Do Not Do This!

[rbpbbrewery]

I have a chest freezer that I use with a g.e. thermostat to control fermentation temperatures. I ferment in the glass carboys and use the tube into bucket blow-off method which always worked good, until now!

I had two batches that finished primary fermentation then I dropped the temperature for cold storage. Usually I would remove the hose prior to this and replace it with an airlock but i waited a few days until the temp got to 40 degrees F. Well, the temperature differences must of created a vacuum and sucked the sanitizer/crud liquid from my blow off bucket back into the beer! Not just a little bit but most of it!!!

If you use this method, I would strongly suggest putting the airlock in before you crash the temp. Now I have two otherwise perfectly good batches that need to be dumped! This Sucks!!!!!

 

[PintOfBitter]

suck.

haha just realized the pun.

 

[Yooper]

Yeah, that happens all of the time during cold crashing. I switch to a bung with no hole, or a carboy cap, if I remember.

Before you throw it out- consider what you had for a blow off liquid. If it's just water, the beer might have survived. I'd try it, at least, before tossing it. Whatever was in the blow off won't kill you, even if it tastes bad, so it'd be worth a sample. (not that I'm volunteering or anything.............)

 

[bbone66]

It happened to me too, it was only a cup of water though. I was able to carefully rack the beer from the bottom (water floted on top) and all turned out fine. I now cover with foil for the cold crashing faze.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Why do you think you need to dump it?

Another reason to use vodka in the airlock...

 

[Zen_Brew]

+1 Don't just randomly dump the beer. Wait and see what happens, or attempt to re-rack from beneath the liquid that has enterred if it really freaks you out. The beer may turn out just fine.

Here is another solution for when you cold crash. I also use this when I move my Better Bottle Carboys, as they flex when you pick them up and can suck in airlock liquid. It is a dry trap airlock that does not use liquid. You just put it in a drilled stopper or a carboy cap.

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Better-Bottle-DryTrap-Fermentation-Lock.html

 

[chrisknight]

Oh man... That sucks...

 

[Conehead]

I cold crashed my 14.5 gallon conical and noticed the well water solution crawling up the blow off hose. It never made it. I use a long hose and it only went up 6 inches. What if you used a longer blow off hose in your freezer? I don't trust air locks. I think you will get suck back with an air lock, although you can use a sanitized solution in it I guess.

Conehead

 

[michael.berta]

Ummm..Starsan beer....

 

[Rushis]

What's the ID on your blowoff? What sort of temperature change are you looking at? 64F to 34F?

If you run the numbers you are looking at 5 to 10 oz change in the gas volume upon crash cooling (depending on temperature change of course). With a 1" ID tube you'ld need roughly 6" of vertical tubing to accommodate that change in volume without sucking anything into your fermentor.