Took airlock off when bottling from primary...

I feel like a twit asking these types of questions but here we go anyway...

I took the airlock off when I bottled from the primary. Was that the wrong thing to do?

Grats on bottling, NZGirl!

i take my airlock out when i bottle from buckets. otherwise the liquid in the lock tends to get sucked into your brew. i just cover the whole with a paper towel to prevent any dust and dander from infiltrating. I have yet to ever have a problem in the 9 batches ive got under my belt.

Whew... thanks!

TexasStu... thanks mate, your day will come soon enough... it was quite an ordeal actually... I had my friend help me, thankfully.

congrats also

you never forget the first few

haven't reached my bottling stage....but I'm assuming there is no problem taking the top off since I have to rack it to the bottling bucket (if you're not fermenting in it now).

congrats though!

as said, it's pretty much required. I put a paper towel over the hole just because i have a dog and hair/dander could make it in.

I do rack into a bottling bucket so that I can prime for carbonation though.

dwf137, do you wet the paper towel (like in sanitizing solution) or just do it dry?

nope, not wet, just there to re-direct the air flow so it's harder for hair and/or dander to make it in...

i'd recommend cleaning the top of your pail before doing this though.. all that stuff that settled on the top will want to be sucked in.

TexasStu said:

dwf137, do you wet the paper towel (like in sanitizing solution) or just do it dry?

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I do the exact same thing but wet my paper towel with star-san.Might as well give it the best chance of being good that you can eh?

Wow. I am not going to say you guys are being overly cautious, but you guys are being overly cautious.

I rack from carboy to bottling bucket and sometimes put a lid over it if I have other things going on and am not going to finish bottling for a while. Otherwise open top on the bucket. Never had a problem.

NZGirl said:

I feel like a twit asking these types of questions but here we go anyway...

I took the airlock off when I bottled from the primary. Was that the wrong thing to do?

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I know how you feel, sheesh...I took the entire lid off and left it open while I bottled. hahaa

Just having a laugh here...don't sweat it and enjoy your brew in the coming weeks. haha

I don't bother with the towel, just take off the airlock and let it suck.

well since most people rack to bottling bucket then from there into the bottle its usualy left open isnt it? i know i rack open bucket/carboy.

RCCOLA said:

I do the exact same thing but wet my paper towel with star-san.Might as well give it the best chance of being good that you can eh?

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Considering it's weeks of time lost IF something happened (because of that) and we're in a recession I think so, yes. But if it's not an issue what is all the hubbub about sanitizing everything? No, it's not rocket science BUT a batch is still a fairly hefty investment, right?

On the other side of the coin, I think it's a problem to worry ALL the time about every little thing that could go wrong. Kinda like the doctor telling his patient to go fishing and have fun and relax and the fisherman ends up breaking his rod across his knee? Hmm, maybe not but still, if I can take 1 minute and avoid something that could potentially affect a batch (I have 5 kids!) I'll toss that napkin over it or a paper towel and squirt it with some starsan (etc.)

My decisions are tough sometimes though. I'm currently torn between naming this batch 'Getting Down Under Thunder Ale' or 'ALL-IN! Ale' so my life is rather complicated.

pen25 said:

well since most people rack to bottling bucket then from there into the bottle its usualy left open isnt it? i know i rack open bucket/carboy.

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Ayup! Most brewers do. And MOST with just a primary STILL have to take the lid off to bottle! Most don't have a spigot. So no choice for MOST.
Gotta be true to my spiggot tho!

I have never had a cover of an sort on for any of the batches I've racked or bottled. Always figured that at that point the alcohol level is high enough to kill airborne nasties and it just isn't open that long anyway. Never had a problem*

*Disclaimer: Just watch, now that I said that BAM... I'll get bitten on the ass by doing this.

I rack into a bottling bucket; the bottling bucket has a santized lid laid on top of it to keep excess dead birds or bee poop from falling in.

fratermus said:

I rack into a bottling bucket; the bottling bucket has a santized lid laid on top of it to keep excess dead birds or bee poop from falling in.

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Hilarious.Honey Bee Shizzot Stout or Bobbing Bluejay Bitter:cross: