Seeking homebrew guidance...

[landhoney]

Always use a blow-off tube.

You'd think after three years brewing I would have learned this, but I got lazy after brewing and then going to a party that night. Next morning....krausen on the ceiling.

[BeerAdvocate]

Originally Posted by landhoney

Always use a blow-off tube.

You'd think after three years brewing I would have learned this, but I got lazy after brewing and then going to a party that night. Next morning....krausen on the ceiling.

When I ordered my starter kit, I upgraded my carboys to 6.5gallons and have never had to worry about a blow-off tube. One less step to remember

[St. Lou Stu]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

When I ordered my starter kit, I upgraded my carboys to 6.5gallons and have never had to worry about a blow-off tube. One less step to remember

You're not going to believe me..... but I had a 5 gallon batch of American Lager blow off on day three of active fermentation..... at 51° F.... In a 6.5 gallon carboy.

Who woulda thunk?

I thought it was a fluke, so I cleaned the airlock, re-filled, stuck it in and found it the next morning..... full of Krausen.

It spent the next 5 days with a tube.
It is now fermenting calmly at 51° after 16 days.


I may be digging this blow off on everything idea. It's just easier.

[potlimit]

Well my first brew was a little, well... flat. And yes, lol, I realize it's not carbed yet, I just mean the taste fell flat. I know, I know, give it time, don't fret. I bottled and we'll see. Can't say I'm not a bit disappointed, but I'm undeterred and will brew again next week as I ordered the agave wit from Austin.

I have a tiny question, though. Is this what the trub on the bottom of my fermenter should look like?

[kaisersozei]

Originally Posted by potlimit

Well my first brew was a little, well... flat. And yes, lol, I realize it's not carbed yet, I just mean the taste fell flat. I know, I know, give it time, don't fret. I bottled and we'll see. Can't say I'm not a bit disappointed, but I'm undeterred and will brew again next week as I ordered the agave wit from Austin.

I have a tiny question, though. Is this what the trub on the bottom of my fermenter should look like?

Yes, exactly. All that spent yeast, that's some good stuff right there!

If you had another beer ready to go, you could just dump the wort right on top of that and be off & running in no time.

I wouldn't worry about the taste right now, unless it was rancid! Unless I dry hop it can be deceiving, almost all of my beers taste pretty much the same straight out of the fermenter (I always drink the left over beer from the measuring cylinder.) What style/recipe did you go with?

[potlimit]

Originally Posted by kaisersozei

Yes, exactly. All that spent yeast, that's some good stuff right there!

If you had another beer ready to go, you could just dump the wort right on top of that and be off & running in no time.

I wouldn't worry about the taste right now, unless it was rancid! Unless I dry hop it can be deceiving, almost all of my beers taste pretty much the same straight out of the fermenter (I always drink the left over beer from the measuring cylinder.) What style/recipe did you go with?

Just a regular nut brown ale. I wasn't really concerned with the style on the first one as I was more interested in getting a feel for the process. It was a basic extract kit, of which I'm going to do a couple more and then maybe try and progress to a partial.