Airlock Question

[poto101]

I plan on making a batch tonight, but will be away on vacation all of next week. Will the water stay in my airlock that whole time, or will it evaporate?

Thanks for the help.

Cheers!

 

[Revvy]

Unless you are in a really hot environment it really shouldn't.

And even if it did, it won't really matter.

The thing to remember is, even with a dry airlock is that the bad stuff are not ninja acrobats....whether it is a 3 piece or an s type, they would have to get through the cap at the top, then either negotiate a series of twist and turns through an S shaped "track" OR have to dive down, then climb up the center post under the plastic bubbler, then lift said bubbler up enough to the make it into the center post and dive into your fermenter....and STILL have to negotiate the rising co2 current pushing out of the fermenter itself....Think about it...Even without water in there, do you think a piece of dust can make this journey?

Needless to say a piece of dust ain't gonna make it. And not much else either. Relax

 

[Beer_Maker]

I left a carboy in a temp controlled storage unit for about 8 months while I was on deployment. Needless to say there was no sanitizer left in the air lock when I retrieved it. No nasties got in my beer.

 

[poto101]

Glad to hear it will be okay. Two weeks in my primary (still don't have a secondary) should do my Chocolate Stout good.

 

[BMan1029]

No worries about the airlock. Do you have plans to age in the bottle after the two weeks? I just did a chocolate stout and I aged it in my secondary for a month before bottling. Then another 3 weeks in the bottles before drinking. I have always been under the impression that more is more, when it comes to aging a flavored stout.

 

[BMan1029]

+2 to Revvy for the technical diagrams provided

 

[poto101]

No worries about the airlock. Do you have plans to age in the bottle after the two weeks? I just did a chocolate stout and I aged it in my secondary for a month before bottling. Then another 3 weeks in the bottles before drinking. I have always been under the impression that more is more, when it comes to aging a flavored stout.

I hadn't thought about it, actually. I think I should, and I'm thinking it's time to pick up a carboy for secondary fermentation.

 

[likwidbliss]

I fermented my last 2 batches without an airlock. I stuck cotton in the gromet on the lid. Beer is fine. I ended up breaking a few as I was cleaning my brew room.

So as all have said no water in the airlock is going to be fine.

 

[Revvy]

I hadn't thought about it, actually. I think I should, and I'm thinking it's time to pick up a carboy for secondary fermentation.

You don't need to bother, just leave it in Primary for a month like many of us do...This has been discussed ad nauseum on here. I leave all my beers in primary for a month, though I just bottled a version of my chocolate moler porter after 5.5 months in primary and it is amazing.

This is the latest recommendation, it is the same one many of us have been giving for several years on here.

Tom from Michigan asks:
I have a few questions about secondary fermentations. I've read both pros and cons for 2nd fermentations and it is driving me crazy what to do. One, are they necessary for lower Gravity beers?
Two, what is the dividing line between low gravity and high gravity beers? Is it 1.060 and higher?
Three, I have an American Brown Ale in the primary right now, a SG of 1.058, Should I secondary ferment this or not?
Your advice is appreciated, thanks for all you do!

Allen from New York asks:
John, please talk about why or why not you would NOT use a secondary fermenter (bright tank?) and why or why not a primary only fermentation is a good idea. In other words, give some clarification or reason why primary only is fine, versus the old theory of primary then secondary normal gravity ale fermentations.

Palmer answers:
These are good questions – When and why would you need to use a secondary fermenter? First some background – I used to recommend racking a beer to a secondary fermenter. My recommendation was based on the premise that (20 years ago) larger (higher gravity) beers took longer to ferment completely, and that getting the beer off the yeast reduced the risk of yeast autolysis (ie., meaty or rubbery off-flavors) and it allowed more time for flocculation and clarification, reducing the amount of yeast and trub carryover to the bottle. Twenty years ago, a homebrewed beer typically had better flavor, or perhaps less risk of off-flavors, if it was racked off the trub and clarified before bottling. Today that is not the case.

The risk inherent to any beer transfer, whether it is fermenter-to-fermenter or fermenter-to-bottles, is oxidation and staling. Any oxygen exposure after fermentation will lead to staling, and the more exposure, and the warmer the storage temperature, the faster the beer will go stale.

Racking to a secondary fermenter used to be recommended because staling was simply a fact of life – like death and taxes. But the risk of autolysis was real and worth avoiding – like cholera. In other words, you know you are going to die eventually, but death by cholera is worth avoiding.

But then modern medicine appeared, or in our case, better yeast and better yeast-handling information. Suddenly, death by autolysis is rare for a beer because of two factors: the freshness and health of the yeast being pitched has drastically improved, and proper pitching rates are better understood. The yeast no longer drop dead and burst like Mr. Creosote from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life when fermentation is complete – they are able to hibernate and wait for the next fermentation to come around. The beer has time to clarify in the primary fermenter without generating off-flavors. With autolysis no longer a concern, staling becomes the main problem. The shelf life of a beer can be greatly enhanced by avoiding oxygen exposure and storing the beer cold (after it has had time to carbonate).

Therefore I, and Jamil and White Labs and Wyeast Labs, do not recommend racking to a secondary fermenter for ANY ale, except when conducting an actual second fermentation, such as adding fruit or souring. Racking to prevent autolysis is not necessary, and therefore the risk of oxidation is completely avoidable. Even lagers do not require racking to a second fermenter before lagering. With the right pitching rate, using fresh healthy yeast, and proper aeration of the wort prior to pitching, the fermentation of the beer will be complete within 3-8 days (bigger = longer). This time period includes the secondary or conditioning phase of fermentation when the yeast clean up acetaldehyde and diacetyl. The real purpose of lagering a beer is to use the colder temperatures to encourage the yeast to flocculate and promote the precipitation and sedimentation of microparticles and haze.

So, the new rule of thumb: don’t rack a beer to a secondary, ever, unless you are going to conduct a secondary fermentation.

THIS is where the latest discussion and all your questions answered.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

We basically proved that old theory wrong on here 5 years ago, and now the rest fo the brewing community is catching up. Though a lot of old dogs don't tend to follow the latest news, and perpetuate the old stuff.

The autolysis from prolong yeast contact has fallen by the wayside, in fact yeast contact is now seen as a good thing.

Save your money, rather than bying something for secondary, buy another primary.

 

[poto101]

You don't need to bother, just leave it in Primary for a month like many of us do...This has been discussed ad nauseum on here. I leave all my beers in primary for a month, though I just bottled a version of my chocolate moler porter after 5.5 months in primary and it is amazing.

This is the latest recommendation, it is the same one many of us have been giving for several years on here.



THIS is where the latest discussion and all your questions answered.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

We basically proved that old theory wrong on here 5 years ago, and now the rest fo the brewing community is catching up. Though a lot of old dogs don't tend to follow the latest news, and perpetuate the old stuff.

The autolysis from prolong yeast contact has fallen by the wayside, in fact yeast contact is now seen as a good thing.

Save your money, rather than bying something for secondary, buy another primary.

Excellent, thorough analysis. Thanks.

 

[ekjohns]

i put my beer in my ferm. chamber and proceeded with the set and forget method. Well 4weeks later i pulled it out to get ready to keg and realized there was no more star sans in the air lock. I assume the star sans got sucked in the carboy when it was cooling from 70 to 65 F. Either way it sat for 4 weeks or so without a true air lock. It shows no signs of contamination so im not worried about that. My concern would be oxidation do to not stopping air from coming in. Is this a real concern since there was a air lock permitting any amount of air movement and CO2 being more heavy than air? Either way I got the airlock filled back up till its kegged more just a question for the sake of knowledge

 

[borrachio]

I've never had contamination attributable to a dried airlock. I would assume you won't be able to taste any significant difference due to oxidation, either.