So it happened again. The beer blew out the airlock leaving a water and beer mix behind. The airlock still bubbles as per usual. Now I'm wondering what I should do next. Leave it as is Replace the airlock with another sanitized airlock and sterile water Just replace the water in the airlock Replace the airlock with a blow out tube Any of these the options make as much sense as the next one. I might have over-pitched with a …
I just started my first batch of homebrew using a kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop, and 15 hours in, I seem to have a problem: The fermentation seems to be very vigorous and I have this foam/gunk/residue that has made its way into my blowoff tube (pictures attached). As of this writing, it looks like some wort has also gotten into my jar of sanitizer as well. Should I be concerned about this? Is this a contamination risk? At this …
Krausen: to blow-off or not to blow-off? With a large krausen (foamy head) in a fermentation vessel (FV), often the best remedy is to use a blow-off tube into a bottle of sanitizer. Question: Would it be better to have a sufficient amount of head-space, so that nothing is lost from the FV, allowing all the yeast, wort, flavour, and hops to remain inside the FV? Has anyone noticed any loss of flavour with excessive blow-off, such as the loss …
I know that some people say that PVC is fine for racking tubes, but I have someone who is looking for an alternative--HDPE or PP would be acceptable but not preferred. Since PVC is the only type of plastic tube our local hardware store sells, are there some DIY alternatives that have worked well for people? (Caoutchouc? Sheep's intestine? What'd we use for this before plastic came along?)
I'm experimenting with 1 gallon batches, and every single time I had a blowoff. So for the batch I brewed today I just put a bucket of sanitized water and a blowoff tube to start with since I know that it'll blowoff while I'm at work otherwise. The recipe kit says to use half a pack of yeast, but even if I go below it I have Kräusen climbing out of the jug. Is there any harm in this and …
Today I learned what happens if there's too much yeast and a container too small (I have a 1 gallon batch). So according to instructions I sanitized a hose and connected the hole in the fermentor and put the other end in the sanitized water. Now, how long should I keep this setup? A couple of hours until there is no more bubbling? Just long enough to stop the heavy bubbling? Or all the way to the end of the …
I soaked my blowoff hose in PBW for an hour or so, then rinsed and let dry. There is still light amounts of residue visible. The only brush I own is a carboy brush which I don't think will fit through, due to the bent angle. Also, I'm a little worried that the brush might scratch the plastic. How does everyone else clean blowoff hoses? It's the standard width and basic length (cut and sold to me by my local …
This happens on a good number of my brews, but if I stick my nose right up to the airlock, or into the ale pail with the lid off (don't do this often), I get an intense solvent-like smell, like to the point where I reel back. I haven't had any hugely noticeable off-flavors, but wanted to know if this indicated a process flaw. I'm hoping its just the production of fusels that will eventually get cleaned up. Pitched at …
I set up my Blow tube as I have done other times before, (the same as pictured in this post What is a proper blow-off tube setup?) This time though when I checked it after after about 24 hours the yeast was going to town giving me a bubble about every second and it had siphoned about a gallon of my wort from the carboy into the bucket. Any idea as to what would cause this result?
36 hours ago I brewed a BIG red ale and pitched some kick-ass WLP001. The picture on the left is what I had late last night (24 hr in). Made me a little nervous. And this morning the krausen had nearly reached the stopper. In the pre-work morning rush I rigged up this blow-off tube with a 1/4" tubing, the universal stopper, my 6 gal brew kettle (the most readily available container), a HUGE binder clip (for weight), 2 qt. …