Unbelievable Fermentation

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Couevas

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Brewed a Hefe for SWMBO over the weekend. It is not the first Hefe I have ever brewed....but it is the first that has been such a pain.

HOLY CR@P!!!

With a 3/8 ID blowoff tube, the yeast still blew the lid off my bucket several times.

Just wanted to share.
 
1) Hefe's almost always explode.

2) get a bigger blowoff tube

3) get a backup blowoff tube in case you have 2 going at once (like I do currently).
 
And maybe brew to a 4 gal batch instead of 5.

I read somewheres that you want 1/3 of the volume of the fermenter as headspace when doing a hefe.
 
Hefe fermentations are hilarious. My LHBS failed to warn me at all when I bought a kit from them when I first started brewing. Between the hefe yeast and lack of proper temperatures (this thing fermented at 80 F) I had an interesting mess on my hands.

By interesting I mean horrible. :cross:
 
Yeah, I know i need a 1 inch. I can just stuff that straight into the carboy.

3/8 has always worked fine in the past. Just hadn't had such an exciting display yet. (and yes, I am cleaning krauzen off the ceiling, even with the blowoff tube).

I just couldn't believe that it could build that much pressure...with the 3/8 line.
 
I have had two hefe showers rain down in my apartment, both with tubes, makes SWMBO REAL happy, and no other beers I have ever brewed needed a blowoff.
 
the problem with the smaller lines is that the krauzen gets in and dries, making a seal, and the seal is stronger than the bucket lid, so the lid gives first.
 
I had the same problem with an American wheat. I plan to cut open a bunge and put some tubing in it. There is a link on a post I had about my delay in start of fermentation.
 
I have had sucess with the fermcap product, there is a thread about it around here somewhere if you look. My kolsch (usually a vigerous ferment) showed only a small layer of krausen. I plan on trying it again on a wit here soon, I will let you know if it stands up to that beast:D
 
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