second brew thoughts and questions

[Jzak09]

Second brew in the works and I have a few questions and concerns on trying to perfect the process. My first brew had crazy blow off that lost at least a half gallon to it. How can I avoid this; would a cooler temperature do the trick, or does it depend on the yeast strain or anything else? or should I just eat the loss?

 

[Yooper]

Second brew in the works and I have a few questions and concerns on trying to perfect the process. My first brew had crazy blow off that lost at least a half gallon to it. How can I avoid this; would a cooler temperature do the trick, or does it depend on the yeast strain or anything else? or should I just eat the loss?

Without knowing the details here, a few things can be possible. One- the primary fermentation vessel was simply too small for the size of the batch. I use a 7.5 gallon bucket for most of my beers, and rarely get a blow off.

Another thought is the temperature- a too-high temperature can cause a fast and furious fermentation, which can cause an even higher temperature, and often leads to a blow off. A good technique is to ferment ales on the lower range of the yeast strains recommended temperature, and you'll get a cleaner tasting beer and a more slow and steady fermentaiton. (Well, not always- yeast is a living organism, and can't always be totally predictable!).

 

[mosyslack]

I second Yooper...what size fermentation vessel did you use? If you're doing 5 gal batches, use at least 6.5 gal fermenters. You should have minimal blow off. I have only used air locks and have had only one beer that blew into the lock.