Airlocks & Cold-crashes

[McNulty]

I put my better bottle in the fridge to cold crash some pale ale. The temp of the beer was 68-70 degrees when I put it in the fridge last night, and this morning it was 38 degrees. I noticed the 2 - week - old water in the airlock was up to the tip of the tube, threatening to drip into my brew at any moment. You can imagine my horror when I oh so carefully twisted the airlock in the bung to relieve the vacuum but instead saw a jet of airlock water get sucked right into the beer. I can't get to it to take any corrective action until 9pm tonight, and it is still at 38 degrees in the fridge. What next?

ABV is 5.3%
Beer is approximately 3 weeks old
Dry-hopped with LOTS of hops

 

[Hammy71]

When the beer gets cold the pressure in the carboy will cause the liquid in the airlock to "suck back". When I cold crash I take off the airlock and simply use some sanitized aluminum foil over the top. The beer will still have a layer of CO2 and since the beer has alcohol in it, your chances of getting any baddies to hurt it are nearly nil.

 

[coypoo]

You could aslo fill the airlock with starsan or some cheap vodka. That way if it gets into the beer, then it isnt a big deal if it gets sucked into the carboy

 

[jackers252]

These are new from Williams Brewing. They have a couple different sizes. I think it should work.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/_10_VENTED_SILICONE_STOPPER_P2687C94.cfm

 

[Revvy]

When the beer gets cold the pressure in the carboy will cause the liquid in the airlock to "suck back". When I cold crash I take off the airlock and simply use some sanitized aluminum foil over the top. The beer will still have a layer of CO2 and since the beer has alcohol in it, your chances of getting any baddies to hurt it are nearly nil.

Hanny's right. this happens all the time. Don't worry about it.

These are new from Williams Brewing. They have a couple different sizes. I think it should work.



http://www.williamsbrewing.com/_10_VENTED_SILICONE_STOPPER_P2687C94.cfm

I just saw those in the latest catalogue, they look awesome. It's also another good indicator that the roll of an airlock is just a vent, not the magic fermentation gauge many new brewers believe.