Avoiding Blow-offs

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Prez

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Not with the ladies, with your carboy.

I used to be really stoked when I'd get a really vigorous fermentation. It gives you the feeling your beer is powerful. Now, I'm just sick of cleaning it up and rushing to get a blow-off tube on the carboy, especially in the morning when I'm trying to get out of the house.

Does anyone have some prior-proper-planning techniques to avoid having fermenting wort explode all over my walk-in closet? I'm thinking of something in the brewing process, not necessarily suggestions like, "Hook up a blow-off tube all the time."

Thanks!
 
A simple Burton Union blow off system would be fun to build and would solve your problem (If I'm understanding you correctly) There was an article in BYO about making such a thing.

That said, there's little you can do in the brew process that is going to prevent a hearty fermentation.
 
Doing your primary fermentation in a 7.9 gallon bucket should handle most brews. My Bavarian Hefe took off, but I had plenty of head room so the airlock did not turn into a rocket. I rack to a carboy or keg after a week to 10 days.
 
Yeah, I'd say that increasing your fermentation vessel volume is about your only option. Now you have an excuse to buy a stainless conical! I believe there was an article in the same BYO which dealt with this very issue in the same way we have suggested, unless you just want to put a blow-off on right away... oh yeah, oops...
 
Has anyone tried Fermcap-S Foam Inhibitor

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=5987

The link is from Midwest
"Fermcap keeps the krausen in your fermenter to 1/2 an inch. Allows you to brew slightly larger quantities in your existing fermentation vessels"

I originally saw it when I was looking into buying this Coney Airlock System.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6120

Any body ever try this? It sure sounds interesting, I wonder what negative effect that it has.
 
I posted this same thing already this morning.....
Lower Fermenting temperature. Healthy yeast are more active at cooler temperatures than other microbes. So by cooling to 50F (rather than the usual 70F) you give the yeast a leg up on anything else that might have gotten in. Then when you let the temp rise back to 70F the yeast have started making the environment less suitable for the other guys - pH drops and ethanol is formed - both kill off bacteria.

All that said because a cool to 50 and then slow rise back to 70 will reduce blow-off problems too. The yeast gets going more slowly but more healthily.

Dilution. Then there is the use of post primary dilution. You can prepare a more concentrated wort (say 4.5 gal) for your 5 gal primary. Then when you rack to your secondary, you can dilute it up to the mark with boiled (and cooled) water.

So you don't have to invest in a umteen gallon carboy to avoid blasting foam everywhere. 5 gal carboys can be used to make 5 gal batches.

Also, watch out when scrubbing a plastic bucket primary. Scratches can harbor bacteria, molds and wild yeasts!
And, who needs (or wants) to add a defoamer?
​
 
Prez said:
............. I'm thinking of something in the brewing process, not necessarily suggestions like, "Hook up a blow-off tube all the time."
Click to expand...

I'm curious why not just hook up blow-off tubing right away? If you hate running around attaching blow-off tubing when you're getting ready for work, just hook it up right after you pitch. When you notice that high krausen has passed and the threat of blow-off is over replace it with an airlock (for me usually after 3 or 4 days). I do that with every single batch I brew for that reason.

I don't know that I would want to add something to the brewing process just to keep the krausen down.....especially if it costs more or alters flavors in any way.

To each his own, but that's my $0.02
 
uwmgdman said:
I'm curious why not just hook up blow-off tubing right away? If you hate running around attaching blow-off tubing when you're getting ready for work, just hook it up right after you pitch. When you notice that high krausen has passed and the threat of blow-off is over replace it with an airlock (for me usually after 3 or 4 days). I do that with every single batch I brew for that reason.
Click to expand...

This is what I do when I think I might get an overly active fermentation. If you're using a small fermenting vessel, it might be a good idea every time.
 
When I switched to AG, my fermentations are still good, but krausen stays around 2-3" high max.
 

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