what happened?

[square_bear]

Put down a sugar wash 5 days ago, 8kg sugar and turbo yeast. Everything was ok, a bit slow to start bubbling but then I checked this morning and the airlock was blown off the vat and the contents had overflown. Bubbling like a thermal mud pool and about the same consistency, looks like a flour/water glue and just keeps coming out the top.
I'm pretty careful about cleaning and sterilising gear and haven't had this happen before.

[Arnie_sla]

Overflows can happen sometimes. It depends on how fast the yeast is working and how much "head" room there is in your fermentation barrel. It's just that the foam layer has reached to top of the barrel and is pushing its way throught the airlock. You may fine the the airlock was pushed out because it got blocked by drying foam and thus the pressure in the barrel just pushed it out. My beer fermenter often blows foam through the airlock. It has a narrower neck so the pressure is spread over a smaller area thus more PSI and the foam layer also has less surface area to lay across. It a pian actually having to clean up the spill, I am thinking of replacing it with a wider top bucket.

If the foam is still coming out then dont worry, the main reason for using an airlock is to keep oxygen out and make the yeast convert the sugar to alochol. If oxygen is available the yeast will make more yeast and not work on the sugar.

If the foam is still pushing out then oxygen can not get in, you can just wait till it slows down and then put the airlock back in. Or you could try and drain a bit of the wash off so there is more "head" room so the foam can not reach the top of the barrel.

In nut shell "don't worry be happy"

Arnie

[linw]

Sugar washes and turbo yeast are hard to get wrong! That's really strange. Is it a 25 ltr wash? What temp was the yeast packet pitched at? What temp was it at in the five days? I don't think any bad guys get a chance in my wash as it starts the first bubble after 10 min!!

Hope you get some good answers and you have cleaned up the mess!

[LeftLaneCruiser]

If i read your post right your wash looks like wallpaper glue ?

I had that once. I emailed the manufactorer of the yeast and they told me the wash got infected and i should throw it away. Just like you i had sanitised everything well.

I let it ferment out and distilled the wash. Stripping run seemed ok, but at the reflux-run i didn't trust the smell / taste of the alcohol. It was pretty normal, but it had a tiny something i could not put my fingers on.

Finished the run but kept alcohol separate from other. Use it for cleaning, igniting barbecue etc.

KJH

[square_bear]

This is a normal 30 litre fermentation barrel containing a total of 25 litres of wash. It is still madly bubbly away, lost 4 litres out the top so far.
Yeast was pitched at around 20 degrees and, as I said before, everything was fine till this morning.
I have another wash next to it, put down a week before, same yeast bought at the same time. It is still just bubbling away very slowly as to be expected, no problems.
I think you may be right LLC, I may have got an infected yeast. Pity to go to all this trouble to make cleaning fluid.
Hosed out the garage once already this morning but its already overflowed again, a very active yeast.

[linw]

I am surprised about the 20 deg pitch temp. This sounds very low. My Still Spirits turbo is to be pitched at 35 deg and the manufacturer says the correct pitch temp is very important. Perhaps you should re-check your turbo's instructions. I pitch at 35 deg and try to maintain about 25 deg during the ferment. If the ferment gets a good start there is not a lot of chance it can get infected. Like I said, mine is producing CO2 within minutes.

[square_bear]

I dissolve the sugar in hot water and this time I allowed the syrup mixture to cool overnight (the lid and airlock was in place). The ambient air temp the next morning was about 20 so the wash was probably still a bit warmer than that. Max reccomended fermentation temp is 25 as per manufacturers instructions.
I've tried other yeasts but always come back to this one as I have found it best for this time of year when the temps are a bit cooler.
Checked the "use by" date, good till 11/2006.
Had to hose out the garage again this arvo and its still coming out, down to 20 litres left in the barrel. Got a bit of a sour smell to it also.
If it keeps happening I might just cut my losses and start again.

[square_bear]

Could smell the wash this morning from my verandah. We live in a bit of a valley so my neighbours are probably wondering what the strange smell is. Couldnt get near the barrel for fruit-flies, must have been millions of them clustered over it.
Hosed them off and cleaned up the airlock. The activity has settled down so I'll give it a while to see what happens. The wash looks a darker colour than usual and some of it had dripped into my work boots below. I wont be putting my feet near them again (if I did, would that make me a bootlegger?) .

[linw]

Yep, sounds definitely infected! Sure, your turbo says to ferment at 25 deg, as most do, but the pitching temp is probably supposed to be quite a bit higher higher. Don't guess, check it. What brand/type of turbo is it? Also, if you let it settle overnight, did you oxygenate it before pitching? My take - get the temp right, thrash the hell out of it to get some oxygen into it, pitch, thrash some more and keep at 22-25 deg.

[square_bear]

Thanks Lindsay, I'll take all that onboard.
The yeast was Alcotec 8 which I have never had a problem with before, and have generally done it much the same way.
I usually stir it in fairly vigorously and go from there. The airlock showed positive pressure from the time I added the yeast and the equipment was well cleaned. I always break my gear down and even pull the o-ring out of the lid each time I clean.
Do you think it's worth continuing with this batch or, as an infected wash, is it beyond help

[linw]

I have never seen an infected wash so I am not any sort of expert on this! But it does sound like it might be better to cut your losses and start again.

I have been looking at Alcotec info and see that Alcotec 8 is an older product that does produce high alcohol but it is very temp intolerant. The manufacturer actually advises using their Alcotec 48 which is not nearly so temp intolerant and can produce lower or higher amounts of alcohol depending on amount of sugar added.

But I still think your pitching temp could be a crucial problem as all manufacturers say it is very important to follow their instructions. See quote below from the manufacturer:-
"Start procedure - optimum

Add 5-8 litres of hot water (not boiling, somewhere around 60-80 C / 140-176 F is fine) to fermenter (if you use a glass demijohn or similar you must avoid quick temperature changes which may crack the glass - use more water and stay at 30-50 C / 86-122 F). Then add your 6-8 kgs of sugar and stir/shake thoroughly. Finally, top up with cold water to final volume (normally 25 litres) and mix well. This will give you a good solution at the right start temperature. The start temperature should preferably be above 25 C (77 F), ideally 30 C (86 F) and always stay well below 35 C (95 F). Finally, add your turbo yeast. These are general guidelines but they will work fine with most turbo's (how do we know that - well we manufacture most of them in the world and the rest are copies).

Notice that these higher temperatures also will work for high alcohol products although they want a lower liquid temperature during fermentation. Because of the extreme nature of the high alcohol fermentation it will add up to 8 C (46 F) to the liquid temperature (compared to the ambient air) but this will happen some 20-30 hours after the start and by then your higher liquid start temperature will have gone down."
/endquote

So they say pitch at 30 deg not 20. It is essential that the yeast gets an optimal start as it will ensure a good healthy ferment with virtually no opportunity for infections to take hold.

I recommend swapping to the '48' product and always pitch at the exact correct temp.