Hefeweizen blow offs

I have read from numerous members around here that Hefeweizen's have a tendancy to blow off. it has me a bit timid about using an airlock on my primary bucket this upcoming weekend.

I am brewing AHB's Bavarian Hefeweizen... and several people have mentioned they had blow offs with that kit and other Hefe recipes.

my question is;
can i just use my 5/16" siphon hose out of my rubber grommet on my plastic bucket, or should i invest in a carboy and use a bigger diameter blow off hose?

i really don't wanna go buy a carboy this week, but if the smaller diameter hose is gonna cause me trouble then i guess i will have too...

You should be fine just using your 5/16" tubing stuck into the grommet in the bucket lid. I have heard of many people doing this. If you are really concerned about it you could get some Foam Control Drops and never worry about it again. I must say that I have still had blow offs using the foam control, but it is less than it would have been, and I do use 6 gallon Better-Bottles for my primaries and they have less head space than a fermenting bucket.

John

johnsma22 said:

You should be fine just using your 5/16" tubing stuck into the grommet in the bucket lid. I have heard of many people doing this. If you are really concerned about it you could get some Foam Control Drops and never worry about it again. I must say that I have still had blow offs using the foam control, but it is less than it would have been, and I do use 6 gallon Better-Bottles for my primaries and they have less head space than a fermenting bucket.

John

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thanks johnsma22,

that's what i was hoping you guys would say.

if i have a non-controlled blow off in the mine and SWMBO's closet my brewing career could have come to an early end... just wanna be prepared...

one more question:
should i wait until the airlock has activity to push the blow off hose in place or just start with the blow off hose...?

thanks again

If you have 5" of space above your brew in the primary you should be safe.

It won't hurt anything to start off with the blow off tube in there. I always just assume I will get a blow off and start with it in place. If I don't get one I used to put the airlock back, but now I just leave the blow off tube in there until I'm ready to rack it. Just be sure that the blow off tube is sitting in a container of water or sanitizer solution.

Oh, also, with a blow off tube that small I would check it often to make sure that it does not get plugged up. I wouldn't want to be around if you had an eruption on your wife's clothing!

John

homebrewer_99 said:

If you have 5" of space above your brew in the primary you should be safe.

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i have read of several here that had blow offs with Hefe beers. really don't remember what size their primaries were. mine is 6.5 gallons, so i hope that is all good..

johnsma22 said:

It won't hurt anything to start off with the blow off tube in there. I always just assume I will get a blow off and start with it in place. If I don't get one I used to put the airlock back, but now I just leave the blow off tube in there until I'm ready to rack it. Just be sure that the blow off tube is sitting in a container of water or sanitizer solution.

Oh, also, with a blow off tube that small I would check it often to make sure that it does not get plugged up. I wouldn't want to be around if you had an eruption on your wife's clothing!

John

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thanks again for the input... appreciate it

Had lot's of blow-off with my recent Hefe. And to be honest, I typically use only a blow-off tube for my primaries. I mean...it's an airlock if the end of the tube is submersed in water so why F with it?

Exo said:

Had lot's of blow-off with my recent Hefe. And to be honest, I typically use only a blow-off tube for my primaries. I mean...it's an airlock if the end of the tube is submersed in water so why F with it?

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exactly, that's my plan...

Oh, also, with a blow off tube that small I would check it often to make sure that it does not get plugged up. I wouldn't want to be around if you had an eruption on your wife's clothing!


There has got to be a joke in there about a blow off tube, an eruption and your wife's clothing, but I can't seem to put it all together.

troybinso said:

Oh, also, with a blow off tube that small I would check it often to make sure that it does not get plugged up. I wouldn't want to be around if you had an eruption on your wife's clothing!


There has got to be a joke in there about a blow off tube, an eruption and your wife's clothing, but I can't seem to put it all together.

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more dirty brewing double talk... blow off, eruption, wife's clothes, i can picture it :rockin:

I use pieces of retired 5/16 hose for blowoffs because they are impossible to clean once the krausen is dried inside. I just toss them.

BrewProject said:

more dirty brewing double talk... blow off, eruption, wife's clothes, i can picture it :rockin:

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If the wife smelled like beer that may be an afrodesiac. :rockin:

troybinso said:

Oh, also, with a blow off tube that small I would check it often to make sure that it does not get plugged up. I wouldn't want to be around if you had an eruption on your wife's clothing!


There has got to be a joke in there about a blow off tube, an eruption and your wife's clothing, but I can't seem to put it all together.

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How about: If your blow off tube gets plugged up, it could erupt all over your wifes clothing

chillHayze said:

I use pieces of retired 5/16 hose for blowoffs because they are impossible to clean once the krausen is dried inside. I just toss them.

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that's something i will have to consider.

i once read something on here where someone had developed a method for cleaning the inside of a 5/16" siphon tube, but i can't find it or remember what they wrote.

i guess running very hot water or soaking in very hot water wouldn't do the job.

i always have a few water spots in mine too and that has always bugged me...

anyway thanks for the comments...

chillHayze said:

If the wife smelled like beer that may be an afrodesiac. :rockin:

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aphrodisiac indeed

troybinso said:

Oh, also, with a blow off tube that small I would check it often to make sure that it does not get plugged up. I wouldn't want to be around if you had an eruption on your wife's clothing!


There has got to be a joke in there about a blow off tube, an eruption and your wife's clothing, but I can't seem to put it all together.

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That's too funny guys. When I typed those words I did not even notice the clear sexual connotation! I must be getting old! Thanks for the huge laugh.

With regard to cleaning blow off crud out of 5/16" siphon tubing, or any tubing for that matter, I have yet to find crud of any kind that can stand up to an overnight soak in a hot PBW solution. Just let it soak, rinse, done!

John

johnsma22 said:

That's too funny guys. When I typed those words I did not even notice the clear sexual connotation! I must be getting old! Thanks for the huge laugh.

With regard to cleaning blow off crud out of 5/16" siphon tubing, or any tubing for that matter, I have yet to find crud of any kind that can stand up to an overnight soak in a hot PBW solution. Just let it soak, rinse, done!

John

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PBW?

BrewProject said:

PBW?

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Thanks chill, sorry Brew, that's Powdered Brewery Wash. It's the best thing since sliced bread, and Star-San of course. Like I said, I have found no crud that can stand up to it. Just a hot soak, little to no scrubbing required. Some people don't think that it is worth the cost, but I would not be one of them.

John

cool thanks for the info johnsma22 and chillHayze