Random Question

Does anybody have the book: "The Homebrewer's Companion" by Charlie Papazian? This is different from "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" My question relates to it.

I was reading through the recipes in this book and found one that I think I would like to try out. It appears on page 302-304 of the book. It's called the "Unspoken Passion Imperial Stout."

Anyway, my question is this. At the bottom of page 303, the instructions say: "A blow-off method of fermentation is not possible with this brew, so allow at least five inches of head space in your fermenter so that the foamy krausen does not reach the stopper."

Does anybody know why you wouldn't be able to use a blow-off tube with a particular brew? I can't figure this one out no matter how much I think about it.

Thanks

Have the book but never looked at the recipe.

Imperial Stuts tend to be the most violent of brews and depending on the ID of your blow off hose it's likely it'll just plug it up. With a RIS especially, I just leave the lid loose on teh bucket and set that in a large dish bin. The kreusen will just flow over the edges and down into the dish bin making clean-up easier. The lid will just float over top the kruesen.

Random answer - 12.

Sounds to me like he doesn't want to lose any of the yeast to blow-off. I wouldn't think you would lose enough to affect complete attenuation, but I am just speculating here.

We owe a lot to Charlie, but sometimes he seems to do and say some weird things...

The Grandfather of Homebrewing.

bull8042 said:

Random answer - 12.

Click to expand...

Second random answer - monkeys.

Darn, that doesn't sound random enough....OK, skillet...

Random answer: cochon de lait

"The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" represented the sum of homebrewing knowledge for quite a long time. A lot dates to the time before "styles" became the concrete walls that they are today. A lot has changed since it was published and last revised, but the phrase "standing on the shoulders of giants" comes to mind.

I just about go along with "monkeys."

I think it's mostly that a friggin' blowoff wouldn't cut it with this beer. It would blow away the blowoff, blowing away a whole bunch of the krausen and leading to a terribly unattenuated beer.

Keep in mind that TCJOH and THC are some pretty old books. While much of the philosophy is more than sound, many of the recipes and techniques are dated to what was available at the time. We live in a different brewing), thank goodness. So, keep Charlie's recipes in the proper context.

I don't know. It could still be those dadgum monkeys.


TL

TexLaw said:

I just about go along with "monkeys."

I think it's mostly that a friggin' blowoff wouldn't cut it with this beer. It would blow away the blowoff, blowing away a whole bunch of the krausen and leading to a terribly unattenuated beer.



TL

Click to expand...

This is very interesting, I had a brew that blew off a ton, I mean a ton of krausen. I had a 2 quart pitcher for a blow off vessel, and it had 1/2 inch of yeast sludge on the bottom. Along with this, I am having a hard time getting this beer down to the final gravity.
On a side note, how does one keep from getting the super foamy krausen?
Do those no foam tablets work in the fermenter also?

I have that book. I think it's because that brew uses a ton of raspberries which could clog the blow-off tube. I don't know if that would actually happen but maybe he just didn't want nasty letters from people.

Deep Fried Turkeys

+1 clogging as an issue. Depends on the ID of your blow tube. A 1" tube in the mouth of the carboy will handle it no problem. You using a carboy or a bucket?

Even if the berries don't clog the tube you wouldn't want a bunch of them being shot into your blowoff receptacle would you?