Low yield problems

[sabresword00]

Hello,

I am relatively new to brewing, I bottled my second ever batch today. With both batches, I ended up getting about 3.8 gallons of bottled beer. That is way lower than the 5 gallons that go into my carboy. I have a theory, but don't know for sure what I can do better to prevent this.

My theory is that I am using only one fermenting stage. I skip the primary bucket fermenting and go straight to the 5 gallon carboy since that was recommended most places on here to prevent contamination. Both batches I have needed a blow off tube for some foam so maybe that's where I am losing all the volume.

I honestly have no idea. I'm losing over a gallon of beer a batch, and I know I'm not spilling that much or leaving that much in carboy in an effort to not get sediment.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[OleBrewing]

I think you may have it mixed. Most will primary ferment in 6 gallon bucket or carboy so there is enough head space for the krausen to form with out over flowing the top.

With most beers there is no need to put it in a secondary 5 gallon vessel. This works great if you can cold crash the whole batch after fermentation is complete. This will drop out the yeast and sediment quickly. Thus making secondary fermentor not needed.

I think you are losing beer out the blow off tube.

 

[bu_gee]

If I lost a gallon of beer to my blow-off tube I'd think I'd notice the increased volume in the blow off dish.

I would say the trub would account for around half of the lost volume.

Also, are you confident of your bottle volumes? I find I put closer to 12.5 fl oz of beer in each "12 oz" bottle.

 

[sabresword00]

I think you may have it mixed. Most will primary ferment in 6 gallon bucket or carboy so there is enough head space for the krausen to form with out over flowing the top.

With most beers there is no need to put it in a secondary 5 gallon vessel. This works great if you can cold crash the whole batch after fermentation is complete. This will drop out the yeast and sediment quickly. Thus making secondary fermentor not needed.

I think you are losing beer out the blow off tube.

So a 6 gallon carboy would be a good investment for me, I guess. Thanks for the help. I don't know much about cold crashing, but I will learn before next time!

 

[Zepth]

I recently lost about 1/2 gallon blow off from a fermenter. Wasn't happy to be emptying that container twice daily and see my hard made wort go down the tubes. A Burton Union can apparently solve that problem. I've got one that is on it's first test run now, going smoothly thus far.

You can calculate how much blow off loss by marking the carboy liquid level when pitching, and measuring where it is after fermenting. A quick h*pi*r^2 will give you your volume. Add that to the trub loss which can be measured the same way or a more conventional way and see exactly what the total loss is. Possibly more important: where it is being lost.

20%+ does seem like a lot of loss.

 

[OleBrewing]

If a larger fermenter is not inthe cards there is an additive you can add I think it is called fermcap foam inhibitor. I have no experience with but could be something to look into.

Most on this site prefer plastic buckets over glass for primary vessels I believe they come in 6 1/2 gallons. I have used the 6 1/2 glass for years now without issue. There are many threads here between these.

 

[unionrdr]

It sounds like you have a primary bucket, but don't use it? Primaries are usualy 6 1/2 gallons & 7.9 gallons for the shorter, wider buckets. Those are designed to give room for the foamy krausen to form & recede without blowing off a good amount of beer as foam. That 5 gallon carboy is intended as a secondary where minimal head space is required to help prevent infections from having a lot of head space for oxygen to allow them to take hold.

 

[RM-MN]

Hello,

I am relatively new to brewing, I bottled my second ever batch today. With both batches, I ended up getting about 3.8 gallons of bottled beer. That is way lower than the 5 gallons that go into my carboy. I have a theory, but don't know for sure what I can do better to prevent this.

My theory is that I am using only one fermenting stage. I skip the primary bucket fermenting and go straight to the 5 gallon carboy since that was recommended most places on here to prevent contamination. Both batches I have needed a blow off tube for some foam so maybe that's where I am losing all the volume.

I honestly have no idea. I'm losing over a gallon of beer a batch, and I know I'm not spilling that much or leaving that much in carboy in an effort to not get sediment.

Any help would be appreciated.

I think you have misunderstood the part about the buckets. You can use them for primary as there will be no problems with contamination of the beer if you clean and sanitize the bucket. The problems can arise if you try to use the bucket for a secondary because the bucket won't be full so you will have a lot of space above the beer and the CO2 that was protecting the surface of the beer in primary will be lost transferring it to another bucket. I leave nearly all my beers in a bucket primary for 3 to 4 weeks and have no contamination problems.

I wouldn't buy a carboy for primary. You'll be trading a perceived problem for some real problems. I can pick my bucket up by the handle to move it, take the lid off for samples, put my hand inside to wipe it clean of krausen, and it won't break if I bump it. For the price of one carboy, I can buy 2 or 3 fermenter buckets.

 

[sabresword00]

bu_gee I'm not sure, I assumed filling them as high as i could with the bottling wand and removing it would be 12 oz. I will check with an extra bottle and a measuring cup. Thanks!

 

[sabresword00]

RM MN, I didn't think it was the buckets that brought contamination, I thought it was using any 2 different fermenters and transferring the beer that brought a risk of contamination.

I guess the consensus is that if I plan on using one fermenting stage that I should use a big bucket so the foam can form and recede safely, and then use the 5 gallon carboy I own currently to do secondary fermenting if I choose to do that.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah. I like the buckets with lid seals for primary, as they have plenty of room for getting dry hop bags in & out, as well as cleaning.

 

[sabresword00]

To all,

thanks for the help, I spent some time this afternoon re-calibrating my stuff, and found out a few things. I do fill bottles to pretty much exactly 12 oz, so that isn't an issue. My carboy 5 gallon mark (that I made) was very low, almost a quarter to half gallon off. So that explains A LOT. Hopefully, with my new and improved gallon marks combined with your advice, my next batch will produce a little more beer. Thanks all.

 

[user 141939]

Two things, don't use 5 gallons carboy for primary and... Put more than 5 gallons in the fermenter. I always do at least a quarter of a gallon over what I want in the bottles to account for losses along the way.

 

[RM-MN]

RM MN, I didn't think it was the buckets that brought contamination, I thought it was using any 2 different fermenters and transferring the beer that brought a risk of contamination.

I guess the consensus is that if I plan on using one fermenting stage that I should use a big bucket so the foam can form and recede safely, and then use the 5 gallon carboy I own currently to do secondary fermenting if I choose to do that.

This is sort of true but the reason for the chance of contamination is that when you transfer from the primary to secondary you lose the CO2 that blanketed your beer and that kept out the bacteria that require oxygen or cannot tolerate the CO2. If your sanitation is impeccable and you are fortunate enough to have a lot of CO2 dissolved in the beer when you transfer so it forms a new blanket of CO2 then using any secondary will be fine for a while. If there is oxygen left in the space above the blanketing CO2 it will eventually mix and expose your beer to oxygen. If you use a 5 gallon carboy for secondary your 5 gallons + of beer will fill it to the neck and it won't take much CO2 to fill the remaining space so your beer will be protected.