Blow-off, trub with specialty grains

[LowRedMoon]

Hello good home brewers. This is my first post, and as a beginner it is only natural that this post contain questions about the art.
I've read 7 books on the subject (Papazian, Burch, W. Mares, Jackson, more Papazian, Snyder and C.A. Kloss) and have a couple of concers that were not covered in my reading.
I thank you in advance for your informed replies. I really appreciate your help!

1. Is trub a concern when doing a partial (infusion) mash with specialty malts that do not contain enzymes?
2. I've seen 6-gallon carboys for sale as primary fermenters. If filling a 6-gal. carboy with 5 to 5.5 gallons of wort, will the resulting airspace allow excess tannin-containing oils to properly blow off as they would in a 5-gallon carboy? Is blowing off this top foam as important as I've read it to be?

Thanks again for taking the time to read and reply!

 

[LowRedMoon]

38 views and no replies...Really, if any of you have a reply to the blow-off question, I REALLY like to hear it.

Thanks again.

 

[El Pistolero]

38 views and no replies...Really, if any of you have a reply to the blow-off question, I REALLY like to hear it.

Thanks again.

I'm sorry, but you've read way more books than I have , and your first question scares me.

 

[Tony]

With any brew, getting the freshly fermented beer off the trub quickly as possible has been an on going debate between a great many people.

Personally, I try to get it off the trub as quickly as possible, but that still means waiting for the main fermentation to complete as best as possible before racking to the secondary. You will find people saying the trub causes off tastes an such, and others who say it doesnt. But for me, once the fermentation slows dramtically, I rack to the secondary.

I would guess with specialty grains, you could cause some off flavors which would take away from their true taste if you left it on the trub too long.

As for the second question, I know that blow off set ups are used to properly allow for excess yeast foam and hops particles to easily exit the carboys, as well as from buckets when it comes to very strong yeast fermentations. I pitched my last ale to a 6.5 gallon carboy and still needed a blow off set up, because of the amount of yeast I used. But even though I originally had an airlock on it and foam was coming out like mad, once I set up my blow off, I didnt get much foam or other materials in my blow off collector.

But I guess theoretically the blow off could expell some excess tannin oil. Anyone else?

By the way, welcome to the forum.

 

[LowRedMoon]

Thanks for the replies, guys.
I may use 5 gallon carboys for primary fermentation of lower SpG beers and 6-gallon carboys for higher SpG beers. I'd rather lose a beer or two in blow-off and have better beer because all of the floating nasties have exited the fermenter. As trub goes, I have to work on my method.

I think that if I'm doing a partial mash (mashes that include extracts), I'll still cool the wort before adding it to the cool water in the carboy. That should allow any protiens to solidify, then I can siphon off the wort without the trub. Then again, my first few batches might change this altogether. I've made wine before, but brewing beer is totally new to me. I can't wait!

And thanks for the welcome. It's good to be here.

 

[david_42]

1. no
2. Interesting question about blowoff. In five years, I've only had one blowoff. I use 6 gal primaries to prevent it. I've never run across a reference to this being a neccessary/good thing. Can you post your reference? I've seen a couple mentions about not stirring the crud on the sides of the fermenter into the wort (unlike wine making when the crust gets pushed down repeatedly).

 

[LowRedMoon]

Thanks for the reply.
I'm getting this info from two sources, one is a book, one is my own experience.

The book: The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing by C. Parpazian, 2nd edition, p.27,136-137
Simply, ol' Charlie states that during this first stage of fermentation, it is important to blow off the resulting foam that contains "excessively bitter hop resins" and fusel oils (yeast byproducts which contribute to beer headaches).
I'm sure you have this book, so take a look. See what you think. Charlie is a self-titled hophead, so I doubt that a reasonable level of bitterness bothers him.

From my own experience: I once bought a case of Stegmaier Anniversary India Pale Ale that was was nicely complex and aromaic but was also pretty bitter and left an unusually oily residue on the glass. You could even feel the oils in your mouth if you paid attention, which I always do when I drink a beer...or Cognac...or wine. Anyway, on the 2 occasions I drank this beer (which was moderate drinking, I must add), I and the others who drank it woke up the next morning with awful stomachaches - the kind of which I haven't felt since I was a child. It was that sort of twisting, punch-to-the-gut "tummyache" kind of ache. I want to avoid this. I may be making assumptions here, which is why I'm bringing this up to you, the experienced home brewer.

"Relax," they say. I am relaxed.
"Don't worry," they say. Not worring, for me, must be preceeded with, and accompanied by sufficient knowledge.
"Have a homebrew," they say. I'm working on that.

 

[El Pistolero]

2. I've seen 6-gallon carboys for sale as primary fermenters. If filling a 6-gal. carboy with 5 to 5.5 gallons of wort, will the resulting airspace allow excess tannin-containing oils to properly blow off as they would in a 5-gallon carboy? Is blowing off this top foam as important as I've read it to be?

I'm not sure I've heard of anyone here that uses 5 gallon carboys for primaries, so who knows if anyone can really answer that question...I don't think anybody does it. Right after that Papazian passage you quoted, he says that a closed blow-off system should be used. Do you do that?

 

[LowRedMoon]

Right after that Papazian passage you quoted, he says that a closed blow-off system should be used. Do you do that?

I have yet to brew my first batch. Right now I'm gathering equipment and ingredients and setting up my brew space. If I were to employ a system that allows for vigorous blow-off, it would certainly be a closed system. The end of the blow-off hose would be submerged in sterile water. After the fermentation calmed down, I would use a regular airlock to finish out the primary.

 

[david_42]

Don't have that book. Tannins are a problem only if you sparge at 180F or higher. If he's a hophead, he's probably also into very high gravity ales. The one blowoff I had was a high gravity IPA. Every book I own says to use a 6 gallon or greater primary to avoid overflowing the fermenter. Bear in mind that if your fermenter is only 5 gallons, you'll have to toss out any extra wort. In any book, that's SINFUL!