Blow off tube with glad-wrapped fermenter?

[kaiserben]

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

 

[SJW]

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

And there we have it.

 

[kaiserben]

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.

 

[cspencer]

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

 

[antiphile]

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.

 

[cspencer]

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

 

[thylacine]

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..."

 

[cspencer]

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