designed so a beginner with no outside help can successfully make a decent wine on the first try. To keep things as simple as possible, the process includes steps that are easy to understand and help avoid unnecessary problems, but are not necessarily optimal. I'm not familiar with Master Vintner, but the Winexpert and RJ Spagnols instructions -- if followed exactly -- produce a successful result.

It's confusing when the experienced winemakers offer different advice, but that advice is (of course) based upon a variety of experiences. Don't worry about conflicting advice -- most steps in winemaking have more than 1 reasonably good solution, and different folks do things different ways. Listen to everyone and make your own decision.

The best advice I can offer is to think about why a given action is taken. The "why" is often more important to decision making than the "how" or the "what".

BTW -- always ferment in a container that's a lot larger than the must volume. A couple of my older fermenters are 7 gallon -- fermenting a 6 gallon batch can produce a mess. My newest is 8 gallons, and I'm planning to purchase a 10 or 12 gallon Rubbermaid Brute. This provides plenty of room for the most vigorous fermentation of a kit wine. I ferment my larger batches in 32 gallon Brutes.

 

[Scooter68]

My first wine was made using Master Vintner's Country Wine kit (No Juice provided) the instruction guide book was vague enough that it drove me to seek help and I landed here in August of 2015 and this place has been my sanity check point ever since. I've been thumped, thanked and all around had a lot of fun here. Thanks to one and all.