Blow Off Fears

[perryni]

Hi All

I am planning on doing a Belgian Tripel next week about 1.080 OG using White Labs WLP530 Abbey Ale yeast.

I currently ferment in a fermenting fridge with a 28-30 litre bucket.

Does anybody have any experience of brewing this sort of beer/using this yeast because I have heard this yeast could be explosive?

I have no room in the fridge for a blowoff tube/bucket so was thinking maybe of lowering the batch to 15 litres to give the beer more space?

Cheers
Nick

[banjokat]

Hi Nick, you could always leave the fv lid off, it's in a fridge so should be OK. This is what I've done on the occasions my blow off tube and bottle get overwhelmed by the krausen.

[Rov'rumBrewhouse]

Not sure on the ideal fermentation profile of that yeast as I'm not on to the Belgian section of my to-brew list but...seen as you have proper temperature control what about keeping the temperature at the lower end of the range to keep the initial fermentation a little calmer then upping after a few days? The question is how would this approach affect the final temperature.

[perryni]

thanks to you both for your answers. I have got proper temp control so may go with a lower temp and raise it slowly over 5 days or so

[Rick_UK]

When I saw the title of this post my school boy humour wanted to say something about not eating too many prunes etc...

I've brewed several Belgians and not had this problem, though I admit not having used this yeast. I have brewed with T58, Belle Saison, harvested Chimay yeast and Trappe yeast and all have produced normal fermentation profiles at 21 - 23 degrees without blowing off.

The only beer I had do this was a stout brewed with Windsor. I just stood it in a clean plastic box to catch the mess and hosed it all down once it had calmed down followed by a few sprays of Starsan.

You could fit a blow off tube to be safe but I'd just risk it and clean it up if it does go over - not a biggie if all your equipment is clean. The krausen will keep any bugs out anyway.

Rick

[perryni]

My biggest fear is that I have a tube heater at the bottom of my fridge and am worried about the liquid/electricity combo!

Yes when I wrote the title I wondered whether I should change it

[Rick_UK]

Stand it in a box or fashion a blow off tube with some hose or tubing running into a container of water. TBH its mainy air that escapes and not a lot of liquid but better to err on the side of caution.

Let us know how it goes.

Rick

[Jocky]

The only beer I had do this was a stout brewed with Windsor. I just stood it in a clean plastic box to catch the mess and hosed it all down once it had calmed down followed by a few sprays of Starsan.

Windsor is a beast for that - I've had the same.

[charliemartin]

Hi Nick,
I have brewed with Westmalle yeast reclaimed from a bottle which I believe is the same as WLP530 and it was pretty lively. My Belgian Gold thread in Brewdays has more details, but I recall having to clean up at least twice during the fermentation.

Cheers,
Charliemartin

[MTW]

Only just seen this thread and can certainly confirm you should expect to need BIG headrace, even at the cool end, in the first few days, with wlp530 and wy3787. I've had it overshoot a 33L Fv with 22L in it at 17C. I leave the lid loose and tend to skim to avoid the worst.

[charliemartin]

Oh, I forgot about skimming! I skimmed a ton of yeast off after the first overflow and it still overflowed after that. It's great for collecting yeast for your next brew.

Cheers,
Charliemartin

[serum]

I just brewed with this yeast, starting off at around 16C and it's as explosive as everyone says. I didn't put a blow off tube on and it clogged my airlock twice. It's the most lively yeast I've used by a long way.

I grabbed some jars and managed to top crop a ton of yeast for my next brew. You'll easily fill a decent sized jar without getting near the surface of the wort so you'll get a lot of bang for your buck.

[MTW]

I just brewed with this yeast, starting off at around 16C and it's as explosive as everyone says. I didn't put a blow off tube on and it clogged my airlock twice. It's the most lively yeast I've used by a long way.

I grabbed some jars and managed to top crop a ton of yeast for my next brew. You'll easily fill a decent sized jar without getting near the surface of the wort so you'll get a lot of bang for your buck.

It's great stuff! 16C sounds a good bet to start. That's even cooler than I've had it, though I've seen as low as 15 recommended. Are you getting the big banana smell yet?