Swapped out my airlock for a blowoff tube on a high krausen brew and it saved the batch

I used a standard three-piece airlock on a big IPA and it clogged up around 36 hours in, blew foam everywhere. The blowoff tube with a Mason jar caught all the overflow and kept things clean, has anyone else had better luck with one method over the other?

4 comments

4 Comments

sullivan.quinn2d ago

My last NEIPA hit me with the exact same blowout on day two, that three piece airlock was a lost cause. I switched to a blowoff tube with a half gallon jug and it caught at least a quart of krausen without a mess, made the whole thing way less stressful. Honestly I can't see going back to a regular airlock for any high gravity ferment now.

wadejenkins2d ago

Yeah and once you go blowoff tube you never go back...

the_elizabeth2d ago

Ugh seriously, life changing lol.

zarat372d ago

Ha, yeah I've been there. My first big IPA blew a three piece airlock right across the basement ceiling, what a mess. Swapped to a blowoff tube with a gallon jug after that and never looked back. Completely agree with @wadejenkins on that one, once you switch you just don't go back. I keep a few of those half gallon apple juice jugs around now specifically for high krausen brews, saves a ton of cleanup time.