Blow off tube

Hey guys,
I brewed an AG Hefeweizen this weekend. I made a 1 liter starter the night before and aerated it really well with my drill paddle. The thing was going crazy almost within 3 hours. It started coming up through the airlock like crazy and spilling everywhere. I took the airlock off and put on a blow off tube. When I took the airlock off, there was a huge pop from the CO2 escaping. I quickly put the sanitized blow off tube on. Now that high krauesen is over and there isn't any foam coming through the tube, I've taken it off and put on the sanitized airlock again. I have bubbles coming through every 7 seconds.

Here's my question: Do you think that taking off the airlock to replace it with the blow off tube and then taking off the blow off tube and replacing it with the airlock is going to effect my beer? I was clean and sanitary through the process, but I know that a lot of CO2 escaped, so there is a potential for O2 to get in. Now, I have VERY little space between the beer and the neck of the carboy, so I know not much got in. I'm just a little paranoid. Help me feel better.

Some side notes:
1. I've never made a starter this big before and pitched at the starter's high krauesen.
2. This is the most wort I've collected while brewing AG
3. I've never had to use a blow off tube before.

If it's still going every 7 seconds, then it's still producing a decent amount of CO2. At that rate, I'm sure any oxygen that might have gotten in has been pushed out. I wouldn't worry about it.

Even if CO2 escaped from inside your fermenter, it couldn't have released enough to lower the pressure below the ambient pressure of the room. Therefore no air can get in. Plus CO2 is heavier than air, so even if it did equalize, the air can't force its way in. So you're fine.

Great. That's what I needed to hear.

RDWHAHB. your beer is fine. if your still getting bubbles out the airlock you still have CO2 production.

That actually happened to me too, I made a 3/4 qt starter from a smack pack of WY3787 Trappist High Gravity. Which went fine. I let the starter ferment out and put it in the fridge. The problem arose when I decanted off the beer and split that starter into 2 seperate starters at about 1/2 qt each. One of them went absolutely crazy and erupted overnight.

Know what I did? I used the erupted starter on my newly brewed batch of Belgian Tripel. And the yeast went absolutely crazy. I'm talking like 3-4 bubbles a second from my blowoff tube. I've never seen yeast so active.

Moral of the story? None really. Except this - when you see yeast going bonkers and bursting out of a starter jar that should be big enough for the yeast, it tells you one thing. Those yeast have much vitality and health. Use them! I would certainly pitch those yeast to your beer even if you lost some of them in the erupting krausen. Remember, a smaller amount of healthy yeast is better than a larger quantity of tired/spent yeast.


Uhhh oops...after writing all that I realized you aren't talking about a starter. Oh well, then the moral of the story is....ALWAYS have a blowoff tube ready. Even put in a blowoff tube at the beginning if you feel like the krausen might push through the airlock.

Yeah, I'll be using the blow off tube initially from now on just to be safe. This was my first experience with a big starter and a REALLY well aerated wort. It's still bubbling away now with just an airlock on it. There is no more worry about it coming through. I'm just going to leave this in primary for a few weeks then bottle because it's a Hefe that doesn't need to clear.

i made one in an emergency on video

jayavery said:

i made one in an emergency on video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiaJ6rQjSUU

Click to expand...

Are you brewing beer in a pre-school? Awesome! :rockin:


joe

I ferment my Hefe's in 8 gallon buckets now and never go above the 5 gallon mark. I use a solid lid and no airlock. The Kreuzen never touched the lid. No blow off, no mess, no airlock. Just sweet Hefe aroma.

I don't use an airlock either. I don't see the point. I just use a blow off tube throught the entire fermentation. The end of the tube goes into a gallon water jug filled with sanitizer solution.

haha LOL .. it's a madagascar themed room .. i hope my beer doesn't turn into jungle juice! LOL