alaskanmoosehunter

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Two days ago I took a hydro reading on my ale. Things are coming alone nicely and I put the lid on and the airlock back in place. It takes a while for pressure to make the airlock bubble which is normal so I placed the bucket back in the garage. Over the course of the next two days I noticed it stopped bubbling, so today I figured I would take another reading and place the ale in a secondary. I noticed that the lid was not seated all the way. I re-seated the bucket and about ever three minutes I get bubble action. I then opened the lid...No infection. So into the secondary it goes!

Will there be any issues I should be aware of since the ale was not sealed for two days?

Thanks,
Ben

AluminumGerbil

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I'm no expert, but your fermentation is probably putting enough gas off nothing could get in. I've even heard of people not using an airlock and just having a loose lid, I don't think it's recommended, but I'm sure you're fine.

dotnetdotcom

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Most likely not.

paraordnance

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I ferment my first batch in 10 gal bucket with loose lid and no signs of contamination after 2 weeks. I did transfered it to secondary on day 6 though

IrregularPulse

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doesn't need sealed Bacteria are not ninjas. If they can't fall in, you're good.

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alaskanmoosehunter

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That's funny. Thanks for the good news.

stageseven

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This was your only real mistake here. Opening the fermenter just to check for infections actually increases your risk for infection and disturbs the co2 blanket over the beer.

Also you don't need to take gravity readings to see how things are coming along. It may seem like nice information, but knowing whether your fermentation is almost at terminal gravity or only halfway there is really pretty meaningless. If your airlock is still going regularly, chances are it's still fermenting. When visible signs of fermentation have subsided and you're ready to bottle or transfer, that's the time to take a gravity reading. Check it again in 3 days to verify that it's stable if you're not sure and want to bottle right away.

Patience can be hard, but step back and let the yeast do their thing.

Revvy

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If things are bubbling, why are you even thinking about racking it to secondary??????

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Indyking

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Revvy, what's your point, I guess I'm confused. Isn't the main reason of the secondary to clear the beer up as opposed to boost fermentation?

Shackled

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You want to wait until fermentation is done before you move it to a secondary. Many people here, myself included, generally don't use a secondary anymore. Just the amount of time you would secondary to your primary time. That will still allow the beer to clear in the primary.

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