carboy never gets full enough to use blow off

so I've been brewing for almost a year and have well over a dozen batches under my belt but not once has my 6.5 gallon carboy even come close to overfilling

I want to use a blow off to get rid off all that nasty stuff

I've tried increasing the fermentation temp to 78 and also yeast nutrient but no change - Also i have used several different stains of dried yeast and even one batch using liquid yeast - and i used a yeast started once

is there anything else i can do besides increasing my batch size up from 5 gallons??

Thanks all!!!

Brew a Heffe... that should do the trick. Many beers do not blow off. Remember, when it blows off, you are blowing off some yeast too.

If you're fermenting on the cool side, it will be quieter. Aim for the high side and you'll blow providing your gravity is up around 1.050 or so.

I think I'm confused. Why is it so important to "get rid off all that nasty stuff"? Doesn't it just drop down to the bottom some time after fermentation is done? I don't rack to secondary so I typically just leave it in the primary for 3 weeks and have never seen much "nasty stuff" on top when I do bottle. OK...there was that time I made a raspberry wheat and those raspberries were all floating at the top (looked like cherrios). But other than that the nasty stuff all just drops to the bottom.

Have I just been lucky?

It all drops out...

I just did my second beer that was an alt, used Wyeast 1007 smack pack with no starter (the packet was only 4 days old). Pitched it at 80 degrees (it was late and I had early work in the morning). 36 hours later my airlock was taken over by krausen, and I had to switch it over to a blow tube. It was a 5.5 gallon recipe though. (Target OG 1.054, I think I read it at 1.047). So my suggestion is bump up your recipe to 5.5 and use liquid yeast.

Some argue that Krausen can cause beer headaches or hangovers but that seems a bit much. I mean even a small quantity of beer can cause a small hangover so whats the difference?

Alcohol dehydration, other elements in the beer that causes headaches, etc... I don't know if there is a big flavor advantage to skimming the Krausen but it doesn't seem to be that big of deal.

I've done well over 250 batches using a 6.5g carboy as a primary, and I've only had one that needed a blow off during that time. If you really don't like the krausen, use an ale pail for the primary, and skim it off with a sanitized spoon. Personally, I don't think it is worth the trouble.

-a.

Put more wort in it.

I have only had my Heffes blow off... nothing else.

I also don't get blowoff, probably because of fermentation temp control and I use foam control in the boil kettle.

I suggest not worrying about the krausen, it all drops out an ddoesn't hurt anything.

I'd think that you'd be fine with a 6.5 Gallon carboy for most beers.

Also, keep the temps in the proper range. Raising the temps is counter productive. You'll get all the disadvantages of high temps, and the disadvantages of having to use a blow-off tube.

Why do you feel the need for a blow off. Many people use larger fermenters like 7.9gal buckets to avoid the need for blow off tubes.

With 5gal batches and a 6.5 gal container very few beers will fill it enough to cause a blow off. At 5.5gal in a 6.5 gal container or 5gal in a 6gal container it will happen much more often. If you are trying to blow off most of the krausen then use a 6gal bottle with 5.5+gal batch.

Myself, I use ferm-cap to prevent blow offs on even my hefe's and RIS. Everything will settle out in the primary given enough time.

Craig

I use six gallon buckets because they were cheap and they just fit in my cabinet. Only one brew I done really needed a blow-off. The lid was bulging quite a bit. When I slowly took the clogged air lock off it foamed out the hole. When I put a hose in the grommet it just kept pumping krausen in to the water bottle for the rest of the day. Funny, that was B3's Fire in the Hole with S-04. I guess that's why they call it that?

Thanks for all the good info

i've always heard that the krausen imparted bad flavors to your beer and it was best to use a blow off to git rid as much as possible

Go ahead and ferment in a 5g carboy. You'll get some blow-off alright! (I'll never do that again )

Papazian touts the theory in his book about the krausen making the beer taste bad - but these days most do not worry about it at all. It drops to the bottom or sticks to the sides anyway so it usually doesn't make it into the finished product.