Vigorous Fermentation = Lost Volume

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syke0021

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I've been rocking the all grain brew for a few months and decided it was time to attempt a Barley Wine. I took several actions to increase attenuation, such as mashing at 149 degrees and building up the yeast starter. I pitched my yeast into 5.5 gallons of 1.106 OG wort. I was hoping for an active fermentation, but got a bit more than expected. The first 24 hours were so active I had to switch out the sanitized water at the end of my blow off hose three ties over the next 24 hours.

The bad news was I ended up losing a significant amount of volume during fermentation. I assume most of this was carried by the krausen. I ended up with just under 5 gallons in my carboy by the time fermentation slowed down and the krausen fell back in. A small loss is to be expected, but a half gallon loss? After a very successful brew day, this set back caused me quite a bit of regret over the precious ounces of Barley Wine that got away.

My question is this: Is there anyway I can prevent such a significant volume loss when brewing big beers in the future?

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Get one of these. It has generous 30Litre capacity and currently has 23litres in it. No matter how vigorous it gets it never gets near the airlock.

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Make a smaller batch. Ferment at a cooler temperature for the first few days.
 
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