Airlock: What do you fill it with? Why?

[RockfordWhite]

http://www.ehow.com/how_2041159_improve-vodka-filter.html?ref=fuel

http://www.elephantstaircase.com/wiki/index.php?title=BritaFilteredVodka

Mythbusters concluded that it did improve the flavor. They questioned the economics. Which if you used it one time for 1 bottle of liquor then it's not economical. But that would be like filtering 1 pitcher of water and throwing the pitcher and filter away.

These guys also thought it improved the smell and taste.

http://www.bulletinboardforum.com/m/vodka.php

Just like wine snobs think expensive wine is better so to do buyers of expensive liquor.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7187577.stm

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4131348&page=1

Ok i wasn't sure about MB, but yeah from my experience 7 times filtered Vladamire vodka, i felt that it still tasted like Rotgut vodka, just didn't taste as harsh...

 

[pjj2ba]

StarSan here. I just pull it out of my StarSan bucket and leave a little in and put the cap on. It doesn't seem to me worth the extra effort to dump out the StarSan only to replace it with something else. I don't even think the StarSan is neccesary, but for me it is already right there so I use it. Before I swtiched over to StarSan, I just used water. Pastuer had just had water (or nothing) in his goose-necked flasks and he saw no contamination - he didn't know he would need something to kill any microbes that might cause contamination because he didn't know there were such things! He just knew things left in the open would spoil, not why. He took no precautions (other than the flask design) and he had no problems.

 

[Tag]

What about using something like Southern Comfort? I have several bottles of the stuff ( A close old friend would give me a bottle every Christmas and I don't drink the stuff)

 

[Chriso]

SoCo will never work in an airlock, you should DEFINITELY send all of those bottles directly to me for proper disposal.

 

[wild]

Sanitized water, vodka, tequila, or rum depending on what is available in arm's reach.

 

[superfluent]

I use water here - just cause there always seems to be an abundance on hand in the tap

Yes, I like to keep it there as well. It sure saves me a lot of space

H

 

[javedian]

Airlock? We don't need no stinking airlock!
I have fermented the last 4-5 batches with either foil over the carboy neck, or a solid lid on my plastic bucket (it is the right size, but lid & bucket are not same brand, so it doesn't lock down. Basically controlled open fermentation. I only keep beer in for about 2 weeks, and it has been working well.

For my mead that is bulk aging under an airlock, I use vodka.

 

[NitrouStang96]

Vermouth - I had no other alcohol.

 

[Snakebone]

Water. I have never had a problem.