woozy
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Incident #3: So I'm reading a crappy little book-- you know the type; 54 pager with platitudes like 'beer originated in Mesopotania but now, you too can enjoy this proud tradition in your home!'-- the type of book whose only purpose for existence is so that sellers can claim that their beginner kits come with a *!FREE BOOK!*. The book says:
Okay... this sort of implies that the blow-off tube has some sort of magic vacuum cleaner power that will magically attract krausen out the tube. Or maybe krausen innately has strong wunderlust that when it sees a wide blowoff tube with its little krausen eye-balls and think in its little krausen brain "At last! And escape route!" and it will plunge its little krausen body to escape the nasty brew it's reluctantly called home all its life.
Incident #0: I don't use airlocks. I have a few 2-gallon lbks (little brown kegs) that I use for fermenters which have a vented lip system. Hence whenever I read about counting airlock bubbles and excessive blow-off tube activity I keep a general "yeah, I understand the theory of what it is but it doesn't really apply to me so I won't concern myself too much about it".
Incident #1: So one day I decide I want to brew a one gallon batch so I figure "Gee, I need something to ferment it in" so I come across a 1-gallon Carlo Rossi wine jug and think "Oho, that'll do, but now I need to figure out this airlock jazz." Well the instructions say put a blow-off tube on it for the first three days and then replace it with an airlock.
Well, monkey read; monkey do. I figure okay, there's probably a lot of forceful activity in the first few days and it might be too much for a fragile little airlock so a big-ol' industrial strength blow-off tube is an insurance precaution.
Incident #2: So I go to my local brew shop and show them my wine jug and say "I guess I need you to hook my up with a blow-off tube". I'm hoping the word "guess" will be the signal to them that I don't know what the eff I'm talking about and will trigger them to go into zen-master teacher mode and reveal the secrets of the mysteries of blow-off tubes to eager absorbtive me. But no, he just cuts me off a bit of 5/16 (or was it 7/16?) tube.
But then he tells me to attach it to the base of a three-piece airlock. (I've never heard of any-one doing this before or since). That way it and the airlock have the same simple base attachment to go into the small hole in carboy stopper.
---
Okay... But wait a minute! If the purpose of a blow-of tube is allow for krausen over-flow and excessive force and blockage, isn't an airlock wide opening attachment too small for it?
So help clarify the mystery of blow-off tubes for me
1. What is the purpose of a blow-off tube and how do you use one?
2. Krausen gets into a blow-off tube. Is this a) good; you want krausen in the tube; the tube was designed with magic magnets to attract krausen b) okay; you *don't* want krausen to be that active but if it is, that's what the blow-off tube was designed to handle; or c) aw, man! I hate when that happens. You're screwed, dude!
3. If an airlock is fragile and a blow-off tube is robust shouldn't they have different sized attachments.
4. If the purpose of a blow-off tube is to remove krausen (I don't believe it) then how does it work? Am I supposed to shove the tube way down the neck of the carboy? Will it work if it's attached to the outside of the carboy stopper?
Thanks. This is a very minor and non-critical issue but I don't like being ill/mis-informed.
In the bucket-type primary fermenter, the krausen cannot escape and eventually sinks back into the beer. This can contribute off-flavors to the homebrew. [What? Really? This is the first I have heard of that.] The only way to get rid of it is to open the fermenter and scoop up the brownish foam with a sanitized spoon...
The blow-by gets around this problem by allowing much of the krausen to escape the fermenter through the plastic tube.
The blow-by gets around this problem by allowing much of the krausen to escape the fermenter through the plastic tube.
Okay... this sort of implies that the blow-off tube has some sort of magic vacuum cleaner power that will magically attract krausen out the tube. Or maybe krausen innately has strong wunderlust that when it sees a wide blowoff tube with its little krausen eye-balls and think in its little krausen brain "At last! And escape route!" and it will plunge its little krausen body to escape the nasty brew it's reluctantly called home all its life.
Incident #0: I don't use airlocks. I have a few 2-gallon lbks (little brown kegs) that I use for fermenters which have a vented lip system. Hence whenever I read about counting airlock bubbles and excessive blow-off tube activity I keep a general "yeah, I understand the theory of what it is but it doesn't really apply to me so I won't concern myself too much about it".
Incident #1: So one day I decide I want to brew a one gallon batch so I figure "Gee, I need something to ferment it in" so I come across a 1-gallon Carlo Rossi wine jug and think "Oho, that'll do, but now I need to figure out this airlock jazz." Well the instructions say put a blow-off tube on it for the first three days and then replace it with an airlock.
Well, monkey read; monkey do. I figure okay, there's probably a lot of forceful activity in the first few days and it might be too much for a fragile little airlock so a big-ol' industrial strength blow-off tube is an insurance precaution.
Incident #2: So I go to my local brew shop and show them my wine jug and say "I guess I need you to hook my up with a blow-off tube". I'm hoping the word "guess" will be the signal to them that I don't know what the eff I'm talking about and will trigger them to go into zen-master teacher mode and reveal the secrets of the mysteries of blow-off tubes to eager absorbtive me. But no, he just cuts me off a bit of 5/16 (or was it 7/16?) tube.
But then he tells me to attach it to the base of a three-piece airlock. (I've never heard of any-one doing this before or since). That way it and the airlock have the same simple base attachment to go into the small hole in carboy stopper.
---
Okay... But wait a minute! If the purpose of a blow-of tube is allow for krausen over-flow and excessive force and blockage, isn't an airlock wide opening attachment too small for it?
So help clarify the mystery of blow-off tubes for me
1. What is the purpose of a blow-off tube and how do you use one?
2. Krausen gets into a blow-off tube. Is this a) good; you want krausen in the tube; the tube was designed with magic magnets to attract krausen b) okay; you *don't* want krausen to be that active but if it is, that's what the blow-off tube was designed to handle; or c) aw, man! I hate when that happens. You're screwed, dude!
3. If an airlock is fragile and a blow-off tube is robust shouldn't they have different sized attachments.
4. If the purpose of a blow-off tube is to remove krausen (I don't believe it) then how does it work? Am I supposed to shove the tube way down the neck of the carboy? Will it work if it's attached to the outside of the carboy stopper?
Thanks. This is a very minor and non-critical issue but I don't like being ill/mis-informed.