# Blow off tube with glad-wrapped fermenter?



## kaiserben (12/8/15)

For those who use Glad wrap instead of a lid and air-lock, what do you do about a blow off tube? 

I've got a stout that I'm about to re-make that made an awful mess last time I made it (using an air-lock in a 28L capacity ss fermenter). This time I want to use a 30L plastic fermenter with glad-wrap for a lid. That extra 2L of space might be enough to avoid a mess this time, but I want to be extra careful and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do for a blow-off set up?


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## Rocker1986 (12/8/15)

On the surface it would seem not, but perhaps someone has some ingenious way of doing it. You'd probably be better off using a lid and fitting a tube to the airlock hole as is standard procedure for blow off tubes.


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## kaiserben (12/8/15)

Unfortunately the plastic fermenters I have don't have an airlock hole on the lid (the 30L blue ones from Bunnings). 

I could go back to using my 28L stainless steel one and use a blow-off tube this time. Or take my chances with the extra 2L of headspace in the plastic one.


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## TheWiggman (12/8/15)

Why not drill a hole in the lid? Ø12.5, fit a grommet ($1) and whooshka - good to fit blowoff tube.


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## Ducatiboy stu (12/8/15)

TheWiggman said:


> Why not drill a hole in the lid? Ø12.5, fit a grommet ($1) and whooshka - good to fit blowoff tube.


or got a 1" hole and grommet


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## Vini2ton (12/8/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> or got a 1" hole and grommet


I've got the same. Good for dry-hopping, putting a heater in or just to have a squizz. Or attaching a blow-off tube. I haven't ever used the gladwrap method yet, but I've seen barmaids who couldn't afford clothes wear it as their work clobber.


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## Ducatiboy stu (12/8/15)

I have seen barmaids who could even afford clothes...or glad wrap


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## kaiserben (31/8/15)

So ... I decided to tempt fate and see if a 30L fermenter (as opposed to the 28L one that resulted in a mess last time) could contain this stout of mine. This is how it looked when I left for work this morning. If the levee breaks I'll have a big clean-up job this evening.


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## Diesel80 (31/8/15)

Krausenator looks good!

Cheers,
D80


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## Ducatiboy stu (31/8/15)

kaiserben said:


> If the levee breaks I'll have a big clean-up job this evening.


I so want to see the pics


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## kaiserben (2/9/15)

It was a bit of an anti-climax. Only a dribble down 2 sides.


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## Cortez The Killer (2/9/15)

Maybe look at 60L fermenter or split the batch across 2 * 30L for the next

Gladwrap is far too easy to worry about blow off tubes etc

Cheers


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## S.E (2/9/15)

Cortez The Killer said:


> Maybe look at 60L fermenter or split the batch across 2 * 30L for the next
> 
> Gladwrap is far too easy to worry about blow off tubes etc
> 
> Cheers


I doubt he would fit a 60L fermenter in that fridge Gino, and certainly not 2*30 so better off finding the lid or getting a bigger fermenting fridge to accommodate bigger/more fermenters.


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## SJW (2/9/15)

U just ferment a little cooler to slow everything down a little.


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## S.E (2/9/15)

SJW said:


> U just ferment a little cooler to slow everything down a little.


Or alternatively he could seal the fermenter with the lid and use a blow off as he stated in his op that he wants to do. Why do we need to make brewing so complicated and not just do the obvious? :unsure:


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## SJW (2/9/15)

S.E said:


> Or alternatively he could seal the fermenter with the lid and use a blow off as he stated in his op that he wants to do. Why do we need to make brewing so complicated and not just do the obvious? :unsure:


Because he asked the question.


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## S.E (2/9/15)

SJW said:


> Because he asked the question.


Well looking again the question was “For those who use Glad wrap instead of a lid and air-lock, what do you do about a blow off tube?” so my answer to that is incorrect.

But he did go on to ask “I'm wondering if there's anything I can do for a blow-off set up?” so I think I was in the ball park. Your suggestion is good but not what was being asked, no?


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## SJW (2/9/15)

I failed. It was just a suggestion.


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## S.E (2/9/15)

SJW said:


> I failed. It was just a suggestion.


Yes but not a suggestion on how to fit a blow off tube to a glad wrapped fermenter. I feel we have all failed him. :unsure:


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## SJW (2/9/15)

Life will go on, and beer will still be made.


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## kaiserben (3/9/15)

As it happens, I plan to ferment a degree or two colder next time. :lol:


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## SJW (3/9/15)

kaiserben said:


> As it happens, I plan to ferment a degree or two colder next time. :lol:


And there we have it.


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## kaiserben (16/9/15)

So I ended up buying gear for a blow-off set up (on my stainless fermenter's lid) AND fermenting a few degrees colder. 
Main ferment activity is over and there's only the tiniest amount of discolouration in the no-rinse solution at the other end of the blow off tube. And virtually no mess to clean up. 
That'll be my first choice for fermenting from now on. 

The following day I re-brewed the same beer (3 gravity points lower), put it in a newly acquired plastic fermenter with a bit more headspace and glad wrapped it. It had no temp control (I only have the one ferment fridge). The krausen ring went high but didn't quite make it out. So all good! However a bit of a worry for the finished beer is that the air temp in the chamber I was keeping it in hit 28C when I got home from work on Day 1. 

Anyway, these 2 beers - tasted side-by-side - will give a great example of how ferment temps affect a finished beer.


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## cspencer (7/12/15)

I've just had my first blow out, been using the same blue bunnings fermenter with gladwrap system for a couple of years. But mine was a Lager style pitched onto a WLP800 yeast cake and a volume of only 19Lt.

Question about the clean up and if this beer will be ok. I pulled the glad wrap off, wiped all the yeast off the fermenter from around the outside (making sure I didn't go need the inside) while spraying everything on the outside with my no rinse sterilizer (trying not to get any inside). Then re-did the glad-wrap and back in the ferment fridge.

I know the temp was a bit higher than I wanted when pitching (I thought the wort post cooling was about 20C but once in the fermenter it looked to be more like 25/26C (this was Sat midday) and when I checked Sun Arvo I found this 

(the green beer doesn't taste infected. huge smell of banana)

Temps during Mashing did drop to about 59 for 15-20mins due to HX fail but got it back up to 63-64 for about 1 hour. OG was 1057 and after 30hrs was at 1025. This is a lager yeast and the yeast cake beer (that went into secondary sat morning has been fermenting slowing over the past 3 weeks never showed any fast fermentation like this).

Did I do the right things cleaning it down?
Is the strong Banana smell ok?

thanks
Clayton


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## antiphile (7/12/15)

Hmmmm. Banana in lager is not in my Christmas wish list. Sounds like it was pitched way too hot and went off like a nymphomaniac's thong in a footy changing room. Even 20C is way too high for my liking.

Just my suggestion, but pitch lager yeast at lager fermenting temps (say, 11-13C), or maybe at the very most, one or 2 degrees higher while getting the wort to cool down. Now my preference is pitching the yeast too low, and letting it warm up to fermenting temps, but there are many arguments for and against.


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## cspencer (7/12/15)

yeah thought is was too hot, My post boil cooling (immersion copper coil running chilled water though the wort) was never going to get it to below 16C which was the temp of the tap water that day after I'd run out of ice. I think I'll stick Ales, don't know why I did a Lager, I don't really like them much  Or at least no-chill in the ferment fridge overnight as I did with the previous pils


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## thylacine (7/12/15)

Clayton Spencer said:


> yeah thought is was too hot, My post boil cooling (immersion copper coil running chilled water though the wort) was never going to get it to below 16C which was the temp of the tap water that day after I'd run out of ice. I think I'll stick Ales, don't know why I did a Lager, I don't really like them much  Or at least no-chill in the ferment fridge overnight as I did with the previous pils


http://brulosophy.com/2015/06/22/fermentation-temperature-pt-3-lager-yeast-exbeeriment-results/

"...To investigate the qualitative differences of 2 beers made from the same wort, pitched with the same amount of the same yeast, and fermented at temperatures 16°F apart from each other..."

DISCUSSION:
 "...This one got me, it got me real good. Of 3 fermentation temperature exBeeriments, the 1 furthest from statistical significance not only used a traditional lager strain but had the largest temperature differential (16°F/9°C). If you had told me last month that a Bohemian Pilsner could be fermented with a lager strain at 66°F and come out tasting at least _nearly _identical to a more conventionally fermented version..."


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## cspencer (7/12/15)

thanks thylacine, interesting. Won't go tipping it down the drain yet


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