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BVilleggiante · 11-12-2012, 07:06 PM

So, when I first started brewing I never had this slight flavor in my beer and then all of a sudden it appeared and I could never figure out why...until possibly last night. When I first started brewing I always used air locks. Then, one day for no real reason I decided to switch to aluminum foil over my carboys. I never connected the the possibility of this being the cause, until last night as I lay in bed and was thinking about cold crashing (I do it for three days on my beers) and all of a sudden I thought, "oh my god, that off flavor tastes a little like my chest freezer smells!" Since using the aluminum foil isn't air tight...is there a chance my beer could pickup the smell from my chest freezer and infuse it into my beer in a three day time period?

**Hammy71** · 11-12-2012, 07:09 PM

Could be..... I'd forgo the crash cooling next brew and see what happens. I too use aluminum foil on my carboys when I crash cool. But, my fridge doesn't have an unpleasant odor and I haven't noticed anything awry.

**45_70sharps** · 11-12-2012, 07:34 PM

Do you use aluminum foil while it's fermenting?
That could be a cause of introduced flavors depending on what's living in your home environment.
If the freezer is suspected though, I would clean the heck out of it.
It will certainly want to pull air in when you cool it and everything contracts.

My next trip to the brew store is going to include some stoppers without holes in them for just such an occasion. Now if they get sucked in due to contraction I'm going to feel pretty silly.

**Hammy71** · 11-12-2012, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 45_70sharps

Do you use aluminum foil while it's fermenting?
That could be a cause of introduced flavors depending on what's living in your home environment.
If the freezer is suspected though, I would clean the heck out of it.
It will certainly want to pull air in when you cool it and everything contracts.

My next trip to the brew store is going to include some stoppers without holes in them for just such an occasion. Now if they get sucked in due to contraction I'm going to feel pretty silly.

Most likely they will be sucked in. That's why I use plain old aluminium foil when I crash cool. For fermentation, it's a blow off then air lock.

BVilleggiante · 11-12-2012, 09:07 PM

If I go back to using an air lock, wouldn't this prevent air from getting into my beer from the chest freezer?

**RmikeVT** · 11-12-2012, 09:11 PM

Gentlemen/Ladies,

DOUBLE BUBBLE AIRLOCKS!!!! aka S Type Airlocks. They allow air to go in w/o suckback.

http://morebeer.com/view_product/16599//Airlock_-_S-Shaped

**45_70sharps** · 11-12-2012, 09:17 PM

If there is much cooling, there will be contraction to some level.
In other words something is going to be moving inwards.
If the contraction isn't too much, you might suck in some water from the airlock.

I haven't cold crashed to clarify so I'm interested to hear what everyone else says. I figured on maybe doing the tin foil over the top, but I'm going to be using the same freezer that is my kegorator so there aren't any off smells in there.