Minimum Headspace?

[troglodytes]

I just popped a Wit into my fermentor on Sun night. All I had available was my 5 gal carboy so I did about a 4.75 gal batch with little headspace and just opted for a blowoff tube. Everything is bubbling nicely, but one thing I didn't consider was the loss of krausen/possible yeast through the blowoff as my foam grew.

For a wit, is there a minimum amount of headspace you need, and did I chance losing too much yeast in the first couple days of blowoff?

 

[homebrewdad]

You'd be happier with more headspace, but you're not going to lose so much yeast that fermentation will be damaged.

 

[bleme]

Keep track of how much blows out (I'd guess close to a half gallon) and next time you'll have a better idea of what the optimal volume of that container is.

 

[wailingguitar]

thousands of people made 10's of thousands of batches of beer doing exactly that. No worries.

 

[ZombieBrew83]

You'll be fine. I like having more head space so I don't have to bother with a blow off tube. However, those Belgian yeasts can be ornery and usually there is never enough head space.