Losing Beer through blow-off

[badmario]

I started a Whiskey Barrel stout last night with an OG of 1.060. I put the beer into a glass carboy so I could watch the fermenting process (I've done my last several brews/wines in buckets). By this morning I could see some malt colored water had got into the airlock and it was fermenting rapidly. I switched the water, and within about 15 minutes it had malt colored water again. At this point I decided to switch to a blow-off because I was planning to be out the next few hours.

Now that I've gotten home I can see foam constantly funneling through the tube and my "blow-off bucket" is malt colored.

So, am I actually losing volume of my beer? My batch is slightly under 5 gallons and I'm fermenting in a 6 gallon glass. Target temperature is 64-72 and my carboy seems to be about 68-70. Should I drop the temp? or just let it bubble out?

 

[tooblue02]

Shouldn't be to much of an issue, my blow off tubes routinely have krausen in them. I do change the sanitized solution every few days for the first week to keep it moving and after a week I shift to the air lock. I did not have this problem until I started using liquid yeasts with starters which has really been working wonders for my brews.

 

[badmario]

Thanks for the reply. I am actually using a dry yeast with this batch. I switched the fleece jacket around it for a t-shirt to see if the temp calms down a bit...

 

[harebearva]

Temp wise, I'd probably just hold it at 68-70 and not try to drop the temp too much. 68F is pretty good for an ale. IMO you could create more problems trying to lower the temps and possibly, albeit unlikely, stall your fermentation. I'd hold it there til the krausen starts to drop then let it free rise 2 or 3 degrees and let it finish up.

 

[cluckk]

Don't sweat it. You won't lose volume--at least nothing you will notice. Your blowoff is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Keep the temp where it is and just let it ride.