My airlock decided to become a science fair volcano

I was three days into a new batch of hot sauce ferment, feeling pretty good about it. I had a nice mix of habaneros and garlic bubbling away in a half gallon jar. I woke up yesterday to a sticky, pinkish mess all over my kitchen counter. The S-shaped airlock, which I've used a dozen times, somehow got clogged with a chunk of pepper. The pressure built up and blew the whole lid off, spraying brine and pepper bits across a solid three foot radius. I spent the next forty five minutes cleaning fermented pepper goo off my cabinets and the floor. The smell was... intense. Has anyone else had an airlock fail in such a dramatic way, or am I just lucky?

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2 Comments

ben4026mo ago

Three days in and it already blew its top? That's some seriously active fermentation. How much sugar did you put in that thing to get that kind of pressure? A chunk of pepper clogging the airlock is just the worst kind of bad luck.

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betht326mo ago

I mean that's just part of the fun, keeps you on your toes.

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