Lessons being learned here

#1: pay attention when brewing lol. I was breaking my new batch of wit up into two boils, because I have 2 small kettles but not a big one. So, I get a nice rolling boil and without thinking, I dump all of my DME and honey right into the pot. (I was supposed to add half of my ingredients.) I immediately freaked out and called my HBS but was advised to just dilute the concentrated wort and everything should be fine.

But, now the question arises: I have a little over 5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon carboy. Is the blow-off tube necessary? Or should I just throw a fermentation lock on there? (Relaxing, not worrying, having a homebrew)

That really depends on your fermentation temperature and the amount of yeast you pitch. Once, I made a starter and pitched a large amount of yeast. The temperature got a little high (78-80) and the fermentation became so active that I had to remove the airlock or risk an explosion. Since that time I've been able to keep the temperature in the lower 70s and have not had any problems whatsoever....not even close. I don't think a blowoff tube is necessary....but thats just my opinion.

I think your 6.5 g carboy will be fine.

It's when you get to the 5.5 g with 5 g of brew that you'd have to worry about the excess in the jug.

I've had blowoff in a 6.5 gallon primary with a 5 gallon batch in it. Of course, I pitched about a quart of starter in there. Around 36 hours later, there was foam and Krausen coming out the blow off tube. Keep an eye on it. If foam starts getting close to the airlock, you'll want to attach a blow-off.

i use a 6.5 g carboy for primary w/ roughly 1.4 & 2 quart starters and have never had a problem. but, i do ferment @ 68-70 degrees. should be fine, just watch the ferm temps as mentioned before.

Thanks for the info! I'm holdin it down at 75 degrees right now but I'm about to move it into my basement, which is right at 60. I just used a wyeast liquid tube w/out a starter, and I pitched it at around 80 degrees. (I desperately need a wort chiller and I waited until 4 in the morning but 80's the lowest it would go.) Obviously the yeast are doin their thing though, so I don't see any real problems.

the one main lingering doubt in my mind is that, when I was steeping the grain for this, I left the kitchen and when I came back like 10 minutes later, the pot was at 170. I threw in some ice and turned the stove off and it cooled down quickly. So, hopefully no tannins are gonna ruin my otherwise beautiful batch of beer.

oh, and on last thing. I forgot to take the O.G. lol. What's the best way to take it out of a carboy? I'm not very good at siphoning... I do have a fermentap, but it's old and I need to clean it. Anyone have any experience with those? I think I could have started 4 different threads with this one post, but I'm all about the efficiency.

I get liquid outta the carboy with a 60cc syringe. It's about 6 inches long, so I just have to be sure that the carboy is full enough... I suppose I could attach a bit of tubing too.... but that big syringe gives exactly the right amount of liquid for the hydrometer tube, it's easily sanitized, and doesn't aerate the wort.

Dragonfly said:

.... I forgot to take the O.G. lol. What's the best way to take it out of a carboy?...

Click to expand...

If your talking about taking a sample out for an SG reading, I use Fermtech's Thief. It works great and most LHBS' carry them.

Well I've got a lot of syringes layin around the house - they're all pretty dirty tho ... that Fermtech thief looks pimp, I'm gonna roll to my HBS & see what's the deal. lol thanks for helpin out guys!