Beer Forum

I brewed two 5-gallon batches yesterday, both extract kits from MoreBeer - one was their German Hefeweizen, the other a Belgian Dubbel. Used WLP300 for the hefe, and WLP530 for the dubbel. I didn't have tiem to make starters for these so I pitched the vial at 72 degrees and that's all.

I have them in the basement where the air is 68 degrees. I am using my plastic buckets and airlocks for the last time before moving to carboys and blow off tubes.

After reading up on how these two can get out of control, I sense much impending disaster in my future.

Is it possible to rig the buckets with blow off tubes now? I really don't want to come home and see these two trying to out-do each other with mess-making.

Anyone have success with this type of retro-fitting, or am I pretty much screwed? Thanks for any advice.

Todd wrote:
Anyone have success with this type of retro-fitting, or am I pretty much screwed? Thanks for any advice.

Yeah, I have. Remove the airlock and the grommet then jam some vinyl tubing in. 1/4" ID isn't perfect, but it's better than nothing. The other end goes into a jug of Star San.

You will want to use larger tubing than 1/4". If the thing clogs, the tubing will blow out of the hole and the small hole will spew all the way to the ceiling. Trust me, I've done research on that phenomena. You would need to either cut a larger hole in your lid to accomodate a 1" blowoff tube or just set the fermenter in a plastic tub with the lid just placed loosely on top. The CO2 given off will keep any nasties from getting in. If it tries to blow off, the foam will simply ooze over the side instead of spraying everywhere. When fermentation subsides you can then wipe down the outside and the rim with a cloth soaked in sanitizer, clean and sanitize the lid and place the lid back on tight with the airlock in place.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

I ran past my LHBS on the way home, we used a lid for demo purposes and decided that 3/8" was the snuggest fit if you take out the black rubber grommet, I will need to come up with some way to tape it down or make it fill the hole completely. If that doesn't work, I will absolutely use the loose lid idea, that was a great suggestion - thanks.

Since I didn't make a starter on these I think they are going to take some time to ramp up - it's 24 hrs and no popping yet at all, which surprises me a little, but certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility.

I am hoping that I don't have any opportunities to "research" this concept in person...

Sure Todd, I bet you could blow anything...

BugeaterBrewing wrote:You will want to use larger tubing than 1/4". If the thing clogs, the tubing will blow out of the hole and the small hole will spew all the way to the ceiling.

Yeah, ideally you drill out the hole to accomodate a 1" hose before you brew, but because Todd's already pitched, the smaller hose is better than nothing. Actually, loosening the lid as you suggested is the best thing to do.

Update: Day 5

So far, all is well. Because I now know I aggregiously under-pitched on my yeast it took 2 days for any activity to start so the explosive ramp up doesn't seem to be as much of a concern right now.

The hefe was bubbling about every 5-8 seconds last night and was making the basement smell wonderful. The dubbel is showing signs of bubbling but is taking it's own sweet time. I'll wait a few days and take a gravity reading and see how we're coming.

At this point, the temps seem to be stabilized around 72 according to the thermometer strip and as long as they keep popping, I'm happy. Hopefully I won't have to clean up any messes. I'll be more prepared for the next batches however.

Thanks

I think I'm missing something... What do you guys do to put a 1" hose in a big hole in a plastic lid?

My buckets and lids are from B3 and have the big hole drilled in for a #7 stopper. Whenever I try to just put the blow-off tube into the hole (so to speak) it kind of falls over to the side, kinks, and doesn't really seal up well at all.

I usually end up jamming a small diameter tube into a drilled stopper and going with that, but I'd love to be able to use the 1" blowoff tube.

What am I missing?