Airlock, another seemingly obvious question

[tubejay]

This is the airlock I have (the one on the right):

There's a cheap plastic top that goes on it. I'm guessing this part is for storage, not for the actual ferment. I just want to be sure though. It doesn't seem like I should put anything on top...or my guess is that it would just pop off, or worse, explode.

Am I right?

Thanks

 

[SwAMi75]

No, you put it on. It's got little holes drilled in it to let CO2 escape. Now that you mention it, though, it probably wouldn't hurt anything by leaving it off.

 

[david_42]

The plastic top keeps the center section from popping out of the airlock, so use it. It has holes in it to let the CO2 out. And some times they blow off anyway, just like the S-type.

 

[budbo]

a really aggressive ferment might pop the little plunger out

 

[tubejay]

:rockin: :rockin: :rockin:

Thank you!

 

[Treekiller]

And don't forget to fill to the fill line. To little, air could possibly get into the fermenter, to much, you could have of you sanitizer (or what ever you use) drawn back into the fermenter (possible contamination) or a nice dent in the ceiling. Don't ask... lets just say them inside pieces can become little rockets.

 

[RichBrewer]

I like the type pictured on the left. It is easier to see the bubble action in it. I've always assumed that the covers on both types help keep the gunk out of the solution. The covers will not inhibit CO2 from escaping.

 

[Walker]

I like the type pictured on the left. It is easier to see the bubble action in it. I've always assumed that the covers on both types help keep the gunk out of the solution. The covers will not inhibit CO2 from escaping.

I've stayed away from those on the left because, even though I have never had a blowout of kraeusen, I suspect that I will have one as soon as I stick that S-shaped piece of plastic on top. Not because the airlock caused it, but Murphy would like to see me attempting to clean the gunk out of that thing.

-walker

 

[tubejay]

Okay day one is done, and it's fermenting pretty nicely I think. I'm having two large bubbles every second or so, and it was going along at one to two bubbles a second all day today.

Now, the bubbles are causing the airlock to lose a small amount of the water in it. Do I top this off, or should I just play it safe and leave it?

How thick should the krausen be? Mine is about 1/2" thick, and has been all day. It doesn't seem to be getting thicker or thinner. There's a layer of goo at the bottom too, whitish in color...not sure what that gunk is.

It's starting to smell like beer though, though sweeter than beer. Don't worry, I'm not opening the seal, just smelling the bubbles coming out of the airlock.

 

[Walker]

Okay day one is done, and it's fermenting pretty nicely I think. I'm having two large bubbles every second or so, and it was going along at one to two bubbles a second all day today.

Now, the bubbles are causing the airlock to lose a small amount of the water in it. Do I top this off, or should I just play it safe and leave it?

Just leave it for now, I'd say. Keep an eye on it, though, and if it gets too low, put more water in it.

How thick should the krausen be? Mine is about 1/2" thick, and has been all day. It doesn't seem to be getting thicker or thinner. There's a layer of goo at the bottom too, whitish in color...not sure what that gunk is.

The kraeusen will vary from batch to batch. Sometimes an inch, somtimes 4 inches, somtimes for some people it blows right out the top of the carboy.

The whitish goo at the bottom is a pile of billions and billions of yeast. aka: the yeast cake. There's probably some other stuff in it too, like maybe hop pellets and proteins and such, but it's mostly yeast. crazy, isn't it?

CONGRATS! YOU ARE MAKING BEER!

-walker

 

[tubejay]

The kraeusen will vary from batch to batch. Sometimes an inch, somtimes 4 inches, somtimes for some people it blows right out the top of the carboy.

Hmmm...I wonder if it's too cold then? The Krausen has stayed pretty steady around 1/2" all day. The cheap a$$ thermometer on the side says it's around 63 degrees. The recipe said that 60 to 65 was a good temp...but hmm.

When should I start to worry if my krausen hasn't gotten thicker?

I can't relax either...I have NO BEER right now!!

 

[Lou]

Hmmm...I wonder if it's too cold then? The Krausen has stayed pretty steady around 1/2" all day. The cheap a$$ thermometer on the side says it's around 63 degrees. The recipe said that 60 to 65 was a good temp...but hmm.

When should I start to worry if my krausen hasn't gotten thicker?

I can't relax either...I have NO BEER right now!!

krausen is krausen is good..... the size of your krausen is immaterial...and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[tubejay]

Whew...thank you!

God I'm excited to try it!

 

[Ivan Lendl]

60-65 degrees and your at 63? id say thats right where you want to be, im guessing your using a cali common/sf lager yeast? or some kind of german ale yeast?

i wouldnt worry about the size of the kreusen, its the motion of the ocean, and if you have to measure it, its probably not big enough...

 

[RichBrewer]

I've stayed away from those on the left because, even though I have never had a blowout of kraeusen, I suspect that I will have one as soon as I stick that S-shaped piece of plastic on top. Not because the airlock caused it, but Murphy would like to see me attempting to clean the gunk out of that thing.

-walker

Funny you mentioned that. My 06.06.06 was blowing through mine yesterday. The thing was dry when I got to it and there was beer/kraeusen all over the carboy. The air lock didn't blow out though it was still stuck in the rubber bung. Knew I should have used my 1" blow off tube!
The gunk cleaned out of the air lock pretty easy. I just ran hot water through it until it looked cleaner then shook it real good in soapy water. A quick rinse and it was good to go.

 

[tubejay]

I'm actually using this yeast:

The package of yeast has no optimum temperature. The instructions for midwest supplies said 60 to 65 degrees. The directions said that when it goes over that you can get some off tones, especially above 70 degrees, and if you go below it won't ferment.

Here's my kit, an amber ale:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=3345

 

[tubejay]

I should also mention that it smells like bananas, which I've heard is a good sign that I'm in good shape. Smells kind of:rockin: good!

 

[rewster451]

I used that yeast for my first beer and it came out good. It was at about 60-65 the whole time, but went pretty slowly compared to other batches I've done. I'm a big fan of the slow cool ferment though. As far as krausen, somebody probably could tell you more about this, but in my experience the size of the krausen has little to nothing to do with the quality of the beer. I don't even know if it has anything to do with your ABV, but just how vigorous your ferment is. Like I said, slow and steady is good in my book.

 

[subwyking]

.... As far as krausen, somebody probably could tell you more about this, but in my experience the size of the krausen has little to nothing to do with the quality of the beer....

not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean?