Bad info from LHBS

[Cougfan]

Hey guys (and gals), my name is John, and this is my first post. I have been lurking for a while and just started brewing (5 batches). At this point, I am still brewing extracts, but may make the jump to all grain soon.

I am afraid by LHBS may be leading me astray. This is the situation: I bought used equipment off of a buddy to get me started. He had two 5 gallon carboys, so I have been using those for the primarys. The problem is that I loose more beer during the primary than I would like (couple of liters). From what I have read, a 6 gallon carboy works much better for the primary. Every time I go to buy a 6 gallon carboy from the LHBS, the guy talks me out of it and says that it is better to use a 5 gallon. He says that you are supposed to blow off beer during the primary to get rid of some chemicals that give you headaches and taint the taste of the beer. I am confused on this, and need some help. If I go to a 6 gallon, will it affect the taste compared to using a 5 gallon.

 

[Parker36]

No. Pretty much everybody here uses a 6 1/2 primary

 

[stevea1210]

Yeah, the 6 is the way to go. 5 is great for a secondary (if you do secondary). I'm not sure where he gets the "demon be gone" thing about the krausen. I prefer not to have blowoffs when I can.
edit: to answer the last part, no it won't change the taste by using a 6 instead of a 5.

 

[Yooper]

I'd recommend a 6.5 gallon carboy, if you're buying one anyway. A 6 gallon just might not be quite big enough if you have a very active fermentation, or if you want to brew a 5.25 gallon batch (so you end up with 5 gallons in the end).

I think Charlie Papazian is a proponent of allowing the "bad stuff" to blow off, but I don't think most of us do that any more.

 

[martymoat]

he is a dumb dumb, He could make a few extra bucks off you and you would get what you wanted and be happy and fermenting with plenty of head space. but he is talking you into a slightly cheaper alternative that will just make more of a mess and get him 5 or 10 dollars less in the end.

 

[Beerrific]

I think the idea of blowing all that stuff off was generally accepted as the best practice in the past. (As Yooper said this was advocated in The Complete Joy of Homebrewing) The quality of the yeast as compared to today was very poor and did produce these chemical, fusel alcohols. Now days the yeast is much better, and in combination with proper fermentation temperature control, these chemicals will be produced in very low quantities.

Go in and ask to get a 6 (or 6.5 if they have it) gallon carboy or a bucket. If he resists, grab a copy of How to Brew and look it up for him. If he does not have a copy of How to Brew, question any other advise he gives you and forward him here.

 

[ifishsum]

You shouldn't have to argue with him...if you want to buy it, buy it. Don't even explain why...or tell him you want to make 6.5 gallons of Apfelwein.

I'm sure he means well, but talking someone out of something they want to buy doesn't make much business sense to me.

 

[dontman]

What he is saying comes from sound info. He is not dumb or crooked or whatever. However it is not the best information. No problem. Buy your bigger carboy elsewhere if he doesn't have the bigger size. I know my LHS didn't have the bigger one so I found an online retailer and saved myself some scratch in the bargain.

 

[McKBrew]

Some people get set in their ways and pass on the same information even though techniques change.

I was at my LHBS a few days ago and listening to the owner walk an elderly couple buying a starter kit through the process. He was talking about using bleach for a sanitizer for example, and while I know it works, I personally wouldn't be recommending it to anyone.

 

[Jaybird]

IGo in and ask to get a 6 (or 6.5 if they have it) gallon carboy or a bucket. If he resists, grab a copy of How to Brew and look it up for him. If he does not have a copy of How to Brew, question any other advise he gives you and forward him here.

Now that is great advice!!!!
You can also direct him HERE to HBT we can have our way with him.

Also let me say welcome to the forum

I would go w/ the 6.5 gallon, but that’s just me.

Cheers
JJ

 

[AKbrewer]

I use a 6 or 6.5 for the primary, sometimes I need a blow off tube but usually an airlock is sufficient. I only use 5 gallon carboys for the secondary because less head space is desirable in that case. Either way it will work but why use a 5 and waste the beer. Hop resins, dead yeast and other gunk will stick to the sides of a 6 gal when the krausen subsides anyway.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

He is steering you wrong. You need a large primary that can handle a healthy fermentation. Since 6.5 gallon glass carboys are not available anymore I would recommend a 7 or 8 gallon bucket for a primary. If you make a high gravity beer or use extremely fresh yeast or both at the same time you will still be able to control it.

Forrest

 

[Cougfan]

Thanks for the advice and the further explanations to his logic. It looks like I will be in the market for a ~6.5 gallon carboy.

 

[Hokie]

And if all those replies weren't enough, here is what one of my tried and true LHBS's (Annapolis Homebrew) FAQ section has to say about the matter:
Q. Should I use a 5-gallon glass carboy with a blow-off tube?
A. Probably not. It can be done, but blow-off isn't very popular anymore... and for a good reason. Here's the whole story:

A blow-off tube is used when you have a fermentor that's all the way full, with no extra headspace for yeast & foam to rise up and sit on the surface of the beer. The yeast and foam get blown out of the fermentor through the blow-off tube.

A lot of homebrew shops used to recommend fermenting in 5-gallon carboys with blow-off tubes, mainly because they were getting 5-gallon carboys really cheap, and wanted to sell them instead of the larger 6½-gallon carboys you should be using.
But most home brewers are using ale yeasts, and when you use a blow-off tube, you're blowing out your best yeast! This caused nice, fast fermentations to slow down and lag along to a weak ending, which causes overly-heavy beers with high Finishing Gravity and lots of off-flavors.

You should be using a fermentor with enough headspace to allow the yeast to stay in with the beer where it belongs! A 6½ gallon plastic bucket or glass carboy is ideal for this. 5 gallon carboys should be used only for secondary fermentation, where there is little or no foam.

We use a blow-off tube on our 6½ gallon fermentors when making fruit beers, because they ferment so powerfully that they can reach the top and start to make a mess without it.

 

[heyvail]

you could also use a foam inhibitor to reduce the surface tension, fermcap I think it is called. Also works great in the boil! But that is another thread entirely!!! Just another avenue in a long list of good advice!!

 

[pjj2ba]

you could also use a foam inhibitor to reduce the surface tension, fermcap I think it is called. Also works great in the boil! But that is another thread entirely!!! Just another avenue in a long list of good advice!!

That's what I do for my 5 gal. glass carboys. I really like the stuff.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Hey guys (and gals), my name is John, and this is my first post. I have been lurking for a while and just started brewing (5 batches). At this point, I am still brewing extracts, but may make the jump to all grain soon.

I am afraid by LHBS may be leading me astray. This is the situation: I bought used equipment off of a buddy to get me started. He had two 5 gallon carboys, so I have been using those for the primarys. The problem is that I loose more beer during the primary than I would like (couple of liters). From what I have read, a 6 gallon carboy works much better for the primary. Every time I go to buy a 6 gallon carboy from the LHBS, the guy talks me out of it and says that it is better to use a 5 gallon. He says that you are supposed to blow off beer during the primary to get rid of some chemicals that give you headaches and taint the taste of the beer. I am confused on this, and need some help. If I go to a 6 gallon, will it affect the taste compared to using a 5 gallon.

Someone should make this a sticky to show that LHBSs are NOT the font of all wisdom. There are good ones, bad ones, and those in between. They are NOT always the best starting place for a noob.