When/How to do a Blowoff?

hey guys!

i'm still kind of noob to the 5 gallon brewing (after converting from mrbeer for a year and a half) glad i did! anyway, my second batch i brewed up is boulder's hazed and infused clone. i noticed this morning that foam/head/partial hops have rose into my airlock. i opened my fermenter, and there's about an inch or two of foam/head more then i would call it krausen sitting ontop of batch that i guess is now pushing into my airlock.

should i do a blowoff and if so how do i? am i just removing the foam/krausen or a portion of the beer? thanks for any tips, i'd greatly appreciate it!

Just take some tubing that is the same OD as your airlock, shove it into the bung/stopper and then put the other end in a jug filled with vodka. You're mostly losing the krausen.

for now it's just a tiny tiny smount of krausen rising into the airlock. should i still do the blowoff or should i just watch to see if it gets worse then do a blowoff?

thanks!

I'd do it now. You don't want to check a little later and find out that you had a blowoff. That's a giant mess to clean up - I've had to do it once...

i hear ya thanks for the tips brother! these hops are out of control on this hazed and infused clone!

By the way, welcome former Mr. Beer brewer! That is where I started. My LHBS HATES Mr. Beer kits, and that bothers me. If it weren't for that Christmas gift (Mr. Beer kit) I would have never gotten into home brewing. I mentioned to them that they should carry Mr. Beer stuff, as it would open them up to more sales and also just bring people into their store. Oh well, even though I heard all about how Mr. Beer doesn't do this, and it doesn't do that, it still makes beer, so we all have the same goal.

I still have my Mr. Beer kegs in my brew room. I may use them for test batches someday since they are 2.25 gallon, a good size...

I still use my Mr. Beer keg for my party pig batches

If you have a glass carboy, they make blow-off tubes that fit tight into the neck. They are large and won't clog up like the small ones.

http://steelnthings.com/beer/P1011242.JPG

and a great movie with awesome flashlight work by me:
http://steelnthings.com/beer/beer with tube.MOV

Not really that great, but maybe it will help.

I use the large tube until the very active fermentation stops and then rack to another carboy. You don't have to transfer to another carboy, just my preference.

haha...exactly the same. got it for a xmas present as a joke because my buddy and i said we're going to start our own brewery so we wouldn't have to work anymore. would have never gotten this far without that mrbeer kit which got the creativity going. now i'm spending more $ on bigger batches, but in the long run it's well worth it!

today i just bought two recipes i put together based on a few others ....breakfast stout and raspberry wheat. cost me $80 after all ingredients and such and can't wait! i'll post the recipe later if it works out trial and error right?

tonkota said:

I still use my Mr. Beer keg for my party pig batches

If you have a glass carboy, they make blow-off tubes that fit tight into the neck. They are large and won't clog up like the small ones.

http://steelnthings.com/beer/P1011242.JPG

and a great movie with awesome flashlight work by me:
http://steelnthings.com/beer/beer with tube.MOV

Not really that great, but maybe it will help.

I use the large tube until the very active fermentation stops and then rack to another carboy. You don't have to transfer to another carboy, just my preference.

Click to expand...

i'm going to the store today to pick up cheap vodka to sterlize the tubing and blowoff....and i'm definitely racking my beer once the choco stout i have in the carboy is bottled (and of course when SG is same for two days in a row)

If you're not using a 6.5 gallon carboy as your primary fermenter you should. Then the need for a blow off tube will only arise when you make really hight gravity beers. When I do need a blow off tube I use tubing that just fits into the opening of the carboy (smaller tubing can still get clogged). The other end goes into a bucket with sterilizing solution.

uechikid said:

If you're not using a 6.5 gallon carboy as your primary fermenter you should. Then the need for a blow off tube will only arise when you make really high gravity beers. When I do need a blow off tube I use tubing that just fits into the opening of the carboy (smaller tubing can still get clogged). The other end goes into a bucket with sterilizing solution.

Click to expand...

That is more of a preference, I like the blow off method to purge some things for me (also a preference). The blow-off method is solid and works fine, no need to spend more $ on another carboy (I'm also frugal). A $2 tube will be enough.

http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2009/10/10/better-beer-with-the-burton-union-blow-off-method/

tonkota said:

That is more of a preference, I like the blow off method to purge some things for me (also a preference). The blow-off method is solid and works fine, no need to spend more $ on another carboy (I'm also frugal). A $2 tube will be enough.

http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2009/10/10/better-beer-with-the-burton-union-blow-off-method/

Click to expand...

It made sense to to get the larger carboy. I do a secondary fermentation in 5 gallon carboys. I have four of each. I don't like to spend money that I don't need to. I've been brewing since 93 and have accumulated a lot of stuff. I do get angry when I break one of those bad boys.

About 4 minutes into this video Fo shows you how he uses his blow off

uechikid said:

It made sense to to get the larger carboy. I do a secondary fermentation in 5 gallon carboys. I have four of each. I don't like to spend money that I don't need to. I've been brewing since 93 and have accumulated a lot of stuff. I do get angry when I break one of those bad boys.

Click to expand...

I'd cry for sure! I nearly dropped one of my old (guessing 40 year old) carboys 'cause my hands were still a tad wet. I should get a nylon sling or handle for them I suppose.

phrogpilot73 said:

Just take some tubing that is the same OD as your airlock, shove it into the bung/stopper and then put the other end in a jug filled with vodka. You're mostly losing the krausen.

Click to expand...

+1 on tubing into the airlock. But I'd save the cheap vodka for guests I'm not paricularly fond of and would just put the other end of the tube in a jug with iodophor/water solution. Cheaper than having to use vodka IMO.

Is it usual to get a blowoff in the secondary? Blowoffs should only happen during fermentation which should be finished before you hit the secondary, right?

What, it is the beginners forum...

indeedproceed said:

Is it usual to get a blowoff in the secondary? Blowoffs should only happen during fermentation which should be finished before you hit the secondary, right?

What, it is the beginners forum...

Click to expand...

Blow-off happens (sometimes) during primary fermentation. Its the first part where the yeast are on an eating spree. Once they settle down, fermentation is most likely not complete, the yeast are just not as aggressive as the sugars are eaten up. That is when you can transfer to secondary and use a normal air lock.