Hi, I just brewed my first stout (oatmeal milk stout - OG 1.055) using WLP001 I made a (little under) 3 gal batch which was probably to big for my fermenter (only about .75 gals of head space.) so I realized I needed to rig up my blow-off tube and boy am I glad I did. It exploded last night and I woke up to a sanitizer jar full of stout and yeast... To my dismay it looks like a good portion of healthy yeast got blown out too and I am concerned that there isn't enough to continue it's work in fermentation/conditioning. It barely has any activity left - I pitched the yeast about 38 hours ago. Anyone else experience this? Should I go get another packet of WLP001 or let it ride? Thanks!
The jar is your blow-off container, right, but is that overflow yeast still on the countertop? Also, is that the fermentor in the rear-left? It looks like there is still plenty of yeast in there. And when you say "exploded" I assume that you mean that the yeast took off rapidly? I have a feeling that you still have adequate yeast in the beer that is left in the fermentor, so I'll vote that you let it ride.
Sorry, picture isn't clear - that is the inside of my ferm chamber - with the stout just barely visible on the right. The mason Jar is my blow off container which is about 16-20oz and so it seems like a lot of yeast (though I'm not sure how much is yeast vs compacted krausen) Yes by "exploded" I mean a very vigorous fermentation. My main concern is that it may stall. The temp dropped to 65, so it's not generating nearly the same heat and I have little to know activity (but I have yet to swap in an airlock). This is my first blow off tube, so as far as I know these could all be relatively normal things. But I very much appreciate the feedback!
Your activity is fairly normal when using a blow-off tube, i.e. a quick period of maximum krausen and then dying off. I think you can go ahead and put in a standard airlock so you'll be better able to tell if fermentation is still ongoing. Or maybe better yet, keep the blow-off tube in until the 5th or 6th day when fermentation has logically progressed further toward its end, then switch it out for the airlock and take a hydrometer sample at the same time. If the fermentor is going to be open for the switch-out, you might as well get a gravity reading so you'll know more accurately where you stand. Air bubbles can be faulty for what they tell you.
Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time. This forum is such an awsome homebrew resource for (relatively) new brewers!
I can't tell the color of the wort in the fermentor, but it looks like you might've lost a full Mason jar of otherwise good beer. How far into the carboy did you push the blowoff tube? Past the neck?
It was filled about 85% with starsan and the tube was below the rim sitting about 2in deep. It's a stout (you can kind of see the color on the right) with an SRM of 38 or so. I'm guessing it's only 15% beer. But the yeast on the bottom worried me. Though after dumping the yeast out it was pretty dark in color and gritty so I am hoping a good % of it was the Krausen pushing through.
