Airlock Question

So I started my first brew yesterday. It has been just about 20 hours since I sealed up the ole fermenter. I am seeing bubbles in the airlock about every 3-5 minutes or so.

Anyway the question that I have is I think I put too much water in the 3 piece airlock. The water level is way over the center water level line. In fact the inside piece of the airlock is being pushed up against the cap to the airlock.

Is this an issue or am I just being paranoid and anal as I want the first brew to be perfect?

Let me know if it s a big deal and what I should do to fix it if anything. Thanks!

If you filled over the line you might want to remove some, that will probably get sucked into the fermenter when you pick it up to rack later. The bubbler being pushed up against the cap is normal and is a sign that there is CO2 being generated (hence the bubbles).

That said you would be safe leaving it, hopefully you won't be picking it up until fermentation is complete and at that point there is alcohol in the beer to help protect it from any nasties in the airlock water (that's why many of us use cheap vodka instead of water).

Congrats on the first brew!

If you like, you can easily take a paper towel and soak up the excess.

you are being paranoid.

I had the same thing with my lock the other day. I took a straw and dipped it in the lock and put my thumb over the top to remove a little water at a time until it looked right.

Just asking, but how much space is left at the top of your carboy? If you don't have enough room for the krausen it might plug the airlock causing CO2 to build up and create an airlock rocket fueled by beer. Just a heads up.

covered95 said:

Just asking, but how much space is left at the top of your carboy? If you don't have enough room for the krausen it might plug the airlock causing CO2 to build up and create an airlock rocket fueled by beer. Just a heads up.

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Sorry I should have mentioned that I am using a bucket for my fermentation. There is, I would say about 3-4 inches of space from the top of the beer to the lid. Thanks for the heads up!

You can also use Vodka instead of water then it doesn't matter so much if some gets sucked back into your brew.

1) Kill your airlock
2) Relax, don't worry
3) Have a beer

Soulive said:

1) Kill your airlock
2) Relax, don't worry
3) Have a beer

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So you never use an airlock? Hmmm...

njnear76 said:

So you never ever use an airlock? Hmmm...

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Haven't in about 5 months and don't plan to

bradsul said:

That said you would be safe leaving it, hopefully you won't be picking it up until fermentation is complete and at that point there is alcohol in the beer to help protect it from any nasties in the airlock water (that's why many of us use cheap vodka instead of water).

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+1 on the cheap Vodka. I fill my airlock over the line and never had a problem.

You might want to get a blowoff tube at some point. The first few days of fermentation can be explosive. I usually use a blow off tube for the first 4-5 days and then switch to an airlock. If you have the room you can just keep the blowoff tube in. Just remember to keep the other end of the blowoff tube submerged in water.

You can also use a sanitizer called starsan in your airlock. It's a great sanitizer and if you spill it in your beer, it won't hurt it(I've done it a couple times).
Just do a search (the beer mug in the top right of this page) for "starsan" for more info.

GaryA said:

You can also use Vodka instead of water then it doesn't matter so much if some gets sucked back into your brew.

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+1 in regards to the vodka!

Cool, thanks for the suggestions. Much like everything else, it makes so much sense when someone else mentions it!

I'll add another noob question to this thread...

I filled my airlock with Brandy but I didn't put the cap on the airlock. I saw a picture posted where the cap was left on the airlock and now I'm wondering if I was supposed to leave it on? It looks like my brandy is evaporating out of there!

Thanks

Yeah, a piece of aluminum foil is all you really need during primary, there's so much positive pressure that nothing's going to get in there...

Ale to the Chief said:

I'll add another noob question to this thread...

I filled my airlock with Brandy but I didn't put the cap on the airlock. I saw a picture posted where the cap was left on the airlock and now I'm wondering if I was supposed to leave it on? It looks like my brandy is evaporating out of there!

Thanks

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put the cap back on - it stops the centre from being blown out by an active ferment