Beer without airlock

[Barão]

Is there any problem making beer without airlock?
A sticky tape in its place in the bucket?
Problem with fermentation?

 

[day_trippr]

The traditional "air lock" merely serves to allow a fermentor to be "sealed" from contamination without it exploding
If you can keep stuff from inadvertently entering the fermentor using other means you'll have accomplished the same goal...

Cheers!

 

[Barão]

The traditional "air lock" merely serves to allow a fermentor to be "sealed" from contamination without it exploding
If you can keep stuff from inadvertently entering the fermentor using other means you'll have accomplished the same goal...

Cheers!

thanks

 

[Somesaymybeerisdrinkable]

During active fermentation the air lock is not really needed, but leaving the beer in the fermenter too long without an air lock will increase the risk of oxidation, or if sealed exploding fermenter.

Some might argue oxidized beer is preferable to an exploding fermenter.

 

[day_trippr]

An "air lock" really isn't. "Air" at the molecular level pretty much passes right through them.
They're more an automatic pressure relief valve.
I wouldn't prolong the time from the end of fermentation to the next phase of production, whatever it might be, "air lock" or no

Cheers!

 

[Barão]

An "air lock" really isn't. "Air" at the molecular level pretty much passes right through them.
They're more an automatic pressure relief valve.
I wouldn't prolong the time from the end of fermentation to the next phase of production, whatever it might be, "air lock" or no

Cheers!

thanks

 

[fluketamer]

cheese cloth, loose lid, balloon with pinhole , open fermentation will all make beer

 

[SFC Rudy]

I open ferment my Hefeweizen in a sterilite container I got from Walmart.

 

[odie]

Air lock is fun to watch. that's about all it's good for.

If you don't have a hydrometer, it can be helpful to some extent. Will give you an idea when it "might" be close to finished...

 

[AlexKay]

An "air lock" really isn't. "Air" at the molecular level pretty much passes right through them.
They're more an automatic pressure relief valve.
I wouldn't prolong the time from the end of fermentation to the next phase of production, whatever it might be, "air lock" or no

Cheers!

I'd always assumed the time for oxygen to equilibrate with the water in the airlock was quite long. Think about how long it takes to force carb, after all.

And oxygen diffusion through water is surprisingly slow in the absence of convection or other mixing. Tens of hours to make it through the water in the airlock, and time scaling quadratically with length diffused. So a sizable blowoff bucket should in fact make an effective oxygen barrier.

 

[BrewZer]

Air lock is fun to watch. that's about all it's good for.

If you don't have a hydrometer, it can be helpful to some extent. Will give you an idea when it "might" be close to finished...

An air lock also concentrates the outgassing from the beer, and gives you an aromatic indication of how your ingredients are faring during fermentation.

TL;DR: sniff your airlock!

 

[day_trippr]