Overfilled Fermentor+Ale temperature

Camilo

Hello, complete brewing noob here.

I brewed my "coopers real ale" today with some friends and foolishly instead of the 23 litres we somehow wound up at the 30(!) litre mark.

There is very, very little space between the fermentor and the lid and im very worried about the build up of gases and foam over the next few few days. I dont have an airlock of any kind but im wondering if there is any way to control the gas buildup, will opening it up for a few seconds everydy be enough? Is there anything i can do to stop beer spilling over?

Secondly, my ale is being stored in a room that is 17c, i know this is not ideal but it seems to be the temp of everywhere in my house. I have put towels undearneath the fermentor for insulation and wrapped two towels around it, shall this be enough to bring it up to the ideal 21c?

I apologise for these silly questions that i really should have been more careful about but i could really use some wisdom from experienced brewers. Thank you very much

EDIT: Must the lid be fully, firmly sealed or can it be left "loose"?
If its of any benefit i used 1kg of brewing sugar, 450g of liquid malt extract + another 100g sugar. Hoping to get it 5%ish

BeerNut

Camilo wrote: »

im wondering if there is any way to control the gas buildup

Just leave the lid loose.

Camilo wrote: »

Is there anything i can do to stop beer spilling over?

No. Just make sure it isn't spilling onto anything it shouldn't spill on.

Camilo wrote: »

my ale is being stored in a room that is 17c, i know this is not ideal

This is ideal. Cooper's Kit instructions are meant for Australians where 21 is cool. 17-20 is perfect and I wouldn't recommend any warmer.

Darkginger

We're in the middle of making the same stuff - but the temperature here is even lower - around 14 degrees. It's still bubbling away nicely, and I reckon it'll just take a little longer than it would at the ideal temperature. The SG is going down still, so I guess it's working (tastes good already!).

Your lid is there mainly to stop nasty stuff from falling in to your brew, so I wouldn't worry too much about leaving it loose. Fermentation wasn't particularly vigorous (well, not when compared to my nettle beer!) so hopefully your overflow, if any, will be minimal.

Do let us know how it turns out - can compare notes!

Camilo

BeerNut wrote: »

Just leave the lid loose.

Thanks, just done that now. Will the lid being loose have any adverse effect upon the brewing process, such as how long to leave it femrent until bottling?

Cheers again for the adivce.

And Darkginger if this brew doesnt become the end of me i'll be sure to let you know

BeerNut

Camilo wrote: »

Will the lid being loose have any adverse effect upon the brewing process

None at all. These guys lost the lid ages ago and not a bother on them:

Camilo

BeerNut wrote: »

None at all. These guys lost the lid ages ago and not a bother on them:

Should i be worried about this brew?...

BeerNut

Camilo wrote: »

Should i be worried about this brew?

Nope. Looks healthy to me.