No Blowoff on Amber Ale

We've been a bit concerned that there hasn't been any blowoff on the Amber Ale after 4 days now. At this point, the other beers we've brewed have been settling down and the blowoff is about done. But we haven't had any.

Although the verdict is still out, it's probably not a big deal. The blowoff basically allows for some bitter flavors to be expelled from the beer. Here's the synopsis from a hombrewtalk.com forum:

"Aside from my first couple of batches with food grade buckets, all I've ever used to ferment are carboys (usually 5 gal). I almost always have a blowoff but it's never a disaster it just dirties up a 1" hose and a quart container.
Quote:
You waste beer, it's a pain to cleanup and in IMO, it means I did something wrong.
When I started brewing I believed that blowoff was a good thing and I thought that if I DIDN'T get a blowoff that I had done something wrong. Now I've changed my view on that but to be honest I still prefer a quick start and a blowoff (I STILL tend to think I did something wrong if I don't have blowoff within 12 hours or so of pitching). It wastes very little beer and the cleanup is just a hose and a quart container. However, if you put a 5 gal. batch in a 6 gal. carboy there's probably too much headspace and the krausen won't reach the neck of the bottle (my Vienna Lager didn't blowoff because it's in a 6 gal. carboy...nice krausen though).

A blowoff can change the flavor of the beer...probably in more ways than I realize. For one thing it shoots hop material up and out or sticks it to the glass above the beer level and that has to affect the flavor to some degree.

EDIT: One last thing - In my limited experience, the amount of dissolved O2 in the wort has a big effect on blowoff (and quick starts). Once I started aerating the **** outta my cooled worts blowoffs became the norm...before that...not so much."

So bottom line: I think we're ok.