Always use a blow off??

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Wildrebel

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I'm planning on brewing my first batch tomorrow. I do not have a blow off hose but I really want to start tomorrow (I ordered one but it hasn't been delivered yet) . I have all the equipment i need but no blow off hose. Do I need a blow off hose? The fermentation process will take place in my closet. Please help me... I'm a beginner!
 
Are you fermenting in a carboy or plastic bucket? What size? How many gallons are you brewing?
 
Well I bought a kit from midwest brewing supply that has a plastic primary fermenting bucket, a glass carboy and a plastic bottling bucket. I have a 5 gallon brewing kit for a Fat Tire clone.
 
That should be a 6.5g plastic bucket. Use that as your primary (where you put the wort into and add yeast). That gives you plenty of head room and you just need to use the airlock. No need for a blow-off hose unless you ferment in a 5 gallon carboy.
 
If your kit came with a fermentation lock you can use that, but be sure to keep a close eye on fermentation activity. I once did an Imperial IPA that blew the bung an lock out of my carboy! Lots of mopping and crying. FermCap can help keep thing under control too.

If your using a carboy you'll need a properly sized bung, and ferm. lock. If you use a bucket the lid should have a hole w/ a grommet in it and you put your ferm. lock in that.

Good luck!
 
I've brewed 12 batches and have not used nor needed a blow of tube. You have plenty of room in a 6.5 gallon bucket brewing 5 gallon batches.
 
You don't always need a blowoff, but a lot of people end up just making that standard equipment just to be on the safe side. I've brewed a number of beers in a regular 6.5 gal bucket without a blowoff, yet had a couple beers that needed one. The lower the gravity of the beer the less likely you'll need one.

If you want to go ahead without a blowoff you might want to at least put your bucket in a big tub or something that will catch any spillover from the fermentation coming through the airlock if you're concerned about it being in your closet.
 
For a basic Fat Tire Clone kit in a 6.5 gallon bucket you should be OK. There is no hard and fast rule, but in general, the heavier the beer is, the more likely you will need a blow off as the yeast becomes more active the more sugar there is. Most yeast ferment more actively at higher temperatures. Also certain strains of yeast just ferment more actively. So whether or not you need a blow off generally depends on.

- how much head room you have in the fermentor
- what the gravity of the wort is
- what kind of yeast you are using
- what temperature you are fermenting at

Some people also use a bit of fermcap in the fermentor which helps control krausen.

I usually keep a blow off hose ready and watch the fermentation closely for the first 72 hours or so.
 
Thanks for the input! Let me ask another question... Do you always take a hydrometer measure in a thief or just straight into the fermentation bucket? I have a thief ordered but it hasn't come in yet.
 
Maybe it's just me, but I would never risk contamination of my beer by putting the hydrometer straight into the fermentation bucket. I've always used a thief. Seems too risky to me to stick it directly into the bucket.
 
Thanks for the input! Let me ask another question... Do you always take a hydrometer measure in a thief or just straight into the fermentation bucket? I have a thief ordered but it hasn't come in yet.

You really don't want to just stick the hydrometer into the fermenter. One, it's hard to get an accurate reading that way, and two, you risk contaminating the whole batch. Use a thief if you have one, otherwise get a turkey baster or something and draw some of the beer out and put it into your hydrometer case or something similar for now. Just make sure whatever you stick into the bucket is sanitized.
 
Do I just wait to take a hydrometer reading after about a week in the primary? My hydrometer broke during the delivery of my kit and I have to buy another one... Can I go ahead and brew my beer and take a reading after about a week?
 
You want a pre fermentation and a post fermentation hydrometer reading. After about a week you will already be better than half way through fermentation, so you won't get much info from this. It would be ok to start the brew without the reading, but you would not know the exact ABV of the beer. A hydrometer reading at the end, a day apart, will tell you fermentation is complete and the beer is ready to bottle.

As for a blow off tube, I took a chunk of tubing that I had for a spare syphon and stuck that through the bung for the airlock. Seemed to work pretty good, let the gas and any foam pass through it into the water bucket. A bit of a challenge to get the tube through the hole, but now I am going to leave it and have a premanent bung and blow off tube.
 
To be honest, I've found that using extract recipes that I pretty much come very close to the recipe's stated OG just about every time. So I don't even take an OG hydrometer reading. If anything, take a FG reading in a few weeks after primary (and/or secondary) fermentation to figure out the alcohol content. Besides, the longer it sits in the fermenter, the better the beer will be (usually). Patience is the hardest part. Don't sweat the technical stuff that doesn't really add a whole lot of value. People have been brewing for thousands of years without a hydrometer.
 
I've done three kits. I feel like I've cheated. I've had good luck with just stainless steel kettles with lids.

Make everything sterile before you begin. I've had good luck with a very light chlorine bleach and letting ti dry before using.

Each of the kits would have been roughly $35.00 wasted if it didn't turn out. I was lucky.
 
I have about six brews under my belt. The first was great, and gone fast. The next two I think I had ferment temp problems. Still very drinkable. Switched to AHB kits and the first one that is ready is heaven!

I have two brews that I did on Saturday. One is in a plastic 6.5 and the other in a 5 gal carboy with a blowoff. I really enjoying watching the ferm happen..not for too long (light) and the bucket is done bubbling but the blowoff is banging away like a drum in the 2 liter pop jug I have the tub going in to.

I am looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.
 
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