Fermenter seal

Brewed my third batch of beer yesterday and made the rookie mistake of not completely sealing my fermenter bucket, which I just noticed this morning. Do I need to pitch a new yeast? Or will sealing it and shaking it up a bit get it back up and running?

Just close it

i would just fix the lid and see what happens

I'm sure it'll be fine, just seal it up. I took a hydro sample of a stout once and forgot to put the lid back on. My fermenter sat completely open to the air for 6 hours before I woke up at 2am and remembered that I forgot to put the lid back on. Beer was totally fine.

freisste said:

Just close it

Click to expand...

An airtight seal is not needed for fermentation. A sealed lid is needed if you use an airlock to check fermentation or to install a blowoff tube. A loose lid is needed to keep out nasties and will not cause any problems as long as your brew doesn't overflow and push the lid off the fermenter due to not having enough headspace.

I do not use an airlock and have a snug but not airtight lid on my fermenter. It has a ton of headspace and the CO2 layer produced during fermentation keeps the beer from oxidizing.

bosco

Yeah. Sorry. I guess I figured you wanted to be comforted by seeing bubbles in the airlock. As was mentioned, nothing about creating alcohol requires seals or pressure. I'm sure it is fine the way it is. As long as it keeps bad things out and vents if necessary, you should be good to go. However, to see airlock activity you will need to be airtight elsewhere. Good catch.

Thanks everyone!