No worries about the apple wine anymore! It took a day or two, but it’s happily bubbling away in the kitchen. Actually, it popped its top yesterday morning while my Wife was putting together some lasagna. (She’s been on a whole meal planning kick that I’m gleefully benefiting from… I’ve even gotten in on it myself, making bean burritos and crockpot turkey chili for lunches for the upcoming week.) Fortunately, she wasn’t carrying around a pan of tomato sauce, noodles, cheese and spinach when the cork blew, or I’d probably still be cleaning the kitchen.
The water lock I use is a nested-cup kind of device, with a little plastic lid. There are little holes in the lid that let air out while slowing down the evaporation of the water in the lock. I misunderstood what she said when she told me that the carboy was hissing. I thought that meant that some water had gotten into the holes, and that it was making a bubbling, hissing sound as the air got out, not that something had gotten stuck in the airlock and that pressure was building up in the carboy…
So, my morning cat-scritching was interrupted by a loud “POP!” and clatter, followed by a shout:
“That scared the bejeezus out of me! I’ve got no bejeezus left! None!”
The volcano of foam died down after a minute or two, and I poured out a cup or two more of juice from the bottle before re-sterilizing and re-sealing the carboy. It hasn’t overflowed since then, but we’re keeping an eye on it…
Oh, and a handy hint: those round plastic trays that go under potted plants? They’re exceptionally good for putting under wine carboys to catch overflow.