Airlock drains
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gcdowd
Well-Known Member
Is your fermenter somewhere where the temp fluctuates?
Do you mean that as you pour the vodka in it goes straight through, or do you mean that you filled it and the next day it was empty again. If it is the former than you are witnessing what happens when you form a syphon in your airlock; basically replicating the way a toilet works. If it was the latter then your buddy, kid, homeless guy hiding in the attic is drinking it at night.
That's called suck back,a partial vacuum created by wide temp fluctuations. Or even when initial fermentation is done,& the beer cools down while finishing up fermenting down to FG.
Lift the center piece of the airlock to release the vacuum. Then top off with more vodka. & try to get the fermenter temp more stable between night & day.
Lift the center piece of the airlock to release the vacuum. Then top off with more vodka. & try to get the fermenter temp more stable between night & day.
Pie_Man
Well-Known Member
Yup, the suck back effect. When my beer is fermenting and the temperature is changing, like when I begin to cold crash, I remove the airlock (keep the bung piece in) and cover the carboy opening with 2-3 paper towels soaked in StarSan. This keeps the sanitizer/vodka out of my beer and adds a layer of protection to the beer. That's my approach anyway 
Don't worry too much about the vodka though, it's really a small amount in a large batch of beer, I doubt you'll even know it's there.
Don't worry too much about the vodka though, it's really a small amount in a large batch of beer, I doubt you'll even know it's there.
It could be suck back. However it could also "kid suck" (sometimes confused with "kids suck"). I had the same thing happen to me for my first seven brews. Then one evening, I woke up to take a leak and decided to go into the garage and check on two carboys from a 10 gallon batch I did the night before. That's when I discovered the problem. My 19 year old daughter was in mid slam of what she liked to call an "airlock shooter". It is very painful to find out that even when you think you have done everything right in raising a child, some of them are just going to prefer hard liquor over beer.
Def time to have a sit down with her. Not to mention,questions regarding who she hangs with. We had some talks with our daughter,& she's a chef in Cali now with her own business after working other resturants & such.
My reply may or may not have been for entertainment value.
That's cool man. Just gave my 2c as an older husband & father. Or is that fazha? (goldmember)
