The Basics Aren't Always Basic

[JKenshi]

Some techniques you should learn before you need them, even if you think you never will. For instance, knowing how to rig up a blow off tube made from spare parts can be incredibly important, especially if your LHBS is not open. Or, maybe just keep a blow off tube as part of your regular kit.

Also, knowing not to brew a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy is important. Never bet against your best nature. Getting the gravity/pitch rate/temperature exactly right on the day you don't have enough head space can be disastrous.

Glad I rigged up that tube the night before!

 

[WestMichBrewer]

This (trying to ferment 5 gallons of beer in a 5 gallon fermentor) ought to be in the "Don't do that" thread.

 

[seatazzz]

Blowoff setups...that's what broken 3-piece airlocks are for. (Where the heck did that airlock go? *crunch* Oh yeah it's here in my chair....). 3/8" vinyl hose fits nicely in the post in the bottom.

 

[Calder]

Blowoff setups...that's what broken 3-piece airlocks are for. (Where the heck did that airlock go? *crunch* Oh yeah it's here in my chair....). 3/8" vinyl hose fits nicely in the post in the bottom.

I've seen how airlocks can get blocked, and would not trust a 3/8th inch tube not to get plugged. Thinking about all that trub and hop matter. Agreed, it is better than just an airlock. All my brews start with a 1.25 inch tube in place of the airlock and bung. Rarely required, but occasionally I am thankful that I used it. A larger tube is also easier to clean; I can push a damp paper towel thru mine to clear it out.

 

[bransona]

I currently have an airplug (see: brewdemon) clogged with a mighty wlp001 ferment. I'm just gonna leave it. Is that a basic enough technique? [emoji136]

 

[WestMichBrewer]

3.5 gallons in a 5 gallon carboy? No problem, plenty of headspace!

Note the color of the fluid in the airlock...

 

[shoengine]

Healthy ferment!

 

[WestMichBrewer]

Healthy ferment!

Yeah, surprised me. Belgian Dubbel with Wyeast Trappist High Gravity yeast at 65 degrees.

 

[bigdawg86]

This (trying to ferment 5 gallons of beer in a 5 gallon fermentor) ought to be in the "Don't do that" thread.

I even had some unexpected blowoff from a 5 gallon batch in secondary, had almost no headspace intentially... Racked the beer on top of unsweetened toasted coconut and apparently it has just enough sugar to bubble up the neck and out the airlock.

 

[WestMichBrewer]

I even had some unexpected blowoff from a 5 gallon batch in secondary, had almost no headspace intentially... Racked the beer on top of unsweetened toasted coconut and apparently it has just enough sugar to bubble up the neck and out the airlock.

I could see that happening! It's a good idea to reduce headspace in secondary to limit oxygen exposure. Dropping in more fermentables is where the trouble started...you wouldn't expect much sugar there though...could have just been nucleation points causing outgassing?
Last time I did something like that was adding raspberry slurry to a porter, but I think I did that in the 5-gallon carboy too, 3.5 gallons of beer though so no issue.

 

[JKenshi]

I've been mostly brewing ciders, and fermenting in buckets, so headspace/krausen was never an issue. People told me I need to ferment in glass, so I thought I'd give it a go. When I filled that carboy, something was bothering me, so after setting everything up, I looked through my spare parts, grabbed a leftover 3 foot length of .5 inch hose and jammed it onto the center tube of an unused airlock and set it aside... just in case.

By bedtime, there was still no activity in the carboy, but the center cap of the airlock had started to rise. I was so excited and couldn't wait to see it bubbling away the next morning. Next day was like Christmas! I wanted to savor it, so I walked the dogs, made my coffee, then headed down to the basement to see what St. Nick had delivered. Imagine my chagrin when I find a giant mushroom of krausen sitting on top of my airlock, clearly left by Krampus.

But, I showed my resolve and calmly walked over to my kit, pulled out the rigged up tube, stuck the out end into a jug of Starsan I had at hand, and swapped out the airlock for the blowoff with minimal fuss. The unfortunate part was losing probably a quart of volume to the foamy nonsense oozing its way to the jug. I had to change it probably 4 or 5 times over the next 24 hours before things settled down enough to go back to a regular airlock.