I just brewed my first batch a week ago. NB Caribou Slobber I started with the blow off tube and all is going good. I took a gravity reading yesterday it was 1.021 is this good? Also, should I switch to an air lock or am I ok just to leave the blow off tube on?
Thanks for help
I’m pretty new to this too (about to rack my fourth batch to secondary) but I’ve left the blowoff tube on throughout primary on all my batches. It just reduces the chances of letting anything bad find it’s way into your brew, in my opinion. Any exposure to open air is a risk. Minor, maybe, but still a risk. Good luck with your brew. :cheers:
Hi Nick, Welcome to your next obsession!
1.021 is a little high, but it may be your FG with an extract batch(look for ‘the 1.020 extract curse’). However, if she’s not done, and you prime and bottle too early, then you risk overcarbonation(look for ‘bottlebombs’). So, for this reason, I would leave it another week before thinking about bottling.
Then too, if you’ve looked at many posts, you will already know about the benefit of waiting for a week or more beyond the point where you have reached FG. Basically, the early fermentation process creates some flavor compounds that can be nasty tasting. Your best friends, the yeast, will munch on those, and clean them up, IF YOU LET THEM. So a couple days after FG is always helpful. And an extra week is good insurance. Plus, of course, it’s good to give her some time for the trub to settle and compact, unless you like murky beer.
Now, stay with the blowoff or switch to airlock? Really 6 of one,1/2 dozen of another. Personally, I do switch after 3-4 days when I’m sure the blowoff isn’t needed any more. Why? No particular reason. I guess it is a little easier to move the bucket with an airlock instead of bucket plus blowoff plus bottle the tube goes into. Maybe that’s it, or maybe I just want to clean the tube.
