Carboy cap or Airlock while lagering?

[makomachine]

I've to date lagered in carboys and have always used an airlock with vodka when doing so. How many people just cap their carboy at the lagering phase? Essentially your off gassing should be negligible but I'm always safe vs sorry. Just wondering what others do and why.

 

[Bensiff]

Doesn't matter...don't waste vodka, water will work fine in the airlock, just don't fill it up so much that you will suck some back into the carboy when it cools.

 

[makomachine]

Doesn't matter...don't waste vodka, water will work fine in the airlock, just don't fill it up so much that you will suck some back into the carboy when it cools.

I lager at 32 usually and have had an airlock freeze on me early on when using starsan. Probably wouldn't have hurt anything but freaked me out enough that I went with cheap vodka from then on.

 

[krebs119]

I typically use a carboy cap, mostly because I have more of them. I don't really see a difference....

 

[Bensiff]

I lager at 32 usually and have had an airlock freeze on me early on when using starsan. Probably wouldn't have hurt anything but freaked me out enough that I went with cheap vodka from then on.

Ah, yeah that would make sense, I cold crash below freezing, but lager in the mid 30s so that wasn't in my thought process. But, more importantly to the point of the thread, when I get to the point of lagering or cold crashing my beer is done so I take the blowoff hose off the cap and cap the port.

 

[makomachine]

Ah, yeah that would make sense, I cold crash below freezing, but lager in the mid 30s so that wasn't in my thought process. But, more importantly to the point of the thread, when I get to the point of lagering or cold crashing my beer is done so I take the blowoff hose off the cap and cap the port.

Thanks for the input as I was planning on doing this with the Oktoberfest I have in primary at the moment. My kegerator is out of commission and kegs are up in the attic. This fall I'll go back to kegging, which is how I'll lager at that point. Thanks!