So I made this kit i had for a Honey Blonde, and I decided to experiment with it a bit. First off, it was a kit that was shipped by mistake and the company told me to keep it. It was a kit that had the pre-made wort (I know, right! that takes all of the fun out of brewing!). So since im not totally attached to this kit I decided to experiment and see if I can make a high ABV brew. First off, the kit was originally intended for a 6.5 gallon batch, so I just went the concentrated route and made a 4.74 ish gallon batch. On top of that, I added a little under a pound of table sugar to the primary. I pitched the yeast, wrapped a towel around it, and let it go. Just went and looked at it and it looks like I might need a blow off tube!! Those little yeasties are eating like crazy!!! It smells amazing too, so lets hope my plan works out!
If the thought of “I might need a blowoff tube” even briefly crosses your mind, you should listen to that thought…there is little downside.
Try to keep the fermentation temp in the low to mid 60’s if you can. That’s ideal for most ales and you could push it to the high 60’s and maybe even the low 70’s but that’s about it. Any temp above that will cause some off flavors, IMHO.
Proper temp control equals no need for a blow off, well most times anyway.
I was thinking about that, I noticed the temps were in the high 60’s so I put the fermenter in the closet for the rest of the time. its usually lower 60’s in there. Thank you for the advice!
i just lost a chimay clone…i felt it may blow so i put it in a cooler (bad idea) then like a dummy, I closed the lid (worse idea) next time i make it, it’s going in a turkey pan in my ferm chamber!
