Fermenting duvel clone suck back avoidance

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beerbeerbeer123

beerbeerbeer123

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Hello everyone..I am getting geared up for a duvel clone..I with pitch at 62*F with a 3L starter and allow to rise to 78*-80* over 5-7 days..then i will cold crash to 33*F-35*F and lager for 3-4 weeks..Anybody think its a good idea to replace the airlock/blowoff with a balloon or some tin foil during the lagering stage to prevent "suck back"? anybody ever try this method?..I know i can use vodka but i want to eliminate suck back all together..also after the lagering stage i will raise the temp back to the low 60's to begin the bottling phase..so im quessing this fermentation schedule will almost invite suck back..your thoughts and ideas will be appreciated..thank you Cheers
 
beerbeerbeer123 said:
Hello everyone..I am getting geared up for a duvel clone..I with pitch at 62*F with a 3L starter and allow to rise to 78*-80* over 5-7 days..then i will cold crash to 33*F-35*F and lager for 3-4 weeks..Anybody think its a good idea to replace the airlock/blowoff with a balloon or some tin foil during the lagering stage to prevent "suck back"? anybody ever try this method?..I know i can use vodka but i want to eliminate suck back all together..also after the lagering stage i will raise the temp back to the low 60's to begin the bottling phase..so im quessing this fermentation schedule will almost invite suck back..your thoughts and ideas will be appreciated..thank you Cheers
Click to expand...


Any advice anyone?
 
Use a one-piece (s-shaped) airlock. Suck back is impossible, they require even less vodka/starsan to be effective, plus they are unbreakable.
 
The "S" type will also allow air suck into the carboy....
Any type of airlock we use will allow this to happen.
The problem is the very sudden cold crash.
I let the beer go thru initial 5-7 days fermentation, then gradually reduce temperature 3degrees/day until < 40 degrees.
The yeast is not cold shocked to death and continues to work cleaning up the beer off flavors.
Beer is just as clear.
Takes a little more time but no air ingress with beer oxidation.
Air is your enemy after about 24 to 48 hours in the fermenter.
 
If cold crashing ruined beer, no one would do it. I'd bet most award winning beers get a cold crash. Don't be silly spouting that 3 degrees per day is some sort of standard that is widely followed. If you don't want sanitizer/vodka/funky water sucked into your fermentor, use an s-shaped airlock or a piece of foil etc.
 
JJFlash said:
The "S" type will also allow air suck into the carboy....
Any type of airlock we use will allow this to happen.
The problem is the very sudden cold crash.
I let the beer go thru initial 5-7 days fermentation, then gradually reduce temperature 3degrees/day until < 40 degrees.
The yeast is not cold shocked to death and continues to work cleaning up the beer off flavors.
Beer is just as clear.
Takes a little more time but no air ingress with beer oxidation.
Air is your enemy after about 24 to 48 hours in the fermenter.
Click to expand...
I've literally never heard of anyone doing this and I'm slightly baffled how you came up with this labor intensive method to avoid waiting for fermentation to finish and/or not overfill your airlock.

I don't even know what you're talking about with this "yeast are cold shocked to death" thing either. There isn't any reason to cold-crash beer that still has yeast activity.
 
beerbeerbeer123 said:
Hello everyone..I am getting geared up for a duvel clone..I with pitch at 62*F with a 3L starter and allow to rise to 78*-80* over 5-7 days..then i will cold crash to 33*F-35*F and lager for 3-4 weeks..Anybody think its a good idea to replace the airlock/blowoff with a balloon or some tin foil during the lagering stage to prevent "suck back"? anybody ever try this method?..I know i can use vodka but i want to eliminate suck back all together..also after the lagering stage i will raise the temp back to the low 60's to begin the bottling phase..so im quessing this fermentation schedule will almost invite suck back..your thoughts and ideas will be appreciated..thank you Cheers
Click to expand...

You you replace it with a solid stopper, then put a carboy cap on top of the stopper and use a zip tie to hold the carboy cap in place. That should do a pretty decent job.

I have some ciders in 1 gallon jugs I do something similar with. Solid stopper that I put a screw cap over top of. They've been sitting for the last four months without any problems.
 
well thank you everyone for your input..I think im gonna go with a super long blow off tube 6'-8' always have tubing lying around which i will make a bunch of loops or the tin foil method secured with a rubber band..the tin foil seems the easiest and probably effective or maybe even a foam stopper used for starters
thanks again everyone
 

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