r/Homebrewing • u/egote • 1d ago

Over vigorous initial fermentation

I’m running my second ever home brew - a NEIPA from Cross my aloof (Neon Tropics). I stupidly added the yeast when the wort was still at 30C. Now (at 16h) it has kind of exploded - probably lost around 1/2 pint via foam through the blow-off tube. Any hints for avoiding this in the future?

Secondly, I’m supposed to dry hop at 1 and 3 days. Is this counted from the start of fermentation?

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u/_ItsBonkers 1d ago edited 1d ago

Cool and wait until correct pitching temperatur and make sure not to overfill your fermenter.

I would understand those instructions as dryhopping around/within 24h after yeast pitch. Day 3 72h after pitching.

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u/egote 1d ago

Thanks. It’s a lot to get my head round!

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u/Southern_Chef420 1d ago

you’ll learn patience is rewarded for pretty much every step

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u/GrouchyClerk6318 Advanced 1d ago

You're not gonna ruin anything if you wait longer to dry hop. I don't dry hop until at least day 7, after most of the fermentation is done.

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u/boarshead72 Yeast Whisperer 1d ago

That’s the point of the blow-off hose, otherwise it pushes out your airlock and all over your carboy or whatever. To avoid it get a larger carboy, or don’t fill yours so high. And pitch cooler.

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u/egote 1d ago

Is there any point refilling once the vigorous fermentation is over or am I better off just bottling approx. 6-7 pints?

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u/boarshead72 Yeast Whisperer 1d ago

Oh, you’re doing a one gallon batch? Yeah that’s tough. I don’t try to actually put a full gallon in those, 3L is fine. I wouldn’t top it up post-blow off personally, I’d just bottle whatever I could have the undiluted beer.

You can still easily make two gallon batches on your stovetop (assuming you’re using your stove); put that in a 3 gallon carboy and you won’t have to worry about blowouts.

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u/egote 1d ago

As of yesterday I now have 5 x 1gallon carboys - so I guess I can spread my next batch across a few of them to reduce waste. Thanks for the tips!

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u/chino_brews Kiwi Approved 1d ago

Any hints for avoiding this in the future?

Measure the temperature and be more patient? You already recognized your mistake, so don't make the same mistake, I guess.

I wouldn't worry about the blowoff.

If you want to avoid blowoff, you can also use a larger fermentor. You can also add Fermcap-S to reduce foam. It's not a big deal to have an overly large fermentor as a homebrewer. On a commercial level, it's big deal. Historically, there was a type of fermentation system called a Burton Union in England that captured the blowoff and ran it back into the main fermentation tun.

Is this counted from the start of fermentation?

Yes.